How to check the level of Word of Mouth

In this post, I am going to continue to discuss how to check the level of Word of Mouth affecting the business.  In the last post on Word of Mouth, I shared a strategy to help shorten your customers purchasing decision time and impact your profit growth. This next stage in developing your Word of Mouth marketing strategy is a tool for checking the level of word of mouth affecting your marketing. That is the word of mouth circulating around your brand, products and services. This tool is known as the nine levels of word of mouth and helps to identify the levels of customer’s negativity, indifference and positivity.

So, working with these nine levels let’s begin with where you would want to check the word of mouth effect on your business. Let’s start with the worst first:

Minus 4

This is the worst and so bad it probably means the product is creating a scandal. Remember, how popular over-the-counter products hit the news as they are found to be unsafe. So, you won’t want that kind of word of mouth.

Minus 3

Dissatisfied customers are going out of their way to persuade other consumers not to purchase your company products and services. They are even boycotting the business.

Minus 2

When customers are asked about your product or business they will give a negative response.

Minus 1

At this level, people are slightly dissatisfied and while not outwardly sharing it, they will have an opinion on certain factors when asked. These people may even continue to purchase from us despite their negative feelings, which can be a little confusing.

Level 0

This is sort of a ‘middle of the road’ place to be. Customers are using the products, but don’t really talk about it. People rarely ask them about it, so they aren’t sharing their opinion with others. This can be a dangerous place to be, because a neutral view, you don’t understand, could turn into a negative one. In fact, that’s the reason to work to turn this into a positive one.

Plus 1

At this level, you are starting your rise into the positive word of mouth about your company, products and services. This Plus 1 indicates that people are generally pleased with your products, but still don’t really say anything about them unless asked.

Plus 2

Now they’re beginning to talk and it’s good! If asked, your customers will share how much they love your products.

Plus 3

Customers will go out of their way to talk about your products, services, company and their shopping experience with us. This is most evident when you see how people recommend holiday destinations to their friends and family.

Plus 4

Your product is very popular and sought after. Your business is the place to be. People are not only talking about how great products and services are.  People are talking about their shopping experience, the customer service and how they see your company products helping them in the future.  To mention any ‘Plus 4’ companies in this blog would date the content as it’s too easy to go back to that ‘Minus 4’ level.  As you all see in the news how bad and fake news spreads so quickly on social media.

That’s all for now on Word of Mouth Strategy next time it’s creating the way forward…

Take this information and use it on your business and check the level of word of mouth you are generating. If you need help with any of this process, take your FREE test drive to get help and tips from our experience.