Often I am asked why companies aren’t “jumping in the boat” to become sponsors for our events. It has been our experience that sponsors present the objection that our events engage only a few thousand people at one time, and that since our guests come from all over demographically speaking, we are too big for any one region to support and too small for national budgets. In response to these objections, I always ask the company to consider the value of having their product in the hands of people who are having the time of their lives, of tapping into an active community and having a genuine conversation with potential customers, earning their trust and arming them with knowledge and passion to share with peers. What could be more valuable than that?
Most of the time, it ends with them looking elsewhere to get a banner at a festival of 50,000 people because of the cost per thousand . However, I believe that this is finally beginning to change as major brands are seeing the value of Word of Mouth. We had no choice to but to build our business by leveraging the power of Word of Mouth and take it very seriously that 75% of our guests hear about us via an artist or a friend.
For instance, this theory makes sense when I think about the the last 10 things I spent my time and / or money on…..
Leapin Lizzards – a good friend told me about this place a mile from my house that was a great place to take the kids to enjoy their “bounce houses and blow up slides”. Been there 2x in 2 weeks.
Facebook – had 3 conversations with different people in one week about their experience on Facebook so I finally dove in.
IPhone – saw all the commercials but held off my decision to purchase until I spoke to a few peers who were having a good experience with it.
Case for IPhone – asked our IT guy which case he preferred and he recommended the Agent 18 hard case.
Computer Bag – a friend was raving about his new Oakley bag and how well it worked for him. I ordered one on-line and love it.
Jeans – asked the girls in the office where I could get a good pair of dress jeans. One of them recommend a boutique in Atlanta I had never heard of.
Harvard Business Review – at a breakfast meeting, a colleague mentioned that the articles in this magazine were very helpful for him, so I subscribed.
Wii – my neighbors would not shut up about it. Its the best family video game I have seen.
GMC Acadia – saw one in an airport and asked my wife to consider it. She went to drive one and loved it.
Kindle – Haven’t bought it yet but plan on it when I can afford it. Our pastor told the story about how he wanted to hate it but after trying it was hooked.
While all these purchases weren’t 100% influenced by Word of Mouth, it certainly played a crucial role in making the final decision. Lets hear about your last few purchases and the role Word of Mouth played in it.
-Andy