Posted On May 22, 2017
There are a growing number of ways for a company to market its services. Trade shows, email marketing, digital advertising, print campaigns, social media, blogs like these—new methods pop up all the time.
Still, there is one method that is far more effective than any other, and that’s word of mouth.
The recommendation of someone you trust matters a whole lot, especially if the decision you’re making also matters a whole lot. This isn’t a big revelation. Think of when you’re looking for a new doctor. What’s the first thing you usually do? You ask a friend if he or she can recommend anyone. Even if you’re asking that question on Facebook, it isn’t the Facebook part that matters—it’s the recommendations you get from people you trust. If you use Facebook to get recommendations, social media is just facilitating your ability to tap into the wisdom of your network. In fact, according to research by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, only 7% of word-of-mouth marketing occurs online and in social media.
It’s easy to see why the word of a trusted friend or colleague matters so much. Online reviews, while clearly important, can be fake, or can get hijacked by aspiring comedians and/or angry people who can turn even an Amazon review into a political rant. Because the digital realm is not always trustworthy (or pleasant), the most effective form of marketing occurs when you can get one human being to tell another human being, directly, that your product or service is the one they should choose.
In the words of author and customer service expert Ken Blanchard, the most effective form of marketing is to turn your customers into raving fans.
How do you make that happen?
You serve those customers with excellence. You make those customers a priority. You become a trusted resource and—especially in the supply chain services arena—a problem solver. You operate with the belief that creativity and ingenuity can solve almost any problem, even if it involves moving 1500 bottles of wine from France to Alaska in the middle of winter. Whether it’s bottles of wine or new beds to fill your hotel, moving stuff from one part of the world to another is a big undertaking. The stakes are high, and delays can result in potentially significant financial losses. In other words, selecting the right supply chain partner is a big decision, with big consequences.
That’s why we rely on our raving fans—and why we truly appreciate them.
At Flat World Holdings, we want to turn you into a raving fan. If your company needs a partner that offers cutting-edge, technology-driven supply chain management services, international freight forwarding, custom crating, supply chain hospitality project management, or transportation management software, take a moment and talk to us.Especially if you’ve already heard from one of our raving fans.
(You know the part in a movie or TV show where a character turns and speaks directly to the audience? That’s called “breaking the fourth wall.” Right now, we are going to break the fourth wall of blogging and give a shout-out to one of our raving fans. Karen Fisher at Jaguar Hospitality Services Corp., we appreciate your support and your business. Customers like you are what motivate us to continually strive for excellence.)
