Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
People love to talk, and when they say great things about yourbusiness, it translates into increased sales and a strong growthcurve. Buzz is all about what's hot, new and interesting.It's more persuasive than traditional advertising, because buzzis based on trust-we're more likely to believe what's toldto us by friends or co-workers.
Influencers and opinion leaders are the engines of buzz. Thesepeople can be experts, members of the press, politicians,celebrities or well-connected customers others rely on forinformation. For example, when Oprah recommends a book, it soars toNo. 1; or when Sarah Jessica Parker wears a new dress, it'spictured in fashion magazines. The fuel these influencers requireis compelling information, whether it's about the latest books,fashion or software. Your public relations and referral programsare the keys to generating this information.
Avoid Bad Buzz
The trick is to give people something positive to talk about.Emanuel Rosen, author of The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word-of-MouthMarketing (Doubleday), believes the more interconnectedyour customers are, the more crucial word-of-mouth becomes. Thanksto the Internet, bad buzz can spread fast. According to Rosen,"Very often, buzz is truthful. If people have a badexperience, they'll say so."
How do your customers learn about your products or services? Ifit's through chat rooms and discussion groups, you can monitorcustomer comments and fuel positive buzz by fixing any problemsthat arise or dealing directly with any customer complaints beforethey become big problems. Companies that ignore this strategy risksuffering the same setbacks that Intel did back in 1994, when acomplaint posted on the Net concerning its Pentium chip wasbelittled by the company. The result, says Rosen, was more than25,000 customer phone calls a day about the problematic chip.
Get People Talking
Companies that are masters of good buzz never stop innovatingand sharing information, and they use samples, demos and events toget the word out. Trivial Pursuit was an unknown game until itsproducer's PR department began sending copies to thecelebrities mentioned in the game. Celebrities received a letterfrom the company president clipped to the game card that held thequestion about them. "This kicked off Trivial Pursuit partiesin Hollywood," says Rosen, and the buzz soon spreadnationwide.
"Very oftenbuzz is truthful. If people have a bad experience, they'll sayso." |
