“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde
Are you buzz worthy with your members and friends? People love to talk. Right now, people are talking about you and what you sell. It might be a causal mention. It might be really nice. It might be a scathing attack. Word of mouth is about earning that good conversation. Give people a reason to talk about your stuff, and make it easier for that conversation to take place. Treat people well and they will do your marketing for you, for free. Be interesting, or be invisible. If your customers won’t talk about your stuff, you have to pay newspapers and TV stations to do it for you. One of the roles of a fitness sales person is prospecting and marketing. This means that you need to put out an idea worth talking about. Here are four rules for Word-of-Mouth Marketing:
Rule #1: Be interesting
Before you run an ad, launch a product, post on Facebook or give a fitness presentation, ask the magic question: Would anyone tell a friend about this?
Rule #2: Make People Happy
Create amazing products. Provide excellent service. Go the extra mile. Make sure the work you do, gets people energized, excited and eager to tell a friend.
Rule #3: Earn Trust and Respect
Nobody talks about a company that they don’t trust or don’t like. Earn the respect of your customers. Be good to them. Talk to them. Honor their intelligence. Fulfill their needs. Stay honest. Every company can be nicer, and every one of us can work to make our company a little better to its customers.
Rule #4: Make It Easy
Word of mouth is lazy. You have to help it along if you expect it go anywhere.
Find a simple topic that is easy to repeat. Not your formal brand statement, not your product description. What can people tell a friend about you in one sentence?
Then do everything you can to make it easy to share that topic. Use tell-a-friend forms on your web site. Put it in an email. Pass out flyers. Blog it. Stick it on a t-shirt.
You won’t get great at word-of-mouth marketing until you really understand what motivates people to talk. People love to talk and share opinions. They love to talk about people and ideas.
The three reasons people talk about you are:
Reason #1: You — They like You and your Stuff.
Give your advocates a reason to talk about you. Bottom line: you have got to arouse some passion before they will talk. A decent product gets recommended to a friend but only passively — usually when they are asked directly about it.
Are you a member of a health club? “Yes, GHF is a great place.” versus “You HAVE to try the Abs and Glutes class, it is so much fun and my butt is killing me.”
Reason #2: Them — Talking Makes Them Feel Good
We want to look smart. A lot of people get their kicks out of being the expert. When we are telling people what to buy, try… We’re showing off what we know. Help your people look smarter. Give them “6 ways to get faster, lose weight, get stronger and look younger.”
We want to help other people. The desire to look smarter is often paired with higher level motivation, to help others. They want everyone to enjoy what they are enjoying. Help these folks help others: give them passes, samples and messages to forward
Reason #3: Us — They Feel Connected to the Group
The desire to be part of a group is one of the most powerful human emotions. Talking about products is one way we achieve connection, our cars, where we shop or where we eat. Members of groups coalesce around specific brands; Apple users, Harley-Davidson riders or sport teams.
Shawn Stewart is the Operations Manager at Gainesville Health and Fitness Center. Contact him at shawns@ghfc.com
