Word-of-mouth marketing is all about encouraging your target customers to share their thoughts and engage in a meaningful dialogue about your products or services.
Most small business owners agree that word-of-mouth marketing is a very effective way to promote products or services. It is rooted on our habits to ask our family or friends every time we like to buy something. In fact, more than 80% of consumers trust recommendations coming from family, friends, and other influential people over other forms of marketing
So, it’s not really surprising to know spending on word-of-mouth marketing is growing at a very fast pace. According to a research company PQ Media, spending on word-of-mouth (WoM) marketing jumped 35.9% in 2006 to $981.0 million and is expected to top $1 billion in 2007. It is also predicted to reach $3.7 billion by 2011.
Thanks to new media alternatives like logo design blogs, social networking sites, and other Web 2.0 style logo technologies, many big and small businesses are allotting more money in these campaigns.
It’s a wake up call for many small business owners to pay more attention to word-of-mouth marketing and learn to integrate it to their overall campaigns. Although online activities like blogging is a popular choice, about 90% of word-of-mouth still take place offline or in the community.
