| Copyright (c) 2009 Richard Seppala | | | | would drag in their friends and family and make |
| The "Ins and Outs" of WOM Marketing | | | | them try the food. "In-N-Out" fostered the cult |
| Word of Mouth (or WOM, if you can handle | | | | by having secret "off-menu" items at restaurants |
| another acronym) has long been seen as one of | | | | that only the regulars knew about. |
| the most effective ways to increase ROI | | | | But many a quality product has foundered |
| inexpensively. It's the concept behind most of the | | | | through lack of marketing expertise. In this case, |
| social networking marketing going on today | | | | the management knew how to use their |
| through Facebook, Digg, Twitter and other Web | | | | customers to their best advantage. |
| 2.0 applications. | | | | In the 80's, they pulled off a relatively inexpensive |
| But before you or I ever heard of the internet - | | | | marketing campaign that tapped into their |
| and when computers were closer to the size of | | | | grassroots WOM appeal - and hit the ROI bulls |
| the offices they now sit in - one Southern | | | | eye by taking the franchise's cult status into the |
| California franchise built its success on WOM, as | | | | mainstream. Periodically, they would give away |
| well as increasing their marketing ROI from their | | | | "In-N-Out" bumper stickers to customers. They |
| small-scale advertising campaigns. "Business Week" | | | | would then send out spotters to write down the |
| writer Stacy Perman recently wrote a book on | | | | license plate numbers of cars with the bumper |
| how the "In-N-Out Burger" chain achieved cult | | | | stickers on them and hold drawings to award |
| status by, first, being the real deal, and second, | | | | prizes such as trips to Hawaii, video recorders, |
| using its very satisfied customer base to spread | | | | microwaves, etc. It was a tremendous success. |
| the word and increase sales. | | | | At the time, a restaurant trade magazine wrote, |
| Let's talk about the first part - being the real deal. | | | | "The burger Goliaths doing business in Southern |
| "In-N-Out" insisted on putting only fresh quality | | | | California must surely envy the kind of hometown |
| ingredients into their burgers. Not only that, but | | | | customer enthusiasm which can turn little David in |
| imagine a fast food franchise paying employees | | | | the form of In-N-Out into a self-advertising car |
| more than minimum wage, and throwing in great | | | | cult." |
| benefits to boot. That's what "In-N-Out" was all | | | | WOM, used the right way, is way more |
| about from the beginning - treating both workers | | | | inexpensive and delivers way more powerful ROI |
| and customers as well as possible. And because it | | | | than any conventional marketing techniques. By |
| was a privately-owned family operation, there | | | | the way, if you've never had the chance to have |
| was no stockholder pressure to lower standards | | | | an "In-N-Out Burger" and you're wondering just |
| in order to improve profit margins. The family | | | | how good they are, let me give you an idea. You |
| was free to build on its quality formula from the | | | | know Gordon Ramsey, the notoriously |
| beginning when they opened the first restaurant in | | | | short-tempered and world-acclaimed chef who |
| 1948. | | | | slices and dices contestants on a regular basis on |
| Over the years they built up an insanely happy | | | | "Hell's Kitchen?" One time he stopped by an |
| group of customers that visited the limited | | | | In-N-Out for the first time, had a Double Double, |
| number of carefully-located sites regularly. | | | | drove away - and five minutes later, came back |
| Celebrities began openly touting "In-N-Out Burger" | | | | for another one! |
| in interviews without being paid to do it. Patrons | | | | |