Jim Royce, April 2010
We’re in an economic time when every business and arts organization needs to look intently at its core audiences. They already know you and may be easier to attract than a newbie.
Ask yourself: what can I do to bring customers closer or more frequently to our product? How can I leverage their experience to generate more word of mouth or get it going faster and wider? What will it take to get newbies, lapsed members or single ticket buyers to purchase one more time?
Oscar Wilde’s famous remark, “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about,” is even more relevant in the age of social media and ten-second sound bites. And the rules of spreading chatter have not changed: ya gotta have something interesting to spread around; it must be easily talked about, credible, respectful and satisfying.
People love to talk. When they have information or an opinion they think is worth sharing, they won’t stop talking. Your mavens are key talkers, because mavens thrive as influencers and need constant content. Often friends see them as informed and therefore they earn respect and attention. What do your best friends do to inform you of the cool things they’ve experienced or get you to experience?
There is plenty of evidence that shows if you can influence 150 people to spread enthusiastic chatter online, it will move faster than a newspaper circulation with a million readers.
It’s our job to educate, inform, and build interesting chat. Make no mistake: you can’t decide what’s remarkable to someone else. You can only hope your stuff is what other people think is remarkable and want to talk about.
Accommodate your core loyalists and mavens with new perks and incentives to keep their attention. Offer payment plans, free parking, extra tickets, cookies, anything customers may not expect that send signals we are in this tough time together and we want to reward “your” loyalty, especially now.
Spend more time on relationships with people who are infrequent attendees. They can be influenced by your evangelism in these tough times. Evangelism brings out the passion in your work.
Revisit or revitalize the attributes that make your brand stand out. Now is not the time to make big changes unless you see major advantages at the end of the recession. Consumers want stability and trust that says we are capable of delivering high quality and engaging events.
Remember Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point? He spoke about ideas working like social or viral epidemics. They start small and grow because a few connectors see something unique, but other people, tastemakers, spread them to gain wider attention and “remark-ability.”
It is the power of a lively context in which most people accept interesting products, events or ideas. Make them gain stickiness and their attraction grows exponentially.
I love Andy Sernovitz’ (gaspedal.com) and Seth Godin (sethgodin.com). Both practice what they preach about word-of-mouth marketing and good strategic values. Andy’s classic remark haunts me every day: “People love to talk. They are talking about you and your stuff right now.” Yes they are. And Seth Godin’s famous book Purple Cow, made me a fan for life. (If you are driving down a long country road past herds of common ordinary cows, and all of a sudden one is purple, what would you do, think or feel? Do you have a purple cow?)
People talk to each other for advice, confirmation, and validation before committing to a significant decision or purchase. Value is a centerpiece in the customer’s mind and confirming value is critical to the sale process, particularly for high-cost experiences, like ours.
If you get excited about an arts event and you want to go, the next action is to talk about it with someone who will go with you. And you have to come up with a good reason to start the conversation. It’s up to us to help supply you with those opening lines.
WOM is more than just simple word of mouth. We have word-of-e-mail, word-by-blog, by Facebook, text messaging, YouTube, online search, and reader reviews in newspapers and web sites. And this is all happening with a landscape of social networking options that have dramatically changed the way people chatter and inform themselves.
Sernovitz says, “You’re getting talked about whether you like it or not. The conversation has started, so you might as well get involved. Word-of-mouth marketing only works if you have good products and services. It works if people like you and trust you. The best part, I’m convinced, is the more we participate, the more the conversation grows, and the more it becomes about us.”
It is our responsibility to provoke the chatter. Make sure tastemakers are an integral part of your audience makeup from the very beginning.
Make the chatter interesting and remarkable enough to spread. Participate through advertising, blogs, social networking, and the creation of online content to help fuel the word-of-mouth. We’re in the business of providing experiences people want to be engaged in and talk about.
Remember one of the key values of Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page: “Do no evil. Deliver more than expected.”
Finally, make your Web site rich with content – especially video – about your events and company brand. Spark meaningful word-of-mouth and participate honestly in the dialogue, especially if it is controversial. For the consumer, make your e-mail a trusted and useful source of information, service, and most of all, full of sticky news people will want to pass along to their friends – not just promotion. Build stronger social networks and deeper connections in your community.
Jim Royce is Director of Marketing, Communications and Sales at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, California’s most popular theatre company. CTG produces a wide and diverse range of theatrical experiences, from Broadway to incisive new work, at the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre. www.CenterTheatreGroup.org