We were eating lunch at the bar of the White Dog Cafe (which just happens to be one of my favorite restaurants) enjoying our lunch when the woman next to us spilled her glass of wine. This would not have been a big deal except that it splashed all over my long, WHITE coat. I was horrified, especially since I only wear this coat occasionally to avoid spilling something on it.  Everyone at the bar of course saw what happened and was trying to help. Instantly, people starting recommending that I get a Tide Pen to get the stains out. One person mentioned it then another chimed in about how well it works, then another.  Which brings me to my point… Tide with their Tide Pen has done such a great job of branding their product that people can instantly remember where to turn when a stain occurs.  Not only that, they have turned these people into promoters of their product! Every company’s dream.  Tide is also fostering this word of mouth online as their Facebook wall allows consumers to post how they were able to salvage their stains.  People are singing Tide’s praises! You cannot get better advertising than that.

Here are some tips for a business to start creating positive word of mouth that translates in the realm of social media, but also in offline situations:

Tide Pen saves the day!

1) Have a product worth talking about: Does your product live up to its promises? Make sure your advertising is not misleading consumers. The Tide Pen would never get the recognition it does if it didn’t work! Is there something exceptional about your product that would get people talking?

2) Provide a way for customers to communicate with you:  Let your customers tell you how they feel. Allow them to have an open dialogue and express their feelings about your product or service.

3) Offer exceptional customer service: Listen to what your customers are saying whether it is positive or negative.  Value their opinions and act accordingly. The way a company responds to a consumer is unbelievably important.  Your customers will feel empowered and happy, which is key when developing a word of mouth strategy.

4) Amplify word of mouth through various tactics: Partnering with organizations, creating loyalty programs, using blogs to disperse information, educating consumers are all just some of the ways word of mouth can be amplified once the essentials of product and customer service are in place.

Have a WOM tip to share? I would love to hear it! P.S. The Tide Pen worked and my white coat is just like new!