The perfect spokesman

In advertising, companies have been known to spend hundreds of thousands, even millions on sponsoring that perfect spokesman/woman. Proactive recruited Jessica Simpson (among others), Carmen Electra for Taco Bell, and Michael Jordan for...well just about any company. But why go through all of that effort and dollars when you can simply recruit spokespeople for free!?

Thats what the Chipotle chains (click on the wheel) have been doing recently, and it sure is working for them. Their success is credited, in majority, to the word-of-mouth buzz they have created with their customers, and the attention they have gained from this.

This Denver-based company avoids TV commercials and barely uses most other traditional advertising. It's quite amazing how Chipotle spends less in a year on advertising than McDonald's Corp. (former parent) spends in just 2 days(Burrito Buzz). What they rely on is the powerful word of their satisfied customers.

Its a simply procedure that has been around for years, but seems to have gotten lost in the 1000s of advertising messages we receive today: First, satisfy and please your customers with respect, great product, and friendly service. Step two, watch your satisfied customer spread the good word of your company, and in return cause increase turnover to your store. This has been happening for several years now with Chipotle, gaining them incredible amounts of success.

The owner has taken a different approach on advertising. Instead of wasting dollars on trying to tell people about the burritos, he found it fit to just give them away. These promotional give-a-ways have been the key to driving customers in the door and spreading the word. For example, when reporters were camped out in Denver (1997) for the Timothy McVeigh bombings, Chipotle delivered free burritos to them all day. This publicity is exactly what a company needs, and helps bring customers in regularly to a business.

It is such a simple concept, yet most companies fail to perceive the success and benefits from following through. It brings companies back to ground zero, or square one: please the customers with your quality service/product, and they will please you. The only difference from this principle then (when the practice of business began) and now is the title of WOM marketing attached to the successful results. If people love your product and/or company, they will love telling people. Basically, its a form of the two-step flow theory of communication, except the top information distributor is a Chipotle customer (or store), rather then the mass media.


People will much rather believe the word of a friend, family member, or coworker of the the word of an advertisement.

For more, check out Burrito Buzz.