I broke one of my necklaces, so I had to go to the mall to fix it.
I was somewhat dreading that trip — as simple as it was. I dropped it off and left.
On my pursuit of spending less, I try as much as I can to avoid the mall visit… I ignore the sale text messages and pretend I have never received them.
Ring, ring. I get a phone call. My necklace is ready for collection. I once again went to the mall. This time though I didn’t leave right away. I thought, well, let me have a look. That’s what we do right? Some of us at least.
Wandering around and checking all those sale signs, trying to not get influenced, by the buy 2 get the 3rd for free promotions, I stumbled upon ladies representing one of the make-up brands, Gosh. They try to talk to me and I think they are trying to sell me something. Perhaps even let me try something for free… of course, so I can buy it once I like it. I tell them I am not looking for something.
They look at me and give me a bag… and tell me “This is yours.” I say, “What?” They tell me, “This is yours.” I am confused. They then start explaining that they are giving 10 customers a free bag of make-up… I look at them with a big smile on my face. “I will take free stuff? This never happened to me before,” I tell them… like a little baby. They ask if they can take a picture for Instagram and I happily tell them “Yes, yes, let’s even do a Boomerang.”
I checked the items when I went back home and absolutely loved it. I might not use some of them and some of them might end up compiling on top of the other stuff I don’t use… but then some other items, I absolutely loved and was so happy to have.
Fast forward a few weeks later a friend of mine calls me to tell me he has free tickets to try his GYM classes. My response? “I will take free stuff any time of the week. Who doesn’t like free stuff?
Promotions from that sort boost word-of-mouth. Here I am mentioning my free makeup bag from Gosh… not to mention that I shared it on my Instagram the very same day it happened.
I bet the same goes for the GYM classes if I did try them one day… but this one is not about me, as in Sherwette. It is about me as a customer. Word-of-mouth is so much more powerful than the traditional promotions, coming from advertisements and what-not. We are more receptive of what other people like us tell us about products and services… and that my friend — also impacts your purchase decisions.
In his book, Contagious, Jonah Berger mentions that word-of-mouth is 10 times more effective than traditional advertising… and that is for two reasons:
- We are more likely to trust our friends’ recommendations.
- And when our friends share with us their experiences, it is targeted to the people who matter, us. Your friends know you best. They wouldn’t share with you something you are not interested in.