Word-of-Mouth 2.0

In the world of business, nothing has changed and everything has changed.  The best marketing strategy any business can use has been – and continues to be Word-of-Mouth or Referral Marketing.  It costs the least, and yields the most loyal and profitable customers.

Today I had a chat with Paul Sheiter, founder of  Hedgehog Leatherworks.  They make knife sheaths for survival enthusiasts.  Paul uses a rather simple, low-tech word-of-mouth, referral marketing strategy.  In fact, he has a policy against deluging his customers with e-mails and sales pitches.  He calls it the “No Dry-Hump” policy.

In fact, he runs a fairly steady conversation with many of his loyal customers primarily using e-mail.  When he’s thought of a new product, he shares it with the group via an e-mail, a picture and some questions.  His customers respond.  And then Paul really listens.

“Listening to what your customers actually say to you about your product is harder than you’d think.” he says.  “One time, I had it in my mind what I was going to do and then decided to ask my customers.  They chose something completely different from what I had in mind.  I had to let my idea take a back seat to what a fairly significant portion of my customers wanted.  We launched the version they wanted and it’s doing very well.”

Another critical focus of Paul’s strategy is focusing on the intersection between what you do well and what your customers want.

“My customer is the wilderness enthusiast.  But I find that a lot of military people also buy my products.  It might be tempting to start developing something to fit their needs, but I don’t know anything about their military experience in the field, but I do know a lot about survival.”

As an aside, Paul’s business is doing very well.  His focus is on providing the absolute highest quality product out there — and his customers know it.  For a young, tech savvy entrepreneur, Paul has his marketing philosophy and strategy planted squarely in the basics.

The core principles of building a brand and a promise that people will want to share with their friends – never goes out of style.  Our tools and vehicles for accomplishing these things might change.  But the end result stays the same.

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