Should we approach word of mouth differently for men and women?
A recent Church of the Customer blog post features a brief interview with Michele Miller, author of The Soccer Mom Myth, as she shares five tips for understanding word of mouth and women.
Although the points she makes are sound I’d argue that quite of her suggestions for increasing referrals and word-of-mouth through women – are just as applicable to men.
For example:
What can you do to increase women’s word of mouth?
Here’s the wrong way to do it: “Sign up three friends and we’ll give you a 15% discount.” This feels like you are asking her to sell out her friends. Instead, change the offer to “You and every one of your friends who signs up will get a 15% discount.”
Fair point and perhaps this is more applicable to women (I’ll defer to the expert on that one) but certainly this is the way to approach this kind of offer anyway. While Michele argues that it’s so the referrer feels comfortable giving you access to her network of friends, I’d add that it also makes the conversation that much more likely and natural.
Who’s going to go to their friends and say, ‘You’ve got to signup for this new phone deal so I can get a nice little kick back’. It’s much more likely, male or female, that you’d be happier with, ‘These guys are really great and I can get you 10% off too’. Again, it may be doubly true for women but sound practice regardless of the sex of your audience.
If women talk more than men, how do we avoid bad word of mouth from them?
The “duh” answer is, meet or exceed expectations. The other answer is, communicate clearly and often. If something goes wrong, explain to her exactly why, then do your best to make amends. Basic, fundamental communication can go very far to deflect bad word of mouth.
Again, surely this has to be best practice for everyone, not just when dealing with women.
One specific point where there may be some clear differentiation is in terms of direct referrals. Most sources recommend asking directly for referrals, i.e. ‘who do you know that might benefit from my services?’. Here Michele points out that many women might be hesitant:
… She is the gatekeeper of her relationships. She’s not being stingy, she’s being protective. A better idea might be to give her a few of your business cards and say, “if you know of anyone who might benefit from my service, feel free to give them my card.”
But again, you could certainly try that as an less committal version of asking for referrals – regardless of sex.
Key Points:
My suggestion would be to incorporate these, and the other points made, into any referral strategy:
- People will be more likely to refer if they have something to offer those they refer – it makes the conversation more natural and raises their status with their friends, they can even feel good about it
- Ongoing communication creates positive word-of-mouth – and helps resolve negative WOM before it happens
- Exceed people’s expectations – and make them feel special – and you’ll increase positive word-of-mouth naturally
As the author argues, women may be hardwired to be better referrers and connectors; but taking a measured approach to generating referrals and WOM will create better results no matter who you’re dealing with.
Do you think the ideas raised are more applicable to women than men? Should we adopt a different approach for men and women when creating referral programs?
