Blog #2 - Word of Mouth Marketing [Chapter 6 to end]

Blog #2 - Word of Mouth Marketing [Chapter 6 to end]

Thanking someone for their business seems easy but doesn’t happen nearly enough. Without their customers businesses would be no where yet it seems that customers are consistently forgotten – especially in the eyes of the bigger companies. Thankfulness definitely breeds loyalty among me and mine. It’s also something that we use in defense of businesses that we come in contact with on a regular basis. For various reasons, what bank we are a part of seems to be a recurring topic of conversation between those nearest to me Banks are an important subject to us because they are responsible for our finances and thus how we obtain our goods. It becomes a kind of a friendly back-and-forth when a friend and are part of competing banks. We each tend to stand-up for our banks – if they prove deserving. People take pride in their loyalty to certain businesses and it all comes down to them simply treating us like actual people.

I’ve had generally good transaction experiences in conducting business with Ebay. Ebay is how I shop for birthday and Christmas presents for my loved ones and therefore is very essential to my shopping needs. I’ve had several sellers include thank you cards with my packages and even one extraordinary seller give me a pair of earrings that matched a necklace I bought for my Mom just because she thought I would like them. Even though she didn’t know me she treated me as if I was an elite customer and on a slight level she conversed with me the way one would with a long-time friend. I in turn gave her a rave review on Ebay for which she also thanked me for. Now this seller went above and beyond the behavior sellers should abide by but this transaction was almost a year ago and I still remember it – which is not the case with many other sellers.

The abovementioned connects directly with businesses using good manners when dealing with customers. When we’re treated rudely at a store, we’re likely to never or rarely visit such an establishment again. Treatment can leave consumers positively or negatively astonished or neutral but the impact of rudeness tends to stay in our minds whenever a business has behaved impolitely and will surface every time they are brought back into our minds. People can hold grudges for a very long time, if not perpetually. When it comes down to it, how hard is it really to thank someone for taking interest in a product? Consumers don’t need companies the same way the companies need consumers. We will live on if a business in some industry goes bankrupt. The economy today gives consumers plethora of businesses that we may choose from. Treating customers like people and not numbers or dollar signs could and does make the difference in a business’ survival – especially in today’s marketplace. We have the power and we aren’t about to give it up, now or ever.