Creating a buzz about your business

maráketáed, maráketáing, marákets :v.

1. To offer for sale.

2. To sell.

This is the standard dictionary definition of marketing, but marketing is so much more. It is all the activities designed to provide goods and services that satisfy a customers needs and desires. Even for a small business, a marketing plan needs to include gathering information and researching what the customer wants, then persuading the customer that the business has what he wants.

What influences a customer to purchase a particular product? Is it what the company says about their products or services in ads? Or is it what other people say about the company's products or services?

Most often it is the latter, word of mouth marketing. People rely on a network of friends, relatives and co-workers for recommendations. Creating a buzz about your business is a natural extension of a product branding sales campaign. The 'buzz' is beginning to serve an important role in purchasing decisions.

Why does creating a buzz work? Information overload. The fast-paced advertisements on radio, TV and now the Internet provide an ongoing barrage of information. Consumers see and hear so many marketing messages that it becomes difficult to filter out what is credible and valuable and what is just "noise." Consequently, customers turn to their friends and co-workers to gather advice about products and services.

Word of mouth advertising works because we, as human beings, need to communicate. We talk to connect to people, and sharing information is an essential part of conversation. We discuss products we have tried, cars we test drove and movies we have seen, books we read, etc.

How can a business actively add positive word of mouth marketing to its overall marketing plan? Here are a few ideas:

Good marketing of any type, begins with a positive customer experience. There is no substitute for exceptional service. The key is to under promise and over deliver. Think not "how do I get this sale?" but "how can I get this customer to talk about my product or service to others?"

Build trust. Today's consumers are knowledgeable and often skeptical. They don't trust the business. They don't know the business' values, history and background. Give the business a personality. Share its history. Tell the customer how great the company is and how wonderful the product and service is. Eventually, the product will sell itself through the invisible customer network the business owner and employees set in place.

Know the customer. In order to reach a target market, the business has to know its customers and how to reach them. A business should ask itself: From whom do our customers learn about our products? Where is the product discussed? What type of information will spread fastest through the customer network? Answer these questions and begin planting the seeds.

Finally, give a little something away. How can people experience the product or service without making a big commitment? What small part of a product or service can be given away to generate conversation?

Creating a buzz is not a stand-alone marketing plan but it is an integral part of the business' strategy. At minimal cost it can have maximal effect.