cheerleaders
The viral buzz around companies or products advertised during the Super Bowl can often be so pervasive that spikes in traffic and interest can help propel these businesses to new heights.

So you may think as a small business, how could you ever create such excitement and anticipation around your product or services?  What you may not realize is that you probably already have an army of loyal customers who are spreading the word about your business every day.   These customers are passionate about what you offer and can articulate the benefits of your company in such an honest and truthful way, that others can’t help but listen and take note.   So how can you tap into these folks to help spread the gospel about your business?

Give them something to talk about and reward them for it.  Is there a particular offer that is just so compelling that they would get energized to be your personal pitchman/woman for that deal?  Is it something that they can’t wait to share with their network of friends/family/co-workers? Think of the excitement and buzz companies like Groupon and Living Social are creating for SMBs with their daily deal coupons.  What could get potential customers to act on that impulse purchase?

In return for driving new customers, what incentive can you provide back to your “loyalists” that truly thanks them for their efforts?  This type of reward system can create a viral marketing approach that leverages your customer’s social network so that the challenge of promoting your services on a broader scale is less daunting.

While you can always distribute a promotion/deal through your typical channels, leveraging your loyal customers as your army of brand ambassadors can be a powerful marketing strategy.  Think about it…an ever-growing cheer-leading squad which then translates into more buzz, more customers and then hopefully more cheerleaders!  Who wouldn’t want that?