In the pre-Internet days, word of mouth marketing simply meant that one customer liked your product or service so much that they told a friend. Today, word of mouth marketing is a lot more sophisticated. In fact, it’s even got its own acronym – WOMM – Word Of Mouth Marketing.

Now, there’s viral marketing, influencer marketing, stealth marketing, buzz marketing… it’s all rather mind-boggling.

Regardless of how convoluted word of mouth marketing has gotten, it’s still one of the best, least expensive ways to market your business – provided you do it honestly. Simply put, word of mouth advertising is still about a customer who likes your product or service telling another.

What’s the best way to get people talking about your business? The operative word is… free.

•    Give them free stuff and they will come. Tell everyone about your business; what products you’re selling or services that you are offering. Give a product or a free coupon to the people you meet. What better way to get them to try your product or service?  

•    Reward repeat customers and referrals. Reward your repeat customers with a free gift for referring a customer that makes a purchase from you.

•    Gather testimonials. Make sure that you get comments from satisfied customers. Whether you carry your testimonials around in your briefcase, or you post them proudly on your website, testimonials provide great word of mouth advertising. Just be sure to get permission from the customer to publish the testimonial on your website or in your brochure.

•    Show your customers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of your company. If you’ve ever taken a tour of the Budweiser facility in St. Louis, you walk away feeling as though you’ve been made privy to some of their secrets. And, that’s fun to talk about to your friends and neighbors, isn’t it?  Give live, or virtual tours of the behind-the-scenes production and distribution of your product. Involve your customers in your company.

•    Provide awesome customer service. It’s easy to deal with happy customers; but it’s how you deal with unhappy customers that is going to either make or break you. Just one negative comment about your product or service, can wipe out a many good comments. So, promote positive word of mouth advertising by doing whatever is necessary to keep your customers happy, and solving whatever problems arise as quickly as possible.

•    Give the customer a little something to remember you by. Without promotion or fanfare, do a little something unexpected for your customers. For instance, throw in a free product or a coupon for a free service the next time they come in.