All Things WOM

Recently I spoke with Jay Ehret, small business marketing pro with The Marketing Spot about how everything Word of Mouth has become online Social Media-centric. That was the starting point of our discussion. We covered lots of other territory. Paul Williams from the Idea Sandbox added in another perspective on the podcast.

One question Jay asked me was:
Is WOM diminished as a marketing discipline?

My reply:
“Absolutely not. A word of mouth recommendation from a friend or an acquaintance is and will always be trusted more than traditional advertising. Friends trust what friends say more than people trust what companies say. That isn’t going to change.

As a marketing discipline, WOM is now more important than ever because we have so many ways to connect with people besides a phone call or a face-to-face visit. Being able to have a conversation with someone using computers and smart phones increases the opportunity for WOM to happen.

>>> Have a listen to the podcast <<<.

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Key quotes from the podcast include:
“In the past, we just felt word of mouth would happen serendipitously…We’ve now learned through The Tipping Point…more people are trying to think about getting people to talk, not serendipitously, but strategically.” | John Moore

“The key of it is, people passing the word about you. …It just boils down to ‘what does it mean to be remarkable?’ So remarkable, that people remark.” | Paul Williams

“My advice is to be 100% confident in how you deliver a customer experience before you start to try to strike up conversations online. Because if you are not confident, you will not want to listen to some of the negative feedback online about how you are doing business.” | John Moore

“Word of mouth, to do it properly, it’s not just a department head; it’s not just one person. It’s the way you run a company.” | Paul Williams

“It doesn’t matter how many fans you have online. But we get caught up in that as a measurement of success, and frankly the real measure of success is; is a company making money. Are they turning conversations into transactions?” | John Moore

“I sort of see word of mouth as how do companies, and businesses and people give a script to the people who might talk about you. That way you can guide the discussion. So, ‘how can I give you bullet points to talk about my brand?’” | Paul Williams

When you return from a conference chock-full of insights, it’s difficult to share everything you learned. Sure, you can transcribe your notes but your notes are bound to have some holes. You can also pull insights from summaries other attendees have posted on their blogs.

Or … you whittle through the thousands of tweets from attendees to carve out a more complete list of insights. That’s the path I’ve chosen to take after returning from WOMMA’s Creating Talkable Brands conference.

Over 470 attendees shared 3,600+ tweets (.pdf download) with the #WOMMA hashtag during the three-day conference. I’ve whittled down the 3,600+ tweets to a more digestible collection of 165 tweets and compiled them into this SlideShare presentation. Enjoy.

NOTE: I’ll also be sharing video snippets and more in-depth summaries after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Did you see this? PQ Media has released its second Word of Mouth Marketing Forecast Report. The report offers a deep dive into the size, scope, and growth of the Word of Mouth Marketing industry.

It’s a hefty read at 115 pages. But the information is worth digging into for marketers at both brands and agencies.

WOM spend is on the rise, even in today’s recessionary times. In this report you’ll find out where money being spent, why it is being spent, and how companies are benefitting from their strategic WOM spend.

WOMMA members get this report free. (Membership perk.) Others must pay.

However, I’ve compiled a few highlights from the report into this short video. (Hopefully this video will whet your marketing appetite to learn more from reading the full report.)

Yep, I’m putting my marketing where my mouth is as WOMMA’s in-house evangelist for all things word-of-mouth (WOM).

In this role, I will help WOMMA better communicate with its members and non-members to promote the discipline of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. I’ll also serve as a WOMMA spokesperson addressing hot-button topics covered by traditional media and discussed in conversations happening in the online social media world.  Plus, I’ll be sharing thoughts here … on the ALL THINGS WOM blog.

Those who know me, know I’ve long believed in the power of WOM to increase business sales and brand salience.  Can’t help being a believer. I’ve spent a good part of my marketing career working for two brands that baked word-of-mouth marketing principles into how it does business every day. Starbucks Coffee and Whole Foods Market both became endearing and enduring brands because they each delivered products, services, and experiences customers wanted to enthusiastically share with others.

That’s WOM in action … when people so adore something a company does that they share stories with friends/family in the offline world and with followers/fans in the online world. 

Today, companies like Zappos, Method, Apple, Lego, Fiskars, and Rackspace are all proudly flying the WOM flag high and finding success through tapping into the influential power of customers.

As a marketingologist with my Brand Autopsy consulting business, I show companies how to use basic WOM principles to turn indifferent customers into evangelical customers. When I began my practice in early 2005, one of the first steps I took was to join the just-started Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). And if you attended the first WOMMA Conference in March 2005, you probably saw me.  (I was the dude in the white smock.)

So it feels natural for me to work directly with WOMMA as their “WOM Enthusiast.”  

You’ll be hearing more from me, especially on this blog.  Together, we’ll explore the arts and sciences of WOM that sales (and fails), wrestle with ethics issues, and showcase smart analysis from bloggers about all things WOM.

 Thanks for joining me. This’ll be fun.