I get asked a lot, “How do you get so much awesome stuff for free?” I could lie and tell you it’s my good looks, but really, it’s because I belong to a couple of  really awesome Word of Mouth Marketing companies. Word of Mouth (WOM) Marketing- It’s not a new concept, but nowadays companies are starting to realize how powerful consumer recommendations can be.  Remember the “I told two friends, and they told two friends” commercial from the 1980’s? That’s word of mouth marketing.  Since the invention of the internet, WOM marketing has been amplified.

There are companies that connect consumers with companies and products looking to market directly to a specific cross-section of the population.  What does that mean for you?  Sign up with a WOM Marketing company and when they have products that someone like you would like and use, and they will have you complete a brief survey and send you the product.

Often times, the product they will send you will be full size.  Additionally, they will send marketing materials with talking points for you to share with friends.  Depending on the product, samples and coupons may be included! Once you receive your kit, you try out the products and “bzz” about them by posting on FB, Twitter, G+, or on your blog. You can also “bzz” face to face. When I get a lot of coupons in a kit, often times I’ll “Coupon Fairy” when I’m at the store (that’s a term for leaving coupons on the shelf next to the corresponding item). You report back to Bzzagent when you share/”bzz”.

My favorite WOM Marketing by far is Bzzagent. Bzzagent was founded in 2007 and they work with a lot of great national brands. In the past I’ve received diapers, wipes, beer, frozen food, razors, cereal, and tons of other awesome stuff to try and share with my friends.

The Campaign I’ve got right now is for Kroger brand products. For those of you who are thinking, “Kroger??” Kroger is the company that owns a bunch of grocery stores across the US, including Ralphs and Food4Less here in So. Cal. Like most major grocery store chains, they have quite a number of private label (formerly known as generic or store) brands.

Kroger is no slouch, check out the wide variety of their Private Label Brands:

Kroger® Brand: The classic Kroger® Brand has you covered with the products you love most in every section of your local store.

Private Selection™: Each Private Selection item has been carefully crafted to delight your senses — from the artisanal breads and cheeses to prime meat cuts and decadent desserts.

Simple Truth™ & Simple Truth Organic™: Every Simple Truth product is free from 101+ artificial preservatives and ingredients — taking the worry out of what’s in your food.

HemisFares: Kroger’s culinary explorers traveled the globe to bring you an extraordinary collection of authentic, regional food specialties.

Everyday Low Price Brands: On a tight budget? Look for P$$T…™, Check This Out…™ and Heritage Farm™ items throughout your local store to discover great prices on everyday essentials.

My BzzKit contained:

• Kroger^® Brand Tomatillo Lime Flavored Tortillas
• Simple Truth^™ Banana Chips
• P$$T…^™ Brownie Mix
• Private Selection^™ Coffee (I got Breakfast Blend)
• Coupons for FREE Bacon, Pasta, and Mexican Cooking Sauce

This morning I made the Brownies up as cupcakes (perfect for portion control). They are super fudgey and chewy- YUM! I’m setting the rest aside for dessert tonight- I’ll be pairing them with fresh berries and Fat Free Cool-Whip.

I’ll be cutting up the tortillas and baking them to give them some crunch to top our taco salads tonight.

There are quite a few other WOM Marketing Companies such as Smiley 360, Houseparty, Influenster, MomsMeet, and VocalPoint, but I find that overall Bzzagent provides the better campaigns and they have more kits to supply so more people can try out products. Some other WOM Marketing companies make you jump through hoops to get campaigns for example:  Locate products on shelves and take a selfie with them in store, post to your blog, FB, or other Social Media outlets before you are considered or approved for a campaign. That’s just too much work for my tastes, especially when you aren’t guaranteed a spot if you do all of those things!

WOM Marketing is just one way I score free stuff to share with others and stretch our family budget.