I recently finished a book by Jonah
Berger, “Contagious: Why Things Catch
On” and wanted to share some of his insights with you.
Mr. Berger is a Wharton Business School
professor and has, for the last ten years, been studying why some products and ideas take off and why
others will wither and die.
According to Mr. Berger, “Word
of mouth is not random, it is not luck and there is a science behind it.”
As I read the book, I noted
several important statistics, one of
which is that “just 7% of all word of mouth takes place on line.”
That’s because people trust recommendations
from their friends more than they do from an organization. (Remember how
frequently we talk about the importance of testimonials; so few organizations
are disciplined enough to use that strategy consistently.
We have to really understand how
things catch on and how ideas spread. Most of us think that ideas just start to
spread; that it is kind of a random thing; almost a lucky thing.
That is really not the case at
all.
Here
are six basic principles why ideas and products take off.
1.
Make
your customers feel like “insiders.” If
you write a newsletter about your open play programs, make sure that it is for “The
Happy Lanes Insider Club; Special programs for Special Customers.”
Exclusive accessibility creates a certain kind of buzz which people want to
share. Think of your friend that goes to
Vegas and tells you how “He Always Gets Comped.” And of course he shares his exclusivity
status, which makes him feel good and makes you think that you MAY want that status
too.
2.
Try
to associate your product with something familiar to all customers. For example,
if you run a Pizza, Pins N Pepsi program, try to associate your program with something
that shows, via digital media, how people eat pizza in the form of some quick
vignettes. You can then create a YouTube
video to post on your Facebook page or on your website. Show little scenes of
people and their pizza; folding it into pieces, cutting it into squares, eating
from the crust first, cutting their slice into smaller triangles, or putting a
ton of garlic, o pepper, oregano or French
dressing on their pizza. Your objective is to show the fun of eating pizza…and
bowling at “Happy lanes.” Maybe even create a funny postcard and send it to
1,000 people at the same time your Facebook campaign is going on.
3. Tug at someone’s emotion. Anybody
remember Coca Cola’s famous TV commercial about “Buying the world a Coke™.” Think
about how you can make an adult child video that shows a Dad and his daughter,
hugging and laughing at the lanes, rather than showing a great pin splash. Maybe
even do the hug in slow motion and then just splash a couple of words on the
screen like “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Adult child programs
start at Happy Lanes on day and date.
Come for the bowling, Stay for the love.”
4.
Knowledge.
Your word of mouth campaign won’t become anything if people don’t have knowledge
of what you do. It does you little good if you run a great Boys N Girls Club fundraiser
in the community and no one knows about it.
You can stimulate that by inviting people from the media, issuing press
releases to various public TV and radio sites as well as to other fund raising
organizations so they know what your center has achieved. You could also place some information on your
website and in the center advising people that “Happy Lanes puts The Fun in
Fund raising.” You wouldn't believe how many centers I go into that have no information about available fund
raising options…or on their website.
5.
Share
information that is useful. Make a video
about how pigs use old bowling balls to exercise. Who knows, it just might go “viral.”
6. At
the recent Bowl Expo, attendees listened to George Bush, the 43rd; tell
stories to make his points about strategy, tactics, and brinkmanship. Abe
Lincoln, Mark Twain and Will Rogers were some of the greatest story tellers
ever and people would flock to them, take their stories and repeat them. If you can tell a story about an 85 year old
Grandma who has not only bowled for 63 years, but also climbed Mt Everest (I’m
exaggerating here, of course) at the age of 77; you would have a heck of a
story. Try to find miraculous things
that your customers or employees have done and publicize them.
If you want your word of mouth
to be successful, practice the art and science of making your “members” advocates
for your product.
And like anything else out there
in “media-land,”
it doesn’t happen unless you manage it…
Because Hope Is Not A Strategy.
