the value of word of mouth
This weekend, Ari and I went to one of my favorite bars in Cambridge, Enormous Room. A friend introduced me to “enormous” over a year ago and I’ve been a loyal patron ever since. Although, I as I noticed during my last visit, the qualities that originally drew me to the bar so frequently have all begun to disappear or transform into traits that I don’t find as appealing. So, it got me thinking…
Enormous Room has done very little advertising (if any at all) and has relied on word of mouth to build its clientelle. They don’t even have a sign on the door; but they have earned some positive reviews in the past. Their approach worked out great at first. They were growing in popularity at a very manageable pace and they were attracting all the right people to fit their persona/genre/style. But recently, it seams the clientelle has changed. All of the people I used to see every weekend have stopped coming (and I stopped going every weekend, myself), the music has changed, and the drinks are more expensive. Why the change?
Now that I’m working in word of mouth marketing, these kinds of case studies have been catching my attention. The enormous room could present a very interesting case against word of mouth marketing: when you rely solely on word of mouth, you relinquish a considerable amount of control over the medium and the message. However, any good PR can quickly become bad PR if the buisness is not prepared to manage an increase in interest and attention.
I’d love to hear the perspective and strategy of the Enormous manager and I’m interested in seeing how they react to the recent changes in their business. I may have to continue my regular visits just to see how things progress…. plus, I have to feed my cravings for their pomegranate margaritas 