The Grapevine Grows Strong – The Power of Word of Mouth PR

About a month ago, I was watching television with the significant other (SO) when a commercial for one of the big-wig insurance companies came on.

“I used to have XYZ insurance 20 years ago,” said the SO, “but their business approach was shady and I would never go back to them.”

Despite the fact that the aforementioned insurance company has completely revamped its approach in the past 20 years, neither he – and now neither I – would ever choose them as a carrier.

My takeaways: 1) A consumer grudge, if left untreated, will last a really long time, and 2) Word of mouth PR is more critical now than ever.

Essentially, it doesn’t matter what you think about your company, your brand or your product. What matters is what your customers, your clients and your target audiences think. Consumers are in control now, and they’ve got more word-of-mouth methods than ever to let others know what they think about you. As technology continues to advance and consumers can vent their frustrations not only through face-to-face word of mouth, but Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Yelp, and more, the need for forward-facing customer relations, transparency and proactivity in your PR approach is more important than ever.

Take the recent viral backlash against a local Raleigh sports pub. What started as one little blog post about one patron’s less-than-favorable encounter with the establishment grew into a social media feeding frenzy that ultimately led to hundreds of decreased Facebook followers, a news story on CNN, a court case and a potentially permanently tarnished reputation for the bar. Here lies a perfectly good example of the power of word of mouth PR and why it should not and cannot be ignored.

Companies will make mistakes. And many consumers and clients will forgive – as long as the situation is handled correctly. A thorough and integrated crisis communications plan can help mitigate many medium- to large-scale crisis situations, while a good overall customer service approach can prevent small-scale one-off situations from gaining momentum.

How can you utilize word of mouth PR to your advantage?

• Monitor, monitor, monitor…and then monitor some more. While you can’t always know what your customers are saying to their friends via their own personal face-to-face interaction, social media is a great tool for allowing you to keep tabs on what others are saying about your company online. Through social media, you can at least respond to inaccuracies or address personal grievances by reaching out to disgruntled customers on a forum that lets others know you’re being proactive about getting the situation handled.
• Treat each individual like they hold the power. Every one of your customers or clients is a PR rep for your company, so don’t neglect to treat them as so. Establish a mantra of “consistency of quality” with all of your customer touch points.
• Develop an integrated crisis communications plan in preparation for any crisis situation your company is likely to encounter and how you will communicate to your key publics should that situation arise. React quickly and with professionalism to any crisis that arises.
• Take advantage of happy customers. Encourage them to rate/review your business online, post testimonials on your website, tell their friends, etc. You can’t “make” something go viral, but a good story always has a higher chance of being told.
• Make it easy for your customers to share your content on social media. Offer useful information, ask questions and position yourself as the thought leader in your industry.

Do you have any other tips or thoughts on word of mouth PR?