Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

The goal of marketing today is not just to generate a response, it is to generate a viral response. When someone feels that what you have said or what you offer is compelling enough to send it along to the people they know – you and your message have become viral.

Celebrity news travels virally at a rapid pace. The Lindsay Lohan traverses, the separation of Jon and Kate (plus 8), American Idol stars, and untimely deaths of our cherished stars, all speed along at light speed virally. The celebrity “train wreck” that you can’t keep your eyes off of even though you want to, is human nature curiosity.

But to get your product or service viral you need to assess what is unique enough that anyone would want to talk about it.  Think first about what you would send on viral travel to your own personal and business contacts.

I often recommend restaurants to people I know who are traveling to particular cities. When someone mentions they are going to New York City, I talk about Gramercy Tavern. But guess what I rarely if ever talk about relating to Gramercy?

You guessed it – the food!

Often times what people talk about isn’t what you think it may be.

Having great food at a restaurant that someone recommends is actually the given, not a unique difference – especially in New York City. I think it is assumed that the food is good if it is being recommended. But what separates it from other restaurants of the same quality?

1. The wait staff is beyond attentive – but in a highly trained, non-obtrusive way. They seem to never interrupt a conversation and never, ever make you feel rushed to leave. I’ve been there before for as long as 3 hours, just eating! And while there may be as many as 5 or 6 people who are attending to the various needs at the table, you barely notice most of them. If you need something, merely lifting your head from the conversation usually prompts your main waiter to come over. If you want a live example of great service, this place is it!

2. The restaurant is so alive and bristling with energy. You feel different when you are in there, as though you are in a special place that others love too. There is conversation, laughing, and people everywhere – but you can also have a private conversation with the people at your table without straining. I’ve seen David Letterman and other celebrities dining at Gramercy; it is an exciting place to be.

3. When you are done with your meal, have paid and are getting up to leave, someone from the wait staff comes over to hand you a gift – a coffee cake muffin wrapped in cellophane with ribbons tying if off. “For your breakfast tomorrow morning,” the waiter says. And of all the things that they do at Gramercy Tavern, this is the number one thing I tell others about. Because it’s something that you receive after all of the expected have been delivered. A gift for me? The first time I really thought it was a one-time thing; something just for me, the new customer (naïve, I know…). And, I always eat the muffin the next morning for breakfast and think about my evening at Gramercy Tavern. Gramercy is not in the muffin business; they are in the experience business.

What are the unexpected offerings or value you provide that people could or should be talking about? It isn’t the fact that you are a “good financial planner” or “dentist that has a lot of credentials”    It is only when someone says:  “I always feel smarter and more prepared after I meet with her about my investments” or “[DENTIST] has a grab bag of cool little toys that my kids can’t wait to get after seeing her” or “[RESTAURANT] has the absolute best hotdogs in Chicago – you won’t believe it” or “and then they serve a warm chocolate chip cookie during the flight” or “after you fill up your tank you get a free carwash!” or “you know who else stays at [HOTEL]? The Jonas Brothers!” or “you have to read this article, you won’t believe what he says about…” or “this is so funny, you have to check it out.”

It is the surprise or surprisingly unique quality that people feel compelled to share with others. To become viral you need to do what Bonnie Raitt sings about, you need to “give ‘em something to talk about!”