Free Online Marketing Ideas

Word of Mouth is Best... Right?

Yes it is - but only if it is part of a complete plan - on its own it probably has serious some limitations. Lets look at that in a little more detail?

Here is the scenario. You establish a good reputation with a new client by providing excellent customer service. Yet aside from providing excellent customer service - which is what they paid for and probably what everyone else in the same market is doing - what else are you doing to stand out from the crowd and give that client something special to talk about?

A recent survey I conducted amongst several hundred small to medium entrepreneurs showed that 100% of them claimed to provide excellent customer service. So that is NOT necessarily going to ensure clients talk about you - word of mouth. You need to be doing more!

Here is an idea that works for me and many of my clients. Send a card! Not an "e-card" but a high quality special card sent in the mail.

As part of my recent world speaking tour I met hundreds of people. Of all those people, 10 in particular stand out from the rest. They are the 10 people who took the trouble to send me a card in the mail commenting on some positive aspect of our meeting. One even created a card with a photo that she had taken of the two of us. Wow! This one is so personal that it is still sitting on the credenza next to my desk.

Joe Girard is listed as the "worlds greatest salesman" for 12 years in the Guinness Book of Records. How did he get to that position and also be so successful? Simply by sending cards!

That is the way to make word-of-mouth work for you. On top of your normal customer service do something special.

I use the services of SendOutCards (www.sendoutcards.com) and if you would like to try the same service send me an email and I'll give you a free Gift Account to try.

Remember if you keep doing what you have always done you'll keep getting what you've always got.