One of the most important word of mouth marketing tools is the idea of giving people something to share. Never let someone leave without something to give a friend. Offline, we're talking about handouts, samples, flyers, menus. Online, we're talking about downloads, emails, white papers.
Your goal: Every person who talks to you tells the next person they see, "I was just shopping at ___ and they gave me this." That object is a trigger that kicks off a conversation that wouldn't otherwise happen.
A simple example is this single sheet of notepaper at each seat in the meeting rooms at the Holiday Inn Dayton. Definitely nothing fancy — but you're more likely to keep it than that stubby notepad you usually get. And on the back… a tasteful promotion for the hotel.
Here's a cool-but-silly example created by Rafael Martinez Gallardo, one of my students at Northwestern, to promote our class blog:
I love this!
And so simple
Maria Reyes-McDavis
Thank you for this insight, Andy. My childhood village butcher always gave the kids a slice of tasty sausage when mommy bought something. Always a type of sausage she had _not_ bought. Worked wonders for where the kids pulled her.
I think you have a very good point – having something tangible to hold is a very effective and yet simple means to marketing. I came across a slightly more involved but as effective variation at http://micalendar.ca/online-calendar-builder.html – they provide you with a link for your site which connects your customers with a calendar builder where they can personalize calendars already customized with your company’s brand.