I’ve always found it interesting how certain cultural trends come and go in almost a cyclical pattern. For instance, something that was “cool” five years ago may not be anymore (sorry Myspace). While something that was “in” during the 80’s and has already stopped being cool, is now once again the latest fashion (think skinny jeans, leggings, and neon colors). Our culture is always changing yet we continue to see things come full circle.
Word of mouth is one of my favorite examples of this. For as long as there has been any form of commerce, there has been word of mouth. Way before cell phones and the internet, good businesses understood and took advantage of WOM marketing. They created incentive programs, provided good service & relied on their customers to spread the word.
At some point, businesses drifted away from that. They created television commercials, billboards & print ads aimed at a broad target market and hoped it would stick with a few. ROI was almost impossible to measure and success was based on impressions & sales. The good news, it seems those days are on their way out!
As technology has evolved, we’ve started to realize the importance of a single customer. The CEO of WOMMA, Andy Sernovitz, actually articulates this perfectly:
“Traditional Marketing has companies speak to many to reach one. Today we speak to one to reach many.”
David Hauser and Siamak Taghaddos, the founders of Grasshopper Group, area a great example of a company that seems to really get it. Grasshopper Group is a brand which empowers entrepreneurs to succeed with a suite of products they love to use. David and Siamak (both of whom are still under 30!), have made quite a splash in the entrepreneurial community recently with their Chocolate Covered Grasshopper & National Entrepreneurs Day Campaigns. Both of which intentionally targeted a unique group of “influentials”, who in turn spread the word to their tens of thousands of “followers”.
But they didn’t stop there! Grasshopper Group’s newest product is actually a Word of Mouth Tool called Spreadable. Spreadable, which is currently in Beta, provides people who are having a positive experience on your website a mechanism to yell from the rooftops about your brand. Spreadable helps you:
- Increase word of mouth referrals and reward brand loyalists
- Lower your cost per acquisition (CPA)
- Increase conversion rate
- Make more money (seriously)
