There is one thing I get from doing lots of speeches…feedback. Whether I ask for it or not, people are always willing to give me their opinions about my topics. Don’t get me wrong, this is an awesome thing and I welcome it all the time…before, during, and after I speak. The reason I bring it up is because it was the genesis of the topic I am going to share with you.
After I gave a speech in Arizona last year, someone shared with me a very interesting and intriguing insight they had picked up from my discussion about how you get Word-of-Mouth to happen in your business. They were so taken by it, they said I really need to share it with people and emphasize it because it is so “spot on” and others would get it if they realized this was happening.
Below is somewhat of an excerpt from my speech and what I was talking about that caused this reaction. It will help you make a lot more sense of the title I chose for this post after you read it…
“When someone isn’t super confident they know what you are talking about and if they don’t quite understand it with a pretty high degree of certainty, they don’t want to talk about it much…at least not in any detail. For example, if you explain the new features of your product and how it will help your customers do whatever it is better by using your product, you think they get it. And they do…sort of…at least that’s what they tell you. But most don’t really understand it at the depth you think they do but they get it good enough to understand most of the benefits.
But what everyone tells us is that they don’t usually want to talk about it with others at any great length because they are afraid of one thing…QUESTIONS. What if someone asks them a question about it and they don’t know the answer? Then they look like they really don’t get it that well and they might look stupid so it’s just safer if they don’t say anything. So they don’t. They don’t tell anyone about it, they just go along with getting the product and start using it so they can learn more about it.
This “fear of looking stupid” or like you don’t really know what is going on is a paramount killer for word-of-mouth. No one wants to talk about something where they don’t feel they can answer most of the questions that someone might ask them. So they say nothing…just go about what they are doing and enjoy your product. Great for you that there is a customer that enjoys your product…bad for you that they don’t feel confident enough to tell anyone else about it.
But there is ONE THING EVERY CUSTOMER KNOWS FOR CERTAIN, 100% OF THE TIME…THE EXPERIENCE THEY HAD INTERACTING WITH YOU. Without question, they get this right 100% of the time, completely accurate and with great detail. After all, they lived the experience firsthand and no one knows it better than they do…they are the center of their own experience.
When someone has complete and accurate knowledge, they feel confident about it and will talk about it…in great detail, whether it was awesome or terrible. This is something they can talk (and will) talk about freely and with confidence. Ask yourself the same question. Think back on one of your most awesome experiences. Can you talk about it with complete authority, passion, and accuracy? Of course you can, you were the center of it and you can recall all the details about it better than anyone else.
So when someone asks me how can they get their customers to spread more word-of-mouth about them, the answer is quite simple. Give them the one thing they can talk about with 100% confidence and accuracy and would enjoy telling others about…their totally awesome and incredible experience they had with your company. But the key question to ask yourself is, “Do you offer such an incredibly awesome customer experience that anyone would want to talk about it?” This is the starting point for creating really passionate word-of-mouth with your audience.”
This easy part of this is that it works…you know it because you do it, just like I do. The hard part is that you have to create this type of experience…day in and day out if you want to generate some incredible word of mouth. My final question to the audience is always…
“Are you up to the challenge, or do you want to just keep hoping someone says something great about you…once in a while.”
If you want to be in control and create some incredible word-of-mouth, go for the sure bet. Go for something that you know 100% of the time your customer knows about and feels confident about. The odds they will talk about it, and you, go up significantly. When 90% of the people believe the recommendation from someone they know, the odds are definitely stacked in your favor.
