It was back in early January 2000, when a group of friends and I were talking. Most of the conversation centered around the Y2K or the lack thereof. It was then when I first proposed the following (which I still hold to be true even today). The only real invention that the 20 Century brought us was speed. I will speak more on this in upcoming blogs, but today let’s talk about small business marketing.
So you have thought, you have planned and you have dreamed and now that dream is a reality, you have a business of your own and you are an entrepreneur.
Somewhere along the line you may have heard just how important ‘Word of Mouth’ can be in marketing your new business. In some cases it can be make or break. If done correctly, it can be one of the most cost effective methods available to the small business owner. Give good service at a good price and people will talk. Not meeting their expectation… you can better believe they will be talking about it too.
How can a small business use ‘Word of Mouth’? The advertising landscape has changed. The fedora wearing chain smoking Mad Men have been replaced, and the rules have changed. The marketing message can no longer be fully controlled by the advertiser. Social Media has taken the message from the hands of the advertiser and given it over to the consumer or at the very least given the consumer the ability to have a great impact on your message.
True there is undoubtedly a modern day Don Drapper plying the old craft in a nice corner office, but his/her role is not the same. Thanks to Social Media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and the like today’s buyer has at the ready the ear of the world to which to whisper into or more likely yell all the details about their experience good or bad with your business. This is all done on a personal level as well.
The consumer of today is wired, they carry with them devices from which they can access the world in seconds. Today even small business need to be engaging to both new and existing customers via Social Media. If they are not, they are letting the message be shaped, and controlled without their input and also missing out on a huge opportunity to form a personal relationship with them.
‘Word of Mouth’ is still at its core the same as ever. The only real change that Social Media brings is the speed at which information gets out. Or can get out of hand.
lastbabyboomer 