Last week at SWOMfest there was a lot of talk about the function of word of mouth and it's relationship to customer loyalty. I'm guessing it will also be a hot topic next week at the WOMMA Summit. If you watched the video of word of mouth ideas I posted earlier this week, you may have noticed a common thread: the customer experience. I've created a diagram so you can visually see the relationship between word of mouth and customer loyalty.
The idea is to create a remarkable customer experience first, which earns you both loyalty and word of mouth. The number one factor in creating customer loyalty is the experience customers have with your business. Word of mouth is very important in new customer acquisition. It may create trial, but word of mouth by itself does not create customer loyalty.
The customer experience dynamic is the engine that gets new customers in your door and then keeps them there longer.
Related Articles on Word of Mouth & Customer Experience
Word Of Mouth Tips from Jackie Huba
The Customer Experience Map
A Remarkable Customer Experience
Magic Spots in The Customer Experience
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4 comments:
Great article - thanks
Some small businesses rely too much on word-of-mouth strategies as their only form of business development. One reason for this kind of thinking is the perceived lower cost of WOM than mass communication mediums such as advertising or print mediums
I wasn't able to attend the SWOMFest this year, but here are some additional thoughts.
- Does Word of Mouth always come from a remarkable experience? There can be negative WOM from a poor experience.
- Customer loyalty does come over time, from repeated remarkable customer experiences. It also produces organic growth, as those loyal customers are often willing to buy more, thus expanding their share of wallet with a business.
- I agree that word of mouth does not create customer loyalty, and vice versa. A remarkable customer experience, which comes from meeting and exceeding customer expectations, is becoming more and more critical to a solid customer base in this challenging economy.
Thanks for starting the conversation on this one, Jay!
Great points, Becky. Word of mouth can be negative too. And it doesn't have to necessarily be a bad experience, just an unremarkable one.
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