Everyone in the world has been part of word of mouth advertising at some point in their lives. Any time you mention how great a restaurant was or rave about a movie, you are providing word of mouth advertising for that respective business.

Anyone that has been in business long enough knows that word of mouth advertising is one of the most powerful forms of advertising in the world. This form of advertising has been around for millennia and will continue regardless of technological advances. That being said, word of mouth is even more powerful now because of the World Wide Web. The reach and virility of the web has made everyone’s sphere of influence that much more powerful and effective.

Here are some ways to strengthen your word of mouth advertising:

• Leverage social media. Social networking sites like Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, YouTube and others have radically changed how your voice can affect business.
• Create an incentive for existing clients, affiliates or others to share your business with the world.
• Hold an event that creates a viral buzz (i.e. a golf tournament).
• Do something extraordinary for your clients/customers that is unexpected. They will tell a lot of people about it.
• Video is the King of Viral. It doesn't have to be perfect as long as it engages people and gives them sonething to talk about. Humor, shock, new, secrets and out of the ordinary all help create a viral video.

The Buzz / Being Viral
Ultimately, any healthy “word of mouth” campaign should create a buzz. Something that everyone is talking about. Do you remember when Budweiser came out with their “Waaaz uuup” videos/commercials? Everyone for a while was saying “Waaaz uuup” and it became a viral sensation. Viral content grows exponentially and spreads quickly. Creating that powerful buzz may be challenging, but once unleashed, it is both the most effective and the least expensive way to market your business in the world.

Creating a campaign that triggers a buzz everywhere is rarely an easy thing to do, however, implementing it is easier than you think. There are so many mediums at our disposal these days to create viral content such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter (Social Media). Alternatively, there are more traditional ways to get the buzz going such as flyers, radio, TV and qualified direct mail. Unfortunately, some of the traditional ways, except TV, which can be very cost prohibitive, rarely are capable of creating a buzz or even having any meaningful impact on your marketing efforts.

Where to start
Below are some starting questions to help you along your way to starting a viral sensation for your company. The simple questions below will help you and your staff find some areas in which it will be most effective.

• What does your target market need most?
• What does your target market want most?
• What is the current trend in your industry?
• What are your competitors doing currently that you can do better?
• If you have a product, is it addictive? (Do not include food related items)
• If you have a service, is it positively experiential for clients?
• How does your product or service make people feel?
• Does your product or service add effectiveness, efficiency or affordability to people lives?

There is a whole world out there that is in need of your services that you are not taking advantage of. There are a variety of niches and demographics that are left without pursuit. Especially in tougher economic times, this is just money being left on the table. Below are a few different areas that businesses should consider to expand their client base.

Geographic Market
There are several important factors to consider regarding various geographic markets. First, your local geography is your greatest asset. Many companies that do business on a national level do not take the time to own their own local market. The local market is the easiest to tap because of an existing knowledge of the area. It is also the most inexpensive. Most businesses should consider pursuing at least a 20% to 30% market share of their local business. The greatest advantage is the opportunity to meet face to face, extend a little greater customer service, build relationships and get strong testimonies. This will be your arsenal when pursuing national clients.

The second consideration is geography in general. There may be some great opportunities because of areas that are distant or not easily accessible that your competitors may not like to pursue. How far will you go for a client and what will they say about you for doing so? Most will appreciate anyone that goes out of the way for them.

Other considerations could be the geographic climate itself such as areas that experience unique weather (i.e. beach front property). It may be that there are opportunities that are unique to an area due to their climate. Heavy rainfall or extraordinarily dry weather may cause problems that your product or service may be able to solve. If this is the case then targeting these areas could prove to be very lucrative.

Languages and Cultures
One of the most neglected markets is the minority group. Producing multilingual marketing material or simply providing multilingual staff to work with minorities is a great way to open up those markets. Take the time to translate your website into a least one other language, preferably a language that is prominent in your country or region. For example, if your business is located in the state of California in the U.S. then Spanish is an obvious choice.

It always important to consider that what may not be of value to one culture is quite valuable to another. Discover what is needed for other cultures in your area and see if your business can fulfill that need.

Educating staff on various cultures will help them feel more comfortable and provide easier opportunities to do business with those people groups. Culture is not limited to foreign nationals but also counter cultures within your own country (i.e. punk, goth, surfer, etc.).

Niche Markets
Tapping into various niche markets can be very profitable. There are an enormous amount of niche markets that are overlooked every year. The ones that are leveraged by businesses, however, are well exploited and those companies usually make a small fortune.


Demographics
When it all comes down to it, having a healthy knowledge of your demographics is absolutely key to successfully taking hold of the greatest share of your market. Demographics tell you several things that are relevant to your business. Here is a list of important items that you should consider:

• Age group that will use your product or service
• Percentage of your market that makes up this age group
• Available market share for age group
• Gender
• Percentage of male vs. female clients using product or service
• Proper targeting
• Race / Ethnicity / Religion
• Ratio of ethnic groups
• Percentage of ethnic groups that are relevant to your business
• Calculate ratios to market share
• Household Income / Wealth Index
• Percentage of households that can afford your product or service
• Median gaps by area
• Affordability to profitability ratios
• Need / Want
• Objective look at whether your product or service is actually needed or wanted

Though there are several other factors that you may want to consider depending on your industry, the above factors are some of the most important.

Surveys are great tools to help you gather the right information to make informed decisions about leveraging your services or products with the various demographics. There are many companies that provide surveys or you can take advantage of social media and create one of your own. Doing your research before taking action on tapping into other areas of your market will save you money and headaches. If you think bigger and look deeper into the world around you, you will find a great, untapped market.

Words are a funny thing. You can use them to get rich but if you use them incorrectly
they will make you poor. Words can be used to make peace or start a war. Words are
definitely powerful. Some words work with one industry while the same ones do not
work in another. In business, words can mean the difference between success and failure.

In this economy many successful businesses are building relationships, sometimes exclusively, with businesses that compliment themselves or add value for their clients. Most successful business owners have seen that there is great value in not trying to do it all yourself. In fact, no successful business really stands alone.