Viral Marketing for Small Businesses
by Heather Loftiss
In my experience and research, I've found that viral marketing can be
a positive or negative advertising method. Some companies use it
correctly while others let campaigns turn negative and spiral out of
control. And some people believe that viral marketing campaigns are so
expensive that only big companies can implement them on larger
scales. This, however, is entirely untrue as viral marketing can work
for any size business. This article will define viral marketing,
describe how it works, and discuss examples and strategies for small
businesses.
The specific definition of viral marketing differs from person to
person. However, everyone generally agrees that viral marketing is an
advertising method that gets customers to market your products and
services for you. More specifically, I would say that it's an
advertising method that capitalizes on humanity's predisposition to
share ideas, make new connections, and, of course, get free stuff.
When Does Viral Marketing Work Best?
Viral marketing is a touchy advertising method. Use it at the right
times with the right products and your name can spread like wildfire.
However, employ it incorrectly and you could see some very negative
results. Viral marketing works best when a product or service is easy
to use, easy to explain, has a low level of commitment, and is
generally seen as "cool" in your customers' eyes. Let's look at these
characteristics in order:
Easy to use - Because you are having your own customers do the
marketing for you, it is preferable that their experience with the
product is positive. If it's difficult to use and they dislike the
product, why would they refer it to a friend?
Easy to explain - Your product needs to be simple - that is, people
can quickly share it without being bogged down by details. Ever wonder
why those videos on file sharing websites get passed around the
Internet so quickly? All you have to do is tell a friend about a great
video on the Internet and give them the link. It's simple with no
explanation.
Low Level of Commitment - Finally, your product must have a low level
of commitment. A friend once wanted me to sign up for one of those
Internet pyramid schemes that offer a free IPOD or flat panel TV if
you get 10 people to join a program. If you actually follow through
with one of these things, it takes about 30 minutes to sign up because
you have to give endless amounts of information, uncheck every free
email box, and finally sell your soul. No one in their right mind
would do this more than once.
General Coolness Factor - It's obvious that people only want to talk
about the most exciting products they use. No one walks up to a friend
and describes the latest underwear they've bought. Instead, they
describe their new cell phone, poster, CD, or book. If your product is
cool, people will talk about it. And in most cases, the "coolness
factor" can be changed based on how you position the product in your
customers' minds. In other words, it's all based on the advertising
that goes along with it.
Viral Marketing - The Distant Cousin of Buzz Marketing
So we've established that a product itself can bring about a viral
result if it has the four characteristics. But viral marketing can
still work for products that do not meet these criteria if you can
generate an adequate buzz for them. Buzz marketing is generated from
catchy advertising and works when your customers talk about your
product in day-to-day conversation.
In recent years, buzz marketing has worked for companies like
Volkswagen and Burger King. However, I'm saying that buzz marketing
has worked for these companies - not viral marketing. Buzz marketing
all too often generates hype about the ad campaigns that feature the
product and not the product itself. Sometimes this can be negative and
divert attention away from your product. Although some would argue
that Crispin Porter's attempt at targeting VW enthusiasts' hearts was
genuine when they came out with the "MyFast" and the "Unpimp"
commercials, they do not make me want to buy a VW - an item that
definitely falls outside of the four criteria.
Sure you can have catchy advertising, but make sure it's advertising
that focuses on product. Buzz marketing is more of an awareness
campaign. And in my experience, small businesses need to see a return
on their advertising investments - they can't afford to just promote
awareness of their products. You can't just produce a buzz-worthy
campaign that people will forget the second the advertisements come
down. The goal is to get the product in peoples' hands for the viral
effect to occur.
Can Viral Marketing Work Offline? And for a Small Business?
Sure it can. I'm sure you've read viral marketing success stories
involving Hotmail, NetZero, Skype, and even the comedian Dane Cook who
used MySpace.com for his viral marketing campaign. This might get a
lot of people thinking that they need large scale campaigns that
utilize websites, emails, and constant updates to online material. But
there's one great example I'd like to share with you where a business
employed a viral marketing campaign without much use of the internet
and on a very small scale.
A local gym that I once went to had a great idea to hand out free
t-shirts if members signed up for their "Guests First" program. They
stopped everyone at the door, handed them a t-shirt, and told them
that they could get a free guest pass every time they wore the shirt
to the gym (the shirt had the gym's logo and location on it). To sign
up, the members only had to verify the information they gave when they
first became a gym member. It was a win-win for customers. Everyone
started wearing the t-shirts and the guest passes started flying.
Whenever a guest came in, they had to give their name and email
address to the front desk. Later, an email would be sent to the guest
to gauge their satisfaction with the gym. It also acted as a follow-up
contact to the guest. This was, by far, the most intelligent and well
thought out marketing scheme I had ever seen. The gym built a
database of new potential customers, generated hype about the guest
passes in town, put walking advertisements out on the street, and, in
the end, got more people in the gym. And it was all done on a small
scale.
Would Viral Marketing Work for Your Business?
As I said before, there are times when viral marketing works and times
when it doesn't. You really need to take a close look at your
products and the behavior of your customers to see if it's right for
your business.
Products - Take one of your cheap, low cost, low involvement products
and start handing it out for free. If you are a service-based
business, start offering free trials of your low cost services. Start
advertisements about the giveaways to get more people in your place of
business. Be humorous and ironic - it tends to work better with viral
marketing campaigns. If the products and services get high
visibility, you will see a more viral effect. Even if you only carry
expensive products that get low visibility, research on the internet
or spy on competitors to see what types of giveaway items have worked
for other businesses. Remember, choose something that people will
always see or have a use for and associate it with your brand and
business.
Customer Behavior - A successful viral marketing campaign also relies
on the behavior of your customers. You need customers who are
outgoing, friendly, and lead an active lifestyle. The more people that
surround your customer, the more impressions your viral marketing
tool will have. Remember, viral marketing, or any advertising, works
best when you can achieve multiple impressions with the least amount
of effort. The last person you want to test viral marketing on is some
recluse that sits inside eighteen hours a day and emerges only to
restock the fridge and drive to work. It's about getting your
customers to do the work for you and advertising is all about
visibility. It only makes sense that you need a highly visible
customer base to do this type of advertising.
Go Out and Do It!
Viral marketing can work for almost any business. You know your
business and customers the best. Set aside some time in the next few
weeks to try and think of some great viral marketing tactics that you
can employ. If you think the risk is too great, start small to test
the water.
Every business has customers. Few businesses have fans. The trick is
turning your customers into loyal fans. Then you will be surprised at
just how easy viral marketing really is.
About the Author Marketing Tips Provided to You by: Heather Loftiss,
President of Water Design Studio (http://www.
waterdesignstudio.com" target="_blank">http://www.waterdesignstudio.
com), Author of the Customer Connection (http://www.
morerepeatsales.com" target="_blank">http://www.morerepeatsales.
com)
|
