Some weeks ago, a journalist called up and asked a pertinent question, “How can viral marketing help a small and medium enterprise in India?”

Viral marketing requires two things for success: a message that is useful and a high pass-along rate. Otherwise it is doomed for failure. It’s not enough to have a well-crafted message – but equally critical to ensure it is interesting/ outrageous. Viral marketing can take many shapes: from a simple email forward to people recommending videos to their friends. SMEs should especially consider viral marketing as it is low cost, low risk and has the potential to produce quick results. Viral marketing is a powerful tool that can help deliver offers to your market/ target group, help you build a database and give your brand visibility.

That’s, of course, all very well, but how should a SME build the viral effect? The answers vary for each SME.