Word of Mouth: Coming to a Marketplace Near You
Five steps to help you practically implement and support word of mouth in online marketing.
Five steps to help you practically implement and support word of mouth in online marketing.
As I prepare for this week’s Word of Mouth Basic Training (WOMBAT) conference presented by Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), I’m taken by the degree to which word of mouth has entered mainstream marketing dialogue, especially around marketing campaigns’ online elements. I say “dialogue” because, frankly, that’s mostly what it is: people talking about word of mouth. And that’s understandable. The rise of word of mouth has to start somewhere, and it’s only fitting it do so via talk around an emerging channel that’s all about… talking.
We’ve just completed 28 (yes, 28) 10-minute episodes for WOMBAT’s podcast series. Each features an author, practitioner, brand marketer, or thinker sharing word-of-mouth experiences. Though much is conversation between word-of-mouth professionals, that’s OK. The first real interest in any new product, service, or marketing discipline is likely to be found by those most interested in it. In fact, this quality essentially defines genuine word of mouth and largely explains its rise in popularity. Marketers are seeking new ways to reach increasingly harder-to-reach consumers while those consumers, including business consumers, are seeking new ways to exert control over their personal information flows. Word of mouth feels attractive, whether offered in person, online, or otherwise, because it promises to bridges the gap between people who know something and people interested in learning more. And the time to act is here.
The challenge before those of us working in word of mouth and related areas of social media is to leverage standout word-of-mouth campaigns and move on a large scale from dialogue to action, and from professionals to everyone. To this end, consider WOMMA’s five basic steps in implementing an effective word-of-mouth campaign:
More difficult, but essential, is fostering fiercely loyal customers and true evangelists. As Harley-Davidson’s president put it when speaking to a group of us at Progressive Insurance Company 15 years ago, “When people tattoo your name on their body, you’ve got loyal customers.” An extreme example perhaps, but your word-of-mouth campaign is pretty much dead in the water if current customers aren’t talking.
On the touch points themselves, do you know what a consumer would say about your brand after any given interaction? Unlike brochures and TV spots, word of mouth cuts both ways. Imagine the spokesperson in the ad saying, “Of course I don’t use this product myself: it gives me a rash. But hey, you should try it!” If you don’t know what people say about you, chances are at least one of them is telling a story about a rash. And if you do know and they’re getting a rash, you need to fix it.
There you have it: five steps to help you practically implement word of mouth in your online marketing and supporting efforts. Tip your organization in the direction of your customers, give them the reasons to talk, enable them to do so, and stand back; you’ll have the best sales force you could ever ask for.