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Recently there has been a huge demand for organic products. From food to fuel, clothing to skin-care. Simply put, the term “organic” means to grow naturally. Consumers want products that are both healthy for them, but also have a limited impact on the environment in which we live.

Similarly, businesses have long strived to incorporate a concept akin to organic products to their marketing: word-of-mouth advertising. Nothing is more organic, or natural, than to have customers spread the word about your product through their own opinion.

Recommendations from trusted colleagues, friends, and family members have much more creditability than unsolicited advertisements. Studies have shown that consumers are likely to tell 7 people about a bad experience verses telling only 3 about a positive experience. In fact, many suggest that a negatively-impacted consumer will go out of their way to spread the news of their misfortune.

Acknowledging this up-hill battle is the first step in using organic marketing for your business. Are you willing to work twice as hard to create “natural” buzz about your business?

My definition of “organic marketing” is easily defined as:

Promotion tactics that are:

1) Free or low-cost

2) Not considered “black hat” (banned, unprofessional, illegal) by industry standards

3) Using unconventional means to achieve your marketing goal

So how do you marketing your business organically?

 

CROSS PROMOTION

Are you looking to add some spice and popularity to your business? Imagine introducing a happy hour, rewarding your customers with discounted services (listen all your tanning, nail, and hair salons) during certain hours of the day. Choose a block of time that is generally slow and make it special.

Talk to a local restaurant and ask them to provide food for your event. In exchange, for complimentary services from your establishment. Allow them to advertise their services at your event: “Food Complements Of…” This will form a bond between businesses and their customers.

 

UNCONVENTIONAL, HIGH-PUBLICITY, EVENTS

Half.com put itself on the map. Literally. The small city of Halfway, Oregon changed its name to Half.com in exchange for $100,000 and new computers for their schools. The renaming started a firestorm that stretched beyond all industry lines. The event was broadcast all over the nation and sent Half.com into the dot-com stratosphere. Not long after, eBay purchased Half.com, an offer not likely prior to the huge publicity stunt.

 

BECOME AN EXPERT

How easy it is to sit down and type a few online articles (eHow.com, Dummies.com, Work.com, etc) or in trade magazines to show off the expertise you have in your field. A mentor once said to me, “if you are afraid of sharing all of your secrets in one article, you don’t know very much.” It is very true. Too many ‘experts’ hide their knowledge because they don’t want it ‘stolen’ from them. Pick one or two subjects within our industry and write about it. Share tips and tricks you have learned over the years and help out potential customers. Be sure to include a link to your website or online biography (with your contact information). When customers have a question, they will turn to you for additional advice.

 

UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY

The pace of technology is putting some business out of business. Thousands of business owners have yet to understand, adapt, and face their fear of technology as a way to forward their business. How many plumbing services have a Facebook page sharing How-To tips to their group? How many Flickr photos has the local landscape company shared to demonstrate their work? Do you know of a tanning salon that uses Twitter to send out text coupons? These hypothetical questions meet the three basic points of organic marketing. Free (or low cost), not illegal or banned, and use methods unconventional in the industry to stand out.

 

GIVE IT AWAY

Nothing catches the eye of a potential customer than giving your product away where they would normally pay for it. Take, for example, the story of Penny For Pound, an online business classifieds. They list business for sale and listings for those interested in purchasing. A quick search of other business for sale listings find that they charge $50 to $100 per month, or a listing charge, or even a commission on the sale. Further, Plenty of Fish, an online dating website, found that sites like Match.com, eHarmony, and other leading match-up services charged for complete access. Plenty of Fish founder, Markus Frind, gave the service away. Both Penny For Pound and Plenty of Fish found a niche market where competitors are charging and provided the service for free.

 

PROVIDE WHERE COMPETITORS FAIL

Providing your service for free isn’t the only way to beat a competitor’s weaknesses. Imagine the largest provider of services in your industry and think of them like an aircraft carrier. Now think of your service as a jet-ski. Jet-ski watercraft could run circles around the larger, less nimble, aircraft carrier – making it easier to adjust to customer’s demands.

Nordstrom, the upscale department store known for its high level of customer service, demonstrates this ideal in a well-known story of customer service when a customer brought back a set of snow tires to the clothing retailer. The customer said he wanted to return the tires and get his money back. Although the clerk knew Nordstrom had never sold automotive tires, he refunded the purchase amount of the tires to the customer.

Possible the greatest customer relations story of modern times. Countless of business schools and magazine articles elude this simple act as the essence of what it takes to build and maintain a loyal customer base. The customer is always right even when provably wrong.

How many of Nordstrom’s competitors would have refused the return? Does your business step up where others would step away?

The $145 in cash that Nordstrom “lost” that day does not compare to the value they have received in word-of-mouth advertising.

What are ways you have found to market your business organically?