Why Your Friends Are Your Best Billboards
Word of mouth marketing is all about getting people hyped and chatting about your stuff. It's like when you can't stop telling your friends about the new 10/10, mouthwatering, must-try strawberry cheesecake in your town’s local bakery. In fact, according to a study by Mckinsey, “Word of mouth is the most effective way to influence people. It affects 20% to 50% of consumers’ purchase decisions.” Instead of traditional ads, it's all about real talks, real interactions, and real shares across social networks, DMs, texting, TikTok duets, or whatever platform is popping. Brands tap into this by getting influencers, cool collabs, or creating something so unique that everyone just has to share it.
Create Something Worth Talking About
With word of mouth marketing, the hype feels genuine because it's coming from peeps you trust and not some ad that's trying too hard to be cool. In a 2010 white paper titled, Referral Programs and Customer Value, Eric Townsend found that “people are 4x more likely to buy a product when referred by a friend.” How can you tap into this? Authenticity. Quality. Genuine interactions. People trust people, not brands. Moral of the story? Create something worth talking about.
People Trust People, Not Brands
Here's the thing with Gen Z and Millennials: we value authenticity, like a lot. We can smell an ad from a mile away, and we're not here for that. But when a friend tells us about something dope, we're all ears. In an e-paper published by Extole, they found that “28% of millennials won’t even try a product if friends disapprove of it.” It's all about connecting through real experiences and shared interests. So, word of mouth marketing? It's kinda like the OG social media, just more chill and less try-hard. It's about keeping it 100 and spreading the word in a way that's as real as our love for memes and TikTok scrolling.
Supreme Brick Case Study
Photograph: Supreme
In August 2016, Supreme, a clothing and skateboarding lifestyle brand, launched the ‘Supreme brick’ as part of the Fall/Winter 2016 collection. “There was nothing special about the brick, except for the Supreme logo stamped on it. It was eight inches long, four inches wide and cost about 6000 percent more than your average red clay brick (Men’s Journal, 2019).” It sold out in minutes, selling over 15,000 units for $30 USD for its limited drop. Following the launch, it was reselling for over $1000 USD on EBay.
Why did this work? Ridiculousness. Supreme's decision to sell a branded brick was unexpected and unique, capturing attention purely for its novelty. The buzz around the limited Supreme brick was amplified by social media, where customers and influencers shared their purchases. It was a “can you believe it” moment – a statement that will surely garner organic word of mouth marketing. It became a conversation about consumer culture and the value of branding.
What can your small business learn from Supreme? Create something worth talking about. Learn the value of creating or offering something distinctive that sparks conversation, setting you apart from competitors. Don’t be scared to be ridiculous, be bold, and think outside of the box. Utilize both online and physical channels to become relevant to broader cultural or social discussions.
Think differently. Here’s a tip from Soodle – When coming up with ideas to differentiate yourself from the competition, hold a “Bad Ideas Only” brainstorming session. Set a timer for 10 minutes and brainstorm the worst ideas you can think of. Forget logistics. Forget budgets. Forget realism. Be ridiculous. Think like a kid again. If it seems impossible, add it to the list. If you say “there is no way this will get approved,” add it to the list. Sometimes the worst ideas are actually the best in disguise. Here’s the secret sauce to creating buzzworthy word of mouth marketing for your small business.