An important aspect of any marketing strategy is the ability to cultivate relationships with individuals that can help your business grow. These are the influencers that contribute to the concept of word-of-mouth marketing. Over the years, I have spent time explaining this form of marketing to my clients and consider the best book on word-of-mouth marketing to be Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. He breaks down the 20% of people who influence decisions and their personality traits. Gladwell states that there are 3 types of people that are critical to word-of-mouth marketing and they are:
Connectors
The connector is someone who knows a lot of people. They generally have a lot of friends and acquaintances. This person will definitely have a person for almost everything you need.
Jason Huber from Huber Window Cleaning fits this description. If I need a referral he has a big Rolodex that he is willing to share.
https://huberwindowcleaning.com/
Mavens
The maven is curious about data, information, and ideas. They accumulate knowledge about everything! They will be able to answer your questions about certain products and services.
My mom is a great example of this. One time she felt like there was an issue with her purchase from Italpasta and wrote them a letter. She ended up being right and got a box full of products! They will question things from a different perspective.
Salesperson
The salesperson can get people behind their idea. They are persuasive, charismatic, and engaging storytellers. The salesperson can get people to believe in them if they had a good or bad experience.
We work with another Fred from Rent-A-Bin. He always has some good stories about things that are happening. His opinion has influenced my decisions from time to time.
Now you can start to see different types of people who play a big role in word-of-mouth marketing. For more information, I suggest you read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
To find out how to apply this knowledge to your specific business feel free to email me at: fred@rootsmarketing.ca.
Sources
The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
https://www.amazon.ca/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624