When you put yourself in the customers shoes and begin your
dialog from there, an immediate connection develops that stems beyond basic commerce and encourages
loyalty.
- Steve
Maraboli-->
I had the pleasure of attending the Word of Mouth Crash Course yesterday in Austin, Texas, and enjoyed every single session I went to…
Truly rare at a conference! While some of the conference
logistics could be improved, the content was well curated to provide really sharp speakers with
really interesting case studies and points of view.
The content primarily centered
on word of mouth marketing and the social media tools that amplify it, creating
customer advocates, and using behavioral analytics to provide better customer
experiences.
One of the great sessions I attended was a fireside chat
with Bob Pearson, a former colleague at Dell, and author of Pre-Commerce:
How Companies and Customers are Transforming Business Together. Did you
know that only 1% of a consumer’s time is actually spent purchasing something
online? 99% is spent researching, exploring, talking, evaluating, and engaging
in other pre-purchase activities. And today, 3 out of 4 people look to their
peers before making any purchase decision.
Events are huge part of pre-commerce. By bringing together like-minded
customers and potential customers, you give them the opportunity to research,
explore, touch and feel your brand, products, and solutions, and provide an
outlet for them to talk to their peers about their options.
It’s important that your brand advocates are at your events
to provide the customer voice that your prospects are seeking. While you
probably already provide comp passes to your potential customers, be sure to
keep some comps for your great retention accounts, too. The more you can have customer
brand ambassadors speaking at your events and networking with your potential
customers, the more word of mouth can influence purchase decisions on that coveted
peer-to-peer level.
