Whether you “heard it through the grapevine” or “a little birdie told you,” there’s no denying that word-of-mouth (WOM) is still one of the most effective and quickest ways to share information. Sure, this isn’t breaking news to you, but now that we have social media, we need to put the power of WOM in prospective. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are important tools that allow you to quickly reach and vastly increase your WOM audience numbers.<\/p>\n
As sure as the world turns, WOM can have positive and negative effects on businesses (as all people in the marketing\/advertising profession are intensely aware of). Didn’t like that restaurant you ate at last weekend? Or maybe you really enjoyed watching that new release at that one movie theater… chances are, you’re gonna tell people about it. And of course, as is the trend these days, you’re able to instantly share your opinions and experiences, without having to wait for the water-cooler gathering at the office on Monday.<\/p>\n
With such an advanced way to spread WOM, businesses would do well to step up their customer service practices. As best said with the old war campaign, “Loose Lips Sink Ships,” if your customers aren’t happy, word is going to spread and your business is going to become “a sinking ship.” Luckily, it can work both ways in fact, loose lips can also build ships. Unfortunately, it is more common for people to share their bad experiences than their good ones, however, social media sites seem to be changing that. With “Like” pages on Facebook and mentions\/hashtags on Twitter, it has become easier to “share the love,” not just the hate.<\/p>\n