About Grassroots Marketing
Grassroots marketing has undergone dramatic changes. A method that once relied on local, person-to-person interaction has now exploded into the world of the Internet. While the same principles apply, the online environment puts a whole new spin on this marketing approach.
Identification
Grassroots marketing--also known as viral marketing--uses the power of personal relationships to promote a product, a service offering or a brand. The marketing message is directed toward a targeted audience--a group of people who would most benefit from a product offer, or who would be most likely to seek out the product being marketed. Free offers are used to attract potential customers. From there, normal, everyday activities carried out by this potential customer base become the "ripple" effects of the marketing message.
Effects
Word-of-mouth marketing has been around since marketing began; however its effectiveness depends on how the message is delivered and how fast it gets there. With the advent of the Internet, grassroots marketing has taken on a viral quality. The "viral effect" is a phrase that is commonly used to describe how quickly a marketing message can circulate when the Internet's capabilities are put to use. In 1997, venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson coined the term "viral marketing" in reference to how quickly Hotmail.com's brand spread as a result of its free service offer.
Function
Hotmail.com, the first web-based email service, is a classic example of grassroots marketing in action. Founded in the mid-'90s, Hotmail provided free email addresses and services to anyone who signed up. They then inserted their advertisement for free email service at the end of every user message. The marketing message went out in waves, as people corresponded with people they knew, some of whom signed up for the free service. Then these people would correspond with their social circle, allowing the marketing message to multiply every time a new user signed up for service.
Features
The basic principles that support grassroots marketing are what make it so effective within the Internet environment. To take a grassroots approach, the message has to be easy to transfer or spread. This in turn must make the best use of a potential customer's motivations and incite her to take action. The word "free" is typically a good motivator when you are trying to get people to notice an offer. An already existing social network makes for an ideal environment for the word-of-mouth effect to spread. The basic principle relies on personal relationships to spread the marketing message, with minimal cost and effort.
Types
The World Wide Web is rife with ways to create a viral effect. One way is to give away free ebooks and software containing advertising for an actual product offer. Free offers can also be used as part of an affiliate marketing strategy, in which other online marketers promote the "freebie" and earn a commission with each sale. This works to promote brand awareness, as well as causing a viral effect. Many ecard companies have quickly adopted the Hotmail technique by offering free ecards that contain the same freebie offer to anyone who receives a card. Using "refer-a-friend" links and buttons throughout a content-based website is another method.
Social networks and online communities are where grassroots marketing can really make an impact when targeted to the right groups. One popular social-networking site may contain hundreds of different groups of people with similar interests. These same people may belong to other social-networking sites, so a well-positioned freebie can spread overnight if the ideal customer gets a hold of it. Online communities work in much the same way; however the networking aspect may be a bit more subdued, depending on the type of community.
