Marketing Lagniappe

I’m currently working on a slideshare presentation called, “Marketing Lagniappe – In Search of Your Purple Goldfish”.  Stay tuned as I’m about a week or two away from completion.

Here is the basis for the presentation:

The underlying reason behind marketing lagniappe is that you want to go above and beyond by giving a little extra with your customer.  The net effect is two-fold:

1. They become a repeat customer 
2. They tell others about their experience to promote your product or service

We now live in an information age where it’s vital to leverage ‘word of mouse’ in addition to traditional ‘word of mouth’.  You need to understand the v4 principle.  v4 or ‘vouch for’ is when someone stands up and provides a positive frame of reference for you, your service or your product.

I first came across the concept of v4 back in 2000.   This is a hilarious forum post on Sportsbike.net from a guy named Streetracer. Enjoy:

Think about your entire history of relationships… Every person you dated long term, short term, prison term, and every random hook-up in between. The vast majority of those relationships were with someone you met through a common friend. Very rarely do you find a couple who met randomly at a bar. Most couples met through a friend, a friend of a friend, or a relative. The reason most relationships begin this way is what I call the “V4 Principle.”

“V4″ is short for “Vouch For” and it is this reason that the majority of people in America get BUSY. Say you’re out on a Friday night and you see a cute brunette at the bar. You approach her, make small talk, and attempt to pick her up. To you she’s a hottie with dating potential. To her you’re just another one of the drunken masses out there trying to score some. Now take the same situation as before, but when you see her at the bar she is talking to your best friend’s girlfriend. Now when you approach you’re SOMEBODY as opposed to the NOBODY you were before. The girl at the bar has a reference point for you and your best friend’s girlfriend is there to vouch for you: “Oh, that’s Fred. He’s Mike’s best friend. They work together at the law firm. He’s a real sweetie, and he’s sooo cute when he’s drunk.” See how it works? You’re the same drunken ass either way, but now you’re perceived as charming. So, if friends are largely responsible for our hook-ups, how does one improve his odds? Simple, just use this handy dandy friendship reference guide that follows to determine who you should hang out with more and which friends to discard:

1.) Married Friends – Don’t have any. They only hang out with their miserably married couples and they constantly attempt to pull the rest of us into their pit of despair. There is nothing for you here.

2.) Friends Who Work In The Service Industry – Hold on to these. People who work in restaurants, bars, retail, and the like tend to have a plethora of same aged single people to kick it with. They are laid back and don’t work until noon, so they’re always up for a night out. Also, all hostesses are easy.

3.) Friends Who Do A Lot of Drugs -Keepers. Whether you do drugs or not is irrelevant. People who do a lot of drugs tend to hang out with other people who do a lot of drugs… and, chicks who do a lot of drugs tend to be easy.

4.) Religious Friends – No! No! No! All of their friends are usually bible-thumpers as well, and meeting a group of hot Baptists is like going to your favorite bar without any money. You can look all you want, but you can’t have anything.

5.) Strippers – If you have any friends who are strippers you can contact me. Please let me know where you’ll be this weekend…

We now live in a ‘recommendation age’.  The information is already at our fingertips . . . we just need a point of reference.

Today’s Lagniappe  (a little something extra)  - a joke and a solid reference

Joke - Question: Do you know what they say about topless bars?  Answer:  Once you’ve seen one . . you’ve seen them both.

Solid Reference –  Great blog called the WOMMA Word.  WOMMA is an acronym for the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.  Here is a snippet from a recent post from Pat McCarthy on the power of recommendations:

Personal recommendations are trusted 90% of the time worldwide according to a survey conducted by WOMMA member Nielsen. Online product reviews are trusted 70% of the time. And the reviews are pouring in. For those who think the Internet has stabilized, please consider the developing world. Billions of people have little or no Internet experience, but just about everyone is interested. Consequently, product reviews and the continued expansion of Internet access will only amplify the impact of user generated review content. What does this mean for brands and marketers? The product has to be solid. Inferior work will not be tolerated by the masses. Also, companies need to engage. When consumers speak, they like to be heard. If a company doesn’t respond, the consumer will find someone who does.

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