Daily, I read about the launch of campaigns using traditional media to promote products and service. In today's YouTube, Consumer Generated Media (CGM), mobile & Instant Messaging (IM) world, one has to ask...what would be the result if these same campaigns were WOM-enabledTM ?
Its the beginning of travel season and in two recent articles (one about Canadian tourism and the other about Florida tourism), descriptions about the launch of the Canadian Tourism Commission's "Keep Exploring" campaign and Florida Tourism Boards TV campaign "Passions in Your Own Backyard" traditional media vehicles were used. In the case of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau it has "tripled is efforts to reach Florida vacationers by running ads in more than 30 newspapers statewide" - in the case of Broward County, they have expanded its advertising spend by 10%. For those of you in the travel business, magazine and newspaper ads with luscious, emotional laden visuals of lapping waves, sandy beaches and glorious sunsets have been used for decades to lure tourist dollars.
I quick trip to the above tourism web sites shows just what WOMenabling can do to encourage engagement and sharing of travel experiences, but what other about something that is not as exciting as a vacation BUT carries a bigger price tag and ultimately carries an ongoing emotional wallop? What about a kitchen remodel?
Realtors and home builders know how important the kitchen is to the home. Images of home cooked meals, kids baking cookies, birthday cakes, family celebrations around a holiday meal - the memories that a family's kitchen conjures up is very powerful and yet most re-modelers focus on cabinets, counter tops and sinks. The emotional experience behind the granite and wood is what they are really selling. So lets look at WOM enabling the marketing of the total kitchen remodeling experience.
PLANNING - During the planning stages of an expensive remodel, what type of Web 2.0 activity could help with minimizing the fear of mistakes both in design and financial commitment? What if a potential buyer could tap into a community of recent customers to talk about what questions to ask, what materials they wish they used or not used etc. Once the decision to "go" has been made, what if a prospect had a place to view a number of pictures of customer's new kitchens submitted by them, not photos of finished kitchens, spotless and void of a human being and what if a potential buyer could email the past client to ask a question about any product, surface/material they see that they might like more information about. This approach moves the contractor from that of a 'vendor' to one of a resource and lays the foundation for future WOM talk among his current customer and their nearest and dearest 30 'best' friends.
THE REMODELING - Next comes the actual tear out and build. Anyone living through this process knows what a disruption this can be. What type of electronic tools could be used to help a client plan for the kitchen 'shut down'. An electronic "Things to Do List" , helpful hints from other homeowners who have gone through this process... AND what if the re-modeler contracted with local restaurants to offer discounted 'Remodeling Meals' for a limited time for the home owners to take advantage while their kitchens are no longer functioning - a simple coupon program could go far to cement the customer relationship for the builder and create a potential new relationship for the restaurant.
THE COMPLETED PROJECT - Once the kitchen is done the opportunity for sharing photos of your new kitchen with remote family members and friends could be facilitated through a blog managed by the contractor. And dont' forget those valuable family reciptes. How To tips related to key appliances or surfaces such as glass tiles and Cooking Lessons for maximizing your new appliances could be offered...the list is endless as to the value added content the remodeler could facilitate.
AFTER THE SALE - Product registrations and product maintenance are just a few other opportunities which allow the contractor to provide a sustained customer experience. By sending an email to the customer reminding them to register their products and email reminders for yearly maintenance 'to do's' such as filter changes for a microwave keeps the remodeler vitually in the customers mind's eye.
Does all of this take time and money? Sure, but the payback in word-of-mouth referrals is well worth the effort. So the next time you are developing a product or service, think outside the product/service box and think WOM-enabling!
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