Bill Samuels Jr. is a 7th-generation bourbon maker and president of Maker’s Mark. His Ambassador Program is, time and again, considered the gold standard of product fan clubs.
500,000 people proudly carry a membership card to show their support for this brand.
Guess what? It ain’t about social media.
The entire program is run with email and postal mail. The blog is password-protected. And us ambassadors eagerly await every new message or gift.
The secret to creating an army of crazy-passionate fans:
1. Authenticity. Bill is Bill. When he emails the ambassadors to meet him for a drink you know he’ll be at the bar waiting to meet you. And he’ll love talking with you and he loves his bourbon.
2. Great Stuff. Maker’s is great. It’s been great for a long, long time — the distillery is a National Historic Landmark. You can’t motivate fans for an average product. For a great product, you don’t need to. They’ll come to you.
Ready for amazing word of mouth? We’re bringing together an all-star group of word of mouth marketers for Word of Mouth Supergenius: The “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” Conference on December 16 in Chicago. We’ll feature 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors. You’re going to learn practical, hands-on techniques to get people talking about you the next day.
Our lineup of speakers includes word of mouth supergenius Todd Spencer of Doe-Anderson. Todd’s case study will cover how they helped Maker’s Mark turn customers into lifelong brand ambassadors and offered these three ideas as a preview:
Treat customers the right way. Great brands see their customers as friends, not just transactions.
Collaborate within your organization. Todd recommends that all teams within an organization embrace the role of delivering a great experience.
Set aside traditional promotion tactics. The best word of mouth ideas come from a counterintuitive, ego-free approach to marketing. If your idea challenges traditional comfort zones, you’re probably on the right track.
Hear Todd’s live Supergenius preview (and check out our Facebook page to see all our interviews):
The folks at Maker’s Mark created yet another fantastic word of mouth moment with their holiday gift: Wrapping paper, ribbons, and gift cards.
Here’s why people are talking about it:
It’s fun, unexpected, and buzzworthy.
It’s useful. They sent a complete gift-wrapping kit, not a token gift you’ll toss out.
It’s meant to be given away. If you wrap 10 gifts, 10 people will ask you about Markers’ Mark.
It reaches many people. If you give those gifts at a party, everyone in the room will be talking about it.
Instead of creating a word of mouth stunt or sending a cheesy promotional item, think about how you can give your talker something to give their friends that will get a whole room talking.
Bill Samuels Jr. is a 7th-generation bourbon maker and president of Maker’s Mark. His Ambassador Program is, time and again, considered the gold standard of product fan clubs.
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