Infectious 'buzz marketing' is a smart way to build customer loyalty at your operation

Nation's Restaurant News,  April 30, 2007  by Jim Matorin

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This past year I have had the good fortune to talk about a subject I am most passionate about, "buzz marketing." The term was coined by marketing gurus who wanted to spread their message among people through word-of-mouth.

Advertising expenditures have now topped the $150 billion mark, with television accounting for approximately 40 percent of all spending. It's no surprise that the medium exhibiting the highest percentage of growth has been the Internet. The chief reason can be attributed to the evolution of websites.

Remember how the first generation of websites was all about human-computer interaction? Now the current generation is all about social networks--people not only interacting with their computer or with information, but also interacting with each other. The last published numbers I saw said there were approximately 20 million blogs in the United States alone, with roughly 350,000 daily postings.

Oh yes, let's not forget cell phones--three out of four people in the United States connect regularly, thanks to their cell phones. That is a lot of people talking. As a result, marketers now recognize that the new network technology is a great conduit to share information peer-to-peer and build customer loyalty.

True buzz is like a virus that changes to meet the challenge of a new environment. There are three distinct stages: inoculation, or the introduction of a product; incubation, or the use of the product by a few innovative trendsetters; and infection, or widespread use of the product among the mainstream.

In keeping with the virus metaphor, I believe that any good buzz marketing campaign starts by establishing what I call points of infection. Then the buzz phenomenon multiplies, thanks to the advent of social networks. Here are three points of infection that I recommend creating:

* Authenticity touch points: We all work hard at differentiating our operations in our overcrowded industry. One small but powerful way to express genuine interest and gratitude for a loyal customer's patronage is a handwritten thank-you note. Think about it. How many handwritten thank-you notes do people receive in a year?

Another authenticity touch point suggestion would be a birthday card or an anniversary card. True, it's a tedious data capture, but one that would be meaningful to the recipient. Besides, it is a great way to build the party size, since people tend to celebrate these special occasions in the company of others.

What about having your staff hand out a random gift as a token of appreciation--a best-selling book or free passes to the nearest multiplex. Think people will start talking? You bet!

* Freebies: People love freebies. I am totally amazed we do not steal a page from our retail-grocery brethren by offering free samples--a taste of a new wine, side dish or dessert that you are looking at cycling into your restaurant's menu. Besides providing your customers with a freebie, you have just created a great, cost-effective way to gather patron feedback. How about offering a free meal spur of the moment, such as for the best-dressed diner or the couple with the best-behaved kids? Think how those customers who enjoyed the freebies might spread the word.

* Something crazy: Remember, when it comes to this third point of infection, there are no bad ideas.

Stealing a page from Mike Veeck, the minor-league baseball marketing guru, offer a Labor Day special--expectant mothers eat for free. That's another great way to build party sizes because chances are that the expectant mother will be eating out with her husband, kids or parents. Oh, by the way, the expectant mother probably will not be drinking.

We all gear up for making a killing on Valentine's Day. Why wait all year for February 14th? Why not create some buzz by promoting Valentine's Day in August? Flavors and culinary creations from around the world are on the rise. Imagine if one of your patrons actually won a trip to the place of origin of one of your exotic culinary menu offerings, or a long weekend at a bed and breakfast in Napa Valley.

When it comes to marketing our restaurant concepts, we all understand that we have to find and achieve the marketing mix that best works for building our business.

However, with the rising costs of traditional media, we need to put on our creative hats and capitalize on the social networks that are surfacing thanks to the Internet and cell phones.

Therefore, we need to think about creating cost-effective points of infection that generate buzz within these growing networks.

By generating authenticity touch points, combining those with a dash of freebies and doing something crazy once in awhile, chances are your customers will be satisfied, and their network will help build fanatical loyalty or an end result that I coined in one of my speeches: "Customer karma happens!"

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors and management at Nation's Restaurant News.

Jim Matorin is a "business catalyst" with Smartketing in Philadelphia.

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