By John Hennessy
Gary Stein, analyst at Jupiter research, says customers who actively share information have an increased sense of brand loyalty and maintain it regardless of trends in the marketplace.
Supporting that claim, DoubleClick says word of mouth is the biggest purchase influence, from initial awareness straight through to actual purchases.
Colorado-based Izze Beverage Company relies almost entirely on customer evangelism for it's marketing. "People are going to talk about your product so you better give them the right reason to talk about it," says Izze CEO Todd Woloson.
Measurement of evangelism is being attempted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). Their approach is to measure units of marketing-relevant information passed on from one consumer to another. The goal is to use these measurements to calculate the ROI of word of mouth campaigns.
Moderator's Comment: What programs are you using to cultivate evangelists?
Shoppers are drowning in promotional messaging. Rather than wade through that flood of information, they are relying more and more on trusted advisors to help them spend their time and money more wisely.
Ways you can help your shoppers cut through the clutter include:
- Cultivating evangelists through superior products and services;
- Product knowledge training so your customers get the right answer quickly, and;
- Relevance of your communications so your message is helpful and welcome.
These steps will go a long way toward improving the odds that shoppers will choose to spend their time and money with you and urge others to do the same. - John Hennessy - Moderator