Buckle up, folks! We have 15 word-of-mouth marketing ideas that will wow, surprise, and delight your customers!
In the world of marketing, NOTHING beats the sheer power of word-of-mouth. Paid ads, content marketing, etc, are useful and have their place, but getting your customers to rave to other potential customers about what you sell is magical.
We believe when it comes to marketing, it’s not just about meeting expectations; it’s about exceeding them and creating unforgettable story moments.
Supercharge Your Business with 15 Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Ideas!
The list below is (obviously) not every word-of-mouth marketing idea available, but it is a list we think is very actionable and many items on it have come from our own experiences.
There are 3 categories of word-of-mouth ideas we’re going to break things down into:
- 🤩 Special and Seen
- 🤪 Silly and Absurd
- 🙌 Exceed or Subvert Expectations
Ready to up your marketing game? Let’s goooo….
🤩 Special and Seen Category
Word-of-mouth marketing idea #1: Personalized Thank You Packages
This is a tactic we LOVE, but it does take a good amount of physical effort. The idea is to go the extra mile by creating personalized thank-you packages for every customer.
The best way we’ve found to surprise people with these packages is to collect information about things they like and their shipping address in a post-purchase survey (💡 Pro-tip: Embed a survey directly on your post-purchase thank you page for highest conversion!)
Here’s a photo of the packages we used to put together for a previous product we sold:
Word-of-mouth idea #2: Handwritten Notes
Piggybacking off of #1, if you want a simpler version that still provides a lovely experience for your customers, a simple handwritten note can work wonders! It’s a small gesture that carries a big impact and you shouldn’t underestimate the power of a heartfelt message.
#3: Custom Superhero Avatars
Turn your customers into superheroes with custom superhero avatars. You could do this by taking a submitted photo through a post-purchase survey or finding their photo through some Google sleuthing. Then, if you don’t have the talents to create superhero avatar images (we don’t either!) hire someone on Fiverr or Upwork. You could also try to use AI tools like Dall-E or Midjourney too!
Creating superhero avatars might be a silly idea, but it will make your customers feel like they’re part of an exclusive club (and it’s fun!)
#4: Custom Freebies or Resources
Send your customers customized freebies or resources tailored to THEIR needs. It’s one thing to give someone an extra resource post-purchase, it’s an entire other to have it be customized to their business and their problems! Show your customers you care about their success 👍👍.
#5: Act on Survey Details
That post-purchase survey is a goldmine of content to help you wow your customers and create a word-of-mouth marketing moment! What answers did you get in the survey that you can act on in some way? And if you can’t act on the survey responses right away, just setting a follow-up reminder where you reach back out to a customer in 2-3 months to check in on them can go a long way!
#6: Children’s Book With Their Story
What if you turned your customer’s ideal journey into a children’s book? Your customer becomes the hero of the story and you add magical and fantastical twists and turns they have to take on their path! Do they encounter a bridge-dwelling troll who wants to stop them from building an email list? Or is there a chasm that opens up in front of selling their first product? Your imagination could go wild and who doesn’t want to be the star of a children’s book??
🤪 Silly and Absurd Category
#7: Silly and Absurd Videos
Inject humor into your customer experience wherever possible. Right after someone makes a purchase, is there a silly or fun moment you can create with a video? Or, in your post-purchase automated email sequence that onboards your customer, can you add an email with a surprise video that creates a moment of delight?
#8: Hidden Easter Eggs
Add hidden Easter eggs to your website or digital products! Surprise your customers with unexpected, delightful discoveries when they click on certain things or stumble upon a bit of text you added a link to that they didn’t expect.
#9: User-Generated Content
Celebrate something fun that your customers all have in common. If you’re finding that your customers are always talking about their pets in your community, turn those conversations and photos shared into something fun, like a “Pets of [Your Brand]” yearbook for your customers’ furry friends.
🙌 Exceed or Subvert Expectations Category
#10: Reach Out To Long-Time Customers
This is one of the SIMPLEST word-of-mouth marketing opportunities! Call, text, DM, or email long-time customers out of the blue to thank them. Show them they’re valued and check in to see what they’re up to. Bonus points if they’ve been around long enough that you have something of value to give them to surprise and delight them.
#11: Website Audit or Personalized Advice
For this one to work, you MUST not mention it anywhere! Pop open your Loom app or anything where you can record your screen and do an audit or personalized breakdown of your customer’s website, sales page, or even the product itself. Give them actionable advice (and praise!) to help them move a step forward. If you’re not excited about being on camera, you can also do a written audit or report too!
#12: Surprise Non-Profit Donation
Many business owners use a charitable donation as a marketing tactic. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, but there is another way to do this that can add a spark of excitement. We want you to think about donating a percentage of a customer’s without them knowing about it, which creates an unexpected and heartwarming moment. Bonus points if you want to ask in a post-purchase survey what causes a customer is most interested in supporting and your donation is in that specific niche.
#13: Printed Version of a Workbook/Resource
Digital workbooks are great, but we all love receiving something in the mail. Think about sending a physical workbook or resources alongside your digital products to exceed your customers’ expectations. Even if you don’t have a printed version now, could you cobble something together that helps your customer take action while holding the item in their hands?
#14: Your “Golden Ticket”
We all know about Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket, but what about creating your own Golden Ticket? What’s a place within your product redemption flow where you could add your own Golden Ticket? A moment where your customers could stumble upon a secret item that they could redeem for another product, a discount, or something else from you!
Combine All 3 Word-Of-Mouth Categories!
#15: Customer Movie Trailer
This is our grand finale! Imagine you were to combine many elements from the previous 14 word-of-mouth marketing ideas and create a custom movie trailer for your customer’s business. What could be really exciting about this idea is if the movie trailer was so great that your customer wanted to use it and showcase it EVERYWHERE! That means they want to talk about YOU everywhere! It’s a wild and unexpected way to show appreciation and create shareable content.
Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Wrap-Up!
There you have it—15 sensational word-of-mouth marketing ideas that will leave your customers talking and your business soaring.
The key to utilizing customer word-of-mouth growth is to surprise, delight, and exceed expectations. Make your customers feel special, indulge in silliness, and subvert expectations.
Don’t forget to make sharing known, easy, and rewarding. With these ideas, you’ll turn your customers into your most enthusiastic advocates, giving your business the ultimate power boost!
