High-Touch and Word of Mouth marketing and how you can use them to get things for free

I actually have a Bachelor’s in Business Administration-Marketing and did retain a few things from my classes. It is interesting to be able to connect things when you are trying to be a smarter consumer.

One thing we learned right away is that the best form of marketing is Word of Mouth. If you can get your customers to try products and then recommend it to their friends they are much more likely to buy it rather than from a commercial.

For example I am not really a movies person. Going to the movies is more of a social thing for me. Other than dramas (mostly about overcoming) I’m not all that motivated to watch movies. I’d much rather read a self-help book or do something else.

My husband however is the opposite. He loves movies and he loves good stories. So he is constantly recommending movies that we should watch together. His recommendations have gotten me to see a lot more movies than seeing any previews has.

Word of Mouth Marketing works so well because you already trust the person that is recommending it to you since you know them. Therefore it is hands down one of the best forms of marketing.

High-Touch marketing involves you actually trying the product as a way of marketing it to you. It is the science behind why marketers give out free samples and free products. They hope that if you try it you will like and being that we are creatures of habit, that we will continue to buy it. And they know this strategy is better than High-Tech, that is wowing you with all the features and with information.

So how can a smart consumer use these to their advantage? Well there are several companies that combine these methods offering people free products (High-Touch) and then encouraging them to pass on coupons and compliments to their friends (Word of Mouth).

One such company is House Party. I’ve applied to 3 of their house parties and was accepted to one. I’m going to be doing their Digiorno Game Day party and I am using it for my Superbowl party this year.

Afterwards I’m looking forward to calculating the results of how much I saved combining smart shopping and the ability to use this method for my “frugal” superbowl party.

Currently they are accepting applications for Ziploc home organization house party.

If you’d like more details on house party and other companies that provide similar but slightly different opportunities see my post Test Out Products and get Samples for free.