Word-of-mouth marketing doesn't need the Internet.
Some people may use the terms viral marketing and word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) as one and the same. It is important to learn that the two are actually different and each has specific attributes. Although both concepts involve your company's name being spread, the similarities basically end there. Word-of-mouth marketing is very helpful on a small scale and viral marketing has a much more large-scale effect.
What is WOM?
Word-of-mouth marketing has been around as long as any type of business has been around. If you own a restaurant with excellent food and customer service and a patron tells a friend who tells another friend who tells two others, this is considered word-of-mouth marketing. WOM marketing doesn't really need a strategy. If you have good products and provide good service, people are sure to talk about your business in a positive light. Many small businesses thrive within a community due to word-of-mouth marketing.
What is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is a totally different animal. While sometimes things do go viral by chance, many viral marketing campaigns are planned out just the way an email marketing campaign or print advertisement would be. If you want to create a marketing campaign like a video, an article or a blog post that you want to go viral, you need to have a specific target audience and message in mind when creating this campaign. Many viral marketing campaigns have some sort of edge to them, such as being funny or being shocking, which makes people want to share them. If you create a video and only send it to select prospects and clients and the next thing you know the video is being shared all over Twitter and Facebook, then your video has gone viral.
Large Scale Difference
One major difference between viral marketing and WOM marketing is that WOM marketing is usually successful on a small scale and highly influenced by how business owners and employees conduct business. Viral marketing on the other hand is like setting a wildfire. All you can do is put out the best marketing campaign that you can up with and it is up to consumers to react to it and take the time to spread it around the Internet. If people love your campaign, it can be a viral success. If people are not entertained, it can become a virtual flop.
Viral Campaigns Last Longer
WOM marketing ends as soon as people stop talking about your company. If someone is having a phone conversation praising your business, once the two individuals hang up the phone your free promotion is over. Once a viral piece is out in the universe however, it stays there. Strangers on the other side of the world may end up finding your video that has gone viral on a blog or social media site. The same video can even go viral more than once. Sometimes one consumer group is into a viral video right away, and other consumers who may not use the Internet as often will discover your message later on.
