Jane Told Claire, Claire Told Me
Word of mouth marketing is like third party endorsement. It’s the most influential and powerful form of social media. It’s the original social media. Here’s an example -
Jane Paznik-Bondarin, a writer and professor in New York City, told our daughter Claire about a small coffee shop that she found to be remarkable. Claire loved it, too, and she told me. I visited the coffee shop this weekend, and found it to be one of the best coffee shops I know of in North America. And, I am sharing with you.
If you are waiting for me to mention Twitter or some online social media tool … sorry, not this time. This is about old-fashioned third party endorsement, which remains a heck of a lot more enduring and important than any online tactic.
Oh, yes … what’s the name of this wonderful coffee shop? 71 Irving Place. That’s also the address, just a couple of blocks east of Union Square in Manhattan.
What’s so special about 71 Irving Place?
They craft outstanding coffee drinks from their own roasts, and have wonderful tea.- The food they sell is delicious and outstanding quality.
- They have free WiFi.
They do not sell CDs, espresso machines and breath mints like Starbucks. Starbucks has lost its compass … it’s purpose … and has become the Wal-mart of coffee shops.
Starbucks can learn lessons from 71 Irving Place about how to be a truly exceptional coffee and tea bar that people talk about … and recommend. It’s a simple lesson – be really good at what you do.
Here’s their Web site – www.irvingfarm.com.
Category: Featured, Reputation management
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This is a good point to make. A strong recommendation, even if from a friend of a friend of a friend, is, well, a strong recommendation. I will pass this on to my 23 year old son (in Phoenix), who has a friend from high school living in NYC.
To your point, I went to the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco a few weeks ago. I had asked the front door man for a coffee shop recommendation, and he told me where the nearest Starbucks and Coffee Bean were located. I wasn’t looking for a chain…the entire story, and eventual success…is here (with photos!)
http://ladeetravels.blogspot.com/2009/03/mission-accomplished-real-thing.html
La Grande Orange in Phoenix is a great example of verbal viral marketing. It is located in one of those hard to find spots that have disappeared from the Phoenix neighborhoods: a small strip mall on a minor cross street. There are four (interrelated?) businesses: grocery/coffee shop, pizza shop, bakery and custom stationary store. The parking lot is packed most of the time and cars often park for blocks down the street. It’s a favorite of mine, and I often get there when they start serving at 6:30 AM just to get a parking spot. They offer free valet for the bulk of the busy hours.
To my HUGE surprise, my favorite local coffee shop has started to use Twitter. I was excited to talk to them about it and the AM manager said that they will have one person working the Phoenix shop to post specials. This will be interesting. How does a small, local business use twitter to generate more business? Make that “a small, hugely successful, local business…” Will they do more than list the daily specials? Why do they feel that they need to adopt this technology? (This place is PACKED all the time.) I’ve met the owner and will find out his thoughts behind it. I was shocked when they added free wifi. They do not need to do this to drive business. See twitter.com/LGOgrocery as they grow and learn.
You can’t beat word of mouth! Quality, excellence, and building customer loyalty are essential in piecing together a recipe for success.
I will definitely check out this place next time I’m in NYC. Thanks for the tip David!
Completely agree, David, and it’s one of the best and most effective ways for any business to cost-effectively raise their brand awareness.
I always refer to my Twitter connections for recommendations when I’m about to visit somewhere, and my offline connections for music, books, movies, etc.
Give me one trusted review over 100 forced ones any day.