How to Transform Word-Of-Mouth Marketing

Plot twist: Your top performer isn't even on payroll. While you're grinding through cold calls and perfecting pitch decks, your actual sales superstars are sitting in your customer base, and most companies completely ignore them. Think about it: Who's more convincing? ❌ You explaining why your product is amazing ✅ A customer explaining how it transformed their business Here's the playbook that's turning customers into commission-free closers: 🎯 Turn success into content: Skip the generic thank-you note. Get that win in front of eyeballs; case studies, LinkedIn posts, video testimonials. Success is contagious. 🎤 Hand them the microphone: A 2-minute customer video explaining their transformation beats your entire sales deck. Let them tell the story in their words. 🔄 Build the referral machine: Make customer intros part of every quarterly check-in. The best reps I know cut their sales cycles in half with warm introductions. 💬 Steal their language: Stop using marketing speak. Use the exact words your customers use to describe their problems and wins. That's what resonates with prospects. 🏆 Make them famous: Customer of the month. Slack shoutouts. Social media features. People love recognition, and others want to be next. The reality check: Your customers aren't just buying your product; they're betting their reputation on it. When they succeed, they become walking proof that you deliver. And in a world where everyone's selling, proof beats promises every time. Your customers already said yes once. Now make them want to repeat it for you. #sales #customersuccess

An excerpt from my newsletter, The Baer Facts: Is Your Differentiator Experienced, or Just Noticed? Word of mouth remains the best way to grow any business.   But as I wrote about in Talk Triggers, you have to create viral conversation with intention.   The big mistake most businesses make is assuming that competency will create conversation. It doesn't.    People don't talk about good, we talk about the unexpected.   This is why it is critical that any differentiator in your business be experienced, not just noticed.   I was at the Ritz Carlton in Cleveland last week, for a 3-day meeting with a mastermind group of professional speakers.    Lovely property, including a bowl of perfect green apples near the elevator. On the last day, I asked my 20 colleagues if any of them had noticed the apples. Most had. Did any of them eat the apples?    No.   Would any of them tell a story to someone else about those apples?   Definitely no.   The apples are something that simply EXISTS. And that doesn't create stories.   Instead, you must design something that OCCURS. Stories are built from experiences, not bullet points.   Contrast the bowl of apples with the famous chocolate chip cookie at DoubleTree hotels.   It's a piping hot cookie, baked onsite, that is physically handed to the guest at check-in. It cannot be avoided or ignored. It is experienced.   And that makes all the difference in word of mouth.   In the research for Talk Triggers, we found that ~ 30% of DoubleTree guest tell someone else a story about that cookie. And pre-pandemic they were handing out ~ 75,000 cookies each day, globally.   That's 25,000 stories every 24 hours, based on a COOKIE.   Is a cookie inherently better than an apple? That's a question for your dietician, but the way the cookie is deployed is much better than a bowl of apples passively being....apples.   If you want your customers to talk about you - and you do - give them a story to tell.    But it needs to be something that OCCURS, not simply something that EXISTS. #thebaerfacts #newsletter #cx

Do your employees genuinely love your company? If not, why should your customers? How can employee enthusiasm transform customer experiences? And what can you do about it? Employee passion = Customer loyalty. It's not just feel-good theory; the data speaks volumes: - Loyalty: Companies with highly engaged employees see 10% higher customer ratings (Gallup). - Retention: Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave (Harvard Business Review). - Growth: Firms with engaged teams achieve 2.5x more revenue growth (Bain & Company). These numbers tell a compelling story. Employee passion directly impacts your bottom line. 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 5 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨: 1. Engagement Breeds Excellence When employees are invested in their work, it shows. ✳️Engaged employees go the extra mile for customers. ✳️Job satisfaction naturally leads to higher-quality work. ✳️Genuine enthusiasm is contagious. 2. Shared Values Create Consistency A team aligned with your mission delivers a coherent experience across all touchpoints. ✳️Aligned teams provide reliably familiar services. ✳️Values-driven culture means consistent brand image. ✳️Customers benefit from a unified message. 3. Satisfaction Fuels Innovation Happy employees aren't just more productive; they're more innovative. ✳️Happy employees are more likely to suggest improvements. ✳️Job satisfaction cultivates a problem-solving mindset. ✳️Customer needs are better served by an innovative workforce. 4. Stability Builds Relationships Low turnover isn't just good for HR metrics. ✳️Low turnover = lower operational costs. ✳️Long-term employees accumulate valuable knowledge and skills. ✳️Consistent staff leads to more personalized customer service. 5. Authentic Advocacy Amplifies Your Brand Employees who genuinely love their work become natural brand ambassadors. ✳️Satisfied employees are your best sales team. ✳️Word-of-mouth marketing is powered by genuine job enthusiasm. ✳️Customer trust grows through authentic employee endorsements. So, how do we cultivate this employee love? Here are practical steps: - Prioritize well-being: Implement health support programs. - Foster open communication: Create channels for feedback and ideas. - Invest in growth: Provide skill development and career advancement opportunities. - Recognize contributions: Acknowledge and reward great work. - Align goals and values: Ensure your mission resonates with your team. This isn't about ping-pong tables or free snacks. It's about creating an environment where your team can do their best work and feel proud of it. When your employees love your company, that translates into superior customer experiences. And in today's world, it could be your strongest differentiator.

Just had coffee with a founder friend. "Yeah we spend $50k monthly on ads" "How's it working?" "Pretty good - about 100 demos booked last month" Then he showed me something that I honestly didn't know was possible in the B2B world... One of his power users posted about their product on Twitter. Just a simple thread about how it cut their workflow in half. He also included a link to book a demo at the end. That tweet brought in 600 demo requests. In. Two. Days. Let that sink in: One happy customer > $50,000 in ads This changes everything. Your best salespeople aren't your salespeople. They're your happy customers because: • Advocates convert 2-3x better than sales reps • 83% of people trust friend recommendations • Half of all purchases come from word-of-mouth And they pay YOU to do it. Think about it - your customers are basically a sales team that gives YOU commission. Focus here: 1. make your product so good it's worth talking about. 2. build a customer advocacy program to make sure turning happy customers into evangelists doesn't just happen by chance 3. reward your superfans for spreading the word in ways that matter to them (not just free swag) & get out of their way That's leverage.