Viral Marketing & Why You Should Be Leveraging It In Your Business

How many times have you received an order from a customer who notes that they were referred by a friend? According to Guerrilla Marketing Expert Jay Conrad Levinson, this is due to a simple marketing truth -- "people dislike admitting that they are affected by marketing", so they will often give credit to a friend. In addition, there is no disputing the power of referrals -- and these are most likely to be received within 30 days of the original sale.

What can we learn from these truths?

First, we need to work diligently to provide phenomenal customer service, thus promoting word of mouth referrals; and second, we need to create situations that provide viral marketing opportunities.

If you watch primetime television, chances are you've noticed an increase in credit card company commercials. The trend of offering Customer Loyalty programs has been on a huge upswing -- with card companies offering cash back incentives, frequent flyer miles, etc. By fine tuning this principle to suit your own needs, you can create your own Customer Loyalty program with annual rebate programs, preferred customer discounts, and referral bonuses.

All of these concepts offer a minimal cost to the business owner, but offer the opportunity to reap big rewards. Having a business online has certain viral marketing advantages built right into it. For instance, if your shopping cart program allows for it, consider taking advantage of suggestive selling tactics. If you are looking for a helpful example of this practice, look no further than Amazon. They not only suggest similarly-themed products and titles, but they will also email you to notify you when items in your interest category are released.

You don't have to employ pricey technology scripts to cash in on this practice. Simply adding a few custom fields to your mailing list form could help you identify customer interest groups. Also, many shopping cart programs allow you to download order data based upon product groups or individual SKU numbers. This could be utilized to send reminder messages for product updates, warranty information, companion products, etc.

Need more examples?

• A "Tell a Friend About this Product" link in your shopping cart.
• Offering a "Forward this Email to a Friend" link in your newsletters.
• Offering interactive functions -- such as E-Cards, Polls, Discussion Forums, etc. on your site, encouraging return traffic
• Post customer testimonials - folks love to see their name in print, and, more and more shoppers use these comments to make buying decisions.

Your message doesn't have to be elaborate and flashy, just compelling. Spend some time thinking about WHAT your customer needs, and tailor your offer accordingly.

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