Thousands of small, retail stores open every year, but 70 to 80 percent of them close within five years. Many are done in by the big box and Internet retailers who crush competition with low prices and convenience. But smaller retail stores and service providers have distinct competitive advantages: They are local. They can connect on a personal level with customers in a way the big guys can't. And they can add immense value to the customer experience. To capitalize on these advantages, marketing experts Steve O'Leary and Kim Sheehan offer dozens of inexpensive Word of Mouth marketing methods small businesses can use right away. Done well, these efforts will help smaller merchants do more than survive-they'll prosper.For independent retailers to succeed, it is no longer enough to create a loyal customer base. Local store marketers need to put their loyal customers to work, encouraging them to talk about the store to their friends, family members, and others in their social networks. When they do, the result is Word of Mouth (or Buzz) marketing, a powerful tool that creates an army of advocates who become even more loyal and help attract new customers. Besides learning how to leverage the power of word of mouth marketing, readers will learn: -How to understand their customers better. -How to increase customer loyalty to their store. -How to communicate with customers to maintain loyalty. -How to encourage loyal customers to talk to others about their store. -How to create a customer community, both in the store and on line. -How to measure results. The book also includes numerous examples from current businesses, as well as thought-provoking ideas and templates to help readers generate their own successful buzz marketing plans. Most resources available today on buzz marketing focus on techniques for large companies and online retailers. This book offers something priceless for the little guy by showing ways to increase loyalty and gain new customers.

By putting the information in this book to use, small retail stores and service providers can beat back Big Chain competition and prosper.

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1:The Importance of Word of Mouth and Customer CommunitiesToday's Retail EnvironmentWhat Are Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Customer Communities?What Customer Communities Will Do for Your BusinessWhy Word-of-Mouth Marketing Is So Popular NowWhy You Should Harness the Power of Word of MouthWord of Mouth and the Local Store AdvantageHow a Customer Community Fits into Your Advertising PlanSumming UpChapter 2:Who Are Your Customers?Getting Started: Defining Your Trading Area by Geography and ZIP CodesMoving Forward: Determining the Demographics of Your Trading AreaTaking It Further: Looking at Your Business by Customer SegmentsYour Loyalty Segments: The Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting the Data About Your CustomersSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 3:Getting Started with Word of MouthGetting Started: Backgrounds, Definitions, and History of Word of MouthJust What Is Word of Mouth?Getting Started: Understanding the Impact of Word of MouthMoving Forward: The Elements of a Word-of-Mouth CampaignMoving Forward: Using Information to Create Word of MouthMoving Forward: Delivering the CommunicationTaking It Further: Working with Traditional AdvertisingTaking It Further: Using Word of Mouth with the Family, Flirts, and PhantomsTaking It Further: Creating and Working with Store ChampionsSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 4:Encouraging and Rewarding Word of Mouth with Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting Started: Asking Your Customers to Talk About Your StoreMoving Forward: Understanding Reward and Loyalty SystemsMoving Forward: Types of Reward ProgramsMoving Forward: Selecting the Best Reward Program for Your BusinessTaking It Further: Creating a Personalized Loyalty ProgramUseful InformationTaking It Further: Personal Communication as Its Own RewardTaking It Further: Turning Loyalty into ReferralsSumming UpChapter 5:How Customer Communities WorkGetting Started: Customer Communities as the Third PlaceGetting Started: Understanding the Customer Benefits of CommunitiesMoving Forward: Best Practices of Customer CommunitiesTaking It Further: Understanding How Communities Pay Off for Your StoreSumming UpChapter 6:Establishing Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Successes and Challenges of Online CommunitiesMoving Forward: Choosing a Format for Your Online CommunityMoving Forward: Identifying Social Glue to Bring Your Community TogetherMoving Forward: Selecting the Best GlueMoving Forward: Involving Customers in Your CommunityTaking It Further: Facilitating and Moderating Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making the Third PlaceSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 7:Growing and Supporting Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Ways to Get Online Members into Your StoreMoving Forward: Creating a Community Space in Your StoreMoving Forward: Involving Your Employees in Community EffortsMoving Forward: Roles Your Employees Can PlayTaking It Further: Reaching Out to Local Organizations to Aid Your Community EffortsTaking It Further: Selecting ActivitiesTaking It Further: Successfully Implementing Community Marketing ProgramsSumming UpChapter 8:Tracking the ResultsGetting Started: Defining Success and Tracking ResultsMoving Forward: Sales Measurements That Track Changes in Your BusinessCustomer Service Measurements That Indicate Changes in Your BusinessIn-Store MeasurementsWays to Measure Word-of-Mouth ActivityMeasuring the Value of Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making Sense of MeasuresSumming UpChapter 9:Keeping Your Community Fresh and VitalGetting Started: The Cluster Effect and Its Impact on Your CommunityMoving Forward: Understanding the Power of Social Networks through MySpaceKeeping Interest and Involvement AliveTaking It Further: Revisiting Your Marketing GridTaking It Further: Clarifying Community RolesSumming UpChapter 10:Ethical Considerations That Will Make Your Community More SuccessfulWhy Privacy Statements Are ImportantSteps in Developing and Implementing Your Privacy ProgramTransparency and How It Effects the Legitimacy of Your CommunityThe Word of Mouth Marketing Association Principles of WOM MarketingSumming UpChapter 11:The Adventure BeginsAppendix:Your Local Store Marketing ToolboxToolbox 1: Developing Your Marketing GridToolbox 2: Creating a Map to Discover Your Trading AreaToolbox 3: Using Zip Code Tabulation to Think about Your Local Market AreaToolbox 4: A Primer on DemographicsToolbox 5: Data-Collection TechniquesToolbox 6: Talking to Customers: What to AskToolbox 7: Analyzing DataToolbox 8: Collecting Data on Your Web SiteNotesIndex