Word-of-Mouth Advertising

It sounds like an over-simplification, but it’s important to understand why, no matter how great you think your product or service is, it’s still vitally important to be sure that the information and news potential customers hear about you is not coming exclusively from the general public and through word-of-mouth advertising.

I met with a potential new client this week. One of the most acute problems this client is experiencing is the fact that the community really wasn’t aware of their many wonderful offerings. Most of what people in the community “know” about this organization is totally inaccurate.

First Flight Agency was tasked with addressing a word of mouth problem for a client. Because they had been less than aggressive about getting their message out, most people in the community believed that they were simply part of a completely different organization. We went to work by first addressing their name. We went back to their original name that they were first introduced as decades earlier. It was important that the public understand that our client was indeed its own brick & mortar entity. The next recommendation was to introduce a new tagline that would establish their brand and elevate them amongst their competitors. This tagline would appear in every point of advertising & marketing communications. First Flight Agency went as far as re-writing the script for how they answered the phone when a client called. We made it clear to our client that every point of communication no matter how small, was an opportunity to support the name change and new brand tagline.

Historically, studies have shown that consumers are more likely to complain about a negative brand experience than praise a positive one. Imagine for a minute that everyone who’s dealt with your brand gave honest feedback when asked the question, “So what do you think of…?”  Certainly, if you’ve managed to stay in business for any meaningful amount of time, most of the feedback would be positive or at least not negative. My advice to anyone who has ever told me that they rely heavily on word-of-mouth advertising is, Word-of-Mouth advertising is great until it’s not. So make sure that what the public hears about you and your brand comes from you.