3 Simple Steps to Evangelical Marketing
Customer Evangelism is HOT "MMMMMMMM this is sooooooooooo good! You should have some!" Now, THAT'S an example of evangelical marketing.
It's not new, neighbors talk and share excitement of a product/service. I'm looking for new cleaning people, I'm asking around (seriously, if you're in Central Florida and know a good house cleaner, please email me).
Guy Kawasaki, the former chief evangelist of Apple Computer, is the father of evangelism marketing. In his books “The Art of the Start" and "How to Drive Your Competition Crazy” Kawasaki states that the driving force behind evangelism marketing is the fact that individuals simply want to make the world a better place.
Blabber-Mouths Are Your Friends
Building word of mouth into full-fledged
evanagelism grows companies faster than traditional marketing
This past month, I worked with Wyndham Vacation Ownership to get their loyal owners to share the good news with friends. Wyndham has a great product and their customers are really happy. So, what's the trick to get those customers to go out and spread the news?Incentives do not work. Monetary isn't the thing that gets these people motivated.
Look at various religions that focus on getting the news out. Do they offer those MONEY? No, they just want you to join in the fun on Sunday. Some use the threat of eternal damnation (that's another blog). But the key is it's EMOTIONAL not MONETARY. You want your friends to be happy and you want them to know you're the one that got them that happiness --that's the payout (ego, ego, ego!). Evangelist customers spread their recommendations and recruit new customers out of pure belief, not for the receipt of goods or money.
The goal of the customer evangelist is simply to provide benefit to other individuals.
Some evangelicals believe rule number one is you MUST have an excellent product or service. I don't. (of course, it's terrific if you do and I'm going to assume ya'll are perfect). But, more importantly, focus on the benefits and tell your customer the benefits --over and over until they believe it and know it. "This thing is AMAZING" is what should come out of your customer's mouth.
1. BRING EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Emphasize the benefits that customer has experienced and keep doing it. Don't lose contact after point of sale. In this communication, do not try and sell them something new, focus on the joy and aid that your product/service has brought to their world. - After some time from purchase, contact customer and ask/remind them about service, emphasis on the feel-good factor. When they say something nice about your product/service, repeat it to them.
- Tell them how much you value them and that single purchase (do not try and sell them another product, keep focused on the one they have and that they LOVE it).
- Then, as my line is: "put your hands in your lap and listen."
2. HIPPIE LOVE:
Build A Community for Your Clients
Encourage your customers to mingle, either physically or virtually - build a coalition of customers around your cause. All religion is communal even monks as they're studying within, go to retreats with other monks to do their thing (http://www.trappist.net(. In a seminal 1986 study, McMillan and Chavis identify four elements of "sense of community": 1) membership, 2) influence, 3) integration and fulfillment of needs, and 4) shared emotional connection. Communities have their own buzz-words, make sure people can post on your facebook page, have parties where customers can meet each other, etc...
POST (below, in blog-comment section) IDEAS FOR BUILDING SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
Starbucks Corporation, started an online customer community in 2008 called My Starbucks Idea, designed to collect suggestions for products or services and feedback from customers.[1] During the first year of the program, My Starbucks Idea generated 70,000 ideas through the site and approximately 50 changes based on customer suggestions were implemented.
3. CREATE A CAUSE
Focus on making your world, industry, community, and company a better place because you were involved.
It doesn't have to be all feel-goody granola-save-the-planet-rhetoric.
Organizations as diverse as Southwest Airlines, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, The Dallas Mavericks, IBM, and others successfully built their customer base and created targeted marketing programs to involve their biggest fans. These programs have produced legions of unofficial salespeople and a cost-effective and powerful marketing force.
Evangelical marketing is going to benefit your customers; they're going to loooooove you. Share this article directly with your customers to show you're thinking of better ways to connect, enhance their lives and to make our world a better place!
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