How to get people talking about you (the right way)

If you think direct mail is complicated and mysterious, take a look at word of mouth. And you'd be smart to take a look, because word of mouth is the single thing that influences people's spending decisions more than anything else -- including direct mail. By a long shot.

There's a new report out from eMarketer on word of mouth: Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Winning Friends and Influencing Customers (this is a summary; the full report costs $695).

Here are two facts that should make you sit up and take notice:

• 91% of US adults regularly or occasionally seek advice about products or services
  
• 94% give advice to others about products or services
  

In our marketing-saturated culture, word of mouth matters more than ever. People simply don't believe the claims made in marketing, so they ask people they know and trust instead.

And the internet makes this person-to-person knowledge sharing easier and more powerful. Untainted, genuine opinions on just about anything are no farther away than Google. And that no doubt includes nonprofits.

You can't force anyone to talk about you, much less stay faithful to your brand. But you can take steps so folks who know anything about you know something good and worth sharing with others:

Have a clean donor list. Sloppy records really make you look bad. From misspelled names to duplicate records, your mistakes tell your donors you are sloppy, don't care, and won't use their money well. You can imagine conversation that springs from messy records -- it's not something you want being said about you.

Don't screw up. Scandals can hurt your reputation for decades. People remember them, talk about them, even blow them out of proportion.

Be authentic. Tell the truth in a plain-spoken way. Don't ever try to BS anybody. That alone will make you memorable.

Be remarkable. Do something different, exciting, and compelling. Do something nobody else does. Do something that has a narrative built in so people can pass it along. Do something that magnifies donors' impact and connects with their vision for a better world.

Thanks to Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That! for the tip.

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