How Connecting Personally with Customers Builds Positive Word of Mouth: A Lesson from Belly Restaurant in Portland

Do you feel like the recession is really over? That seems to be the message I'm hearing from most economists but that not what most business owners are telling me. Recently, I've spoken with entrepreneurs struggling to just make payroll and keep their companies going.

With tight budgets, I've also heard owners and managers say they can't afford to market their products or services. I find that belief sad because they're missing out on tremendous opportunities to grow their business using low-cost yet effective word of mouth marketing techniques. 

Recently, Belly Restaurant in Portland, Oregon taught me a valuable lesson about how connecting personally with customers is an incredibly powerful way to build positive word of mouth. If you want me to share more word of mouth marketing lessons like this one via video, please let me know.

Also, how do you connect personally to your customers so they stay loyal and recommend your business?

 

Comments

[Bill Conerly]

Great story. I have my assistant de-brief clients after an engagement. She works from a set of questions we crafted together. I've found it's easier for a third person to get negative comments--they are too polite to tell me to my face that my fly is open. But I need the feedback.

[Patrick Galvin]

Bill, thanks for the great tip! It makes a lot of sense to have your assistant do the follow up calls since people rarely have the gumption to complain directly to the service provide (unless they're really tweaked). Oftentimes, many people have some problems with a product or service provider that irritate them but not enough to complain directly. When these small things add up, it can be a big problem. You're simple way to expand the opportunity for constructive criticism makes a lot of sense.