Why word of mouth matters

Sam Leader It’s easy to think of word-of-mouth as being feel-good marketing, but thanks to my contrasting experiences at two international airports, I can report that feel-bad also has its place.

Upon arrival in one airport, my travel weary family and I were greeted by surly, edgy airport staff who refused to make eye contact with any of us. At the other side of passport control, John-Paul and I (who were in separate queues) both had tales of how rudely we’d been dealt with.

“Why’s it (sic) got a different surname?” the passport officer asked me of my darling daughter, who is but a babe in arms. “Her father and I aren’t married.” I stumbled, feeling ashamed of the fact for the first time. Nowadays, most would agree different last names are a social norm. To the staff of this airport they are a sign that I may be a kidnapper.

Meantime in the other airport, the welcome could not have been more different. “How was your trip? Did (glance at passport) Amy get some sleep?” asked the officer. At baggage control a customs official headed our way and invited us through a fast track lane “You don’t want to be hanging around here any longer than necessary, do you?” After thirty hours of travelling, she was spot on.

In case you hadn’t guessed, the winner is Sydney.

I worked for Tourism New South Wales prior to Sydney 2000, and know how seriously the city took its role as Olympic host. The ‘airport experience’ of visitors was given lots of focus and travellers today are still enjoying the benefits.

You’d think that such a brief bad encounter in London would hardly matter. But it turns out to matter a great deal. Because try as I did to brush off the unfriendly welcome, I found myself recounting the experience to friends and family as my first week unfolded.

And here I am telling another 14,000 people.

At Flying Solo we often talk about the positive benefits of word-of-mouth, but we shouldn’t forget that things can work the other way.

I don’t think soloists need to fall over themselves to be chummy with their customers. But being even vaguely rude is a big, fat no no in my book.

What negative experiences have you come up against recently? Dish the dirt here and we can all learn from them.

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Until next week,

Love your work.

Sam Leader is a director of Flying Solo and its editor. She is the co-author of Flying Solo - How to go it alone in business.

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Our cinema is now offering free WOM screenings for low budget films - to find out you just need to subscribe to their newsletter. Heather Smith from SUNNY BRISBANE! | Read my articles
I am a foster carer. Yesterday I rang the company that drives the children form school to their family, to me and wherever else they need to go. The woman was rude and condescending and called me "Helen". I pointed out that I was not "Helen" (that's the children's Mother's name) and gee, she suddenly became all nice and respectful.
The moral of the story - treat everyone respectfully and remember that you get back what you give so be cheerful and positive and your days will be more pleasant! Judy Gleeson from Canberra, Australia
I've never gotten over the way I was spoken to by a 'lady' at a well-known charity when I offered some unneeded furniture. Now I just laugh when one of their collectors approaches me. Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
With football finals starting it is worth examining the difference between Confidence & Arrogance.
I love winners on the sporting field and in business but we also hate arrogance.
Whether contact is via phone, email or in personal I am instantly drawn to confidence and turned off arrogance. Don Parry from Nambour, Queensland, Australia
I have never forgotten some advice I was given by my state manager when I was but a lowly sales consultant - "If someone has a great experience, they will tell 4 people, if they have a bad experience, they will tell 16 people. Always aim for those 4 people" Kathy Purves from Ellenbrook, WA, Australia
I think there are two major issues, here.
One is this - Okay, so the people at Heathrow were rude ... so are you going to stop using Heathrow? Of course not - and they know it. Monopoly notoriously = bad service ... which is why certain companies who have never gotten over the idea they once were a monopoly (although that is no longer the case) have awful service ...
The second is the employee issue. So often in sales I'm faced with speaking to employees. Employees don't care about anything but their pay cheque ... it makes no difference to them whether something happens now or next year ... they don't care about the company bottom line ... because none of that MEANS anything to them. That's why I love the contractor / commission model. It's the only one that makes employees INVESTED in the results of the business .... Leela Cosgrove - Information Product Creation Specialist from Sydney

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