WOM Wednesday Teleconference Recap -- Countering Negative Buzz

For WOM Wednesday #3, WOMMA hosted a teleconference featuring two of the leading commentators on countering negative buzz -- Jim Nail, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer for Cymfony and Pete Blackshaw, Chief Marketing Officer for Nielsen BuzzMetrics. Both spoke about how negative WOM can influence a company's ROI quicker than ever before in a fast-paced and constantly changing blogosphere. Pete and Jim offered examples of concrete steps companies can do to monitor negative buzz and counter it.

Featured speakers:
Pete Blackshaw, Chief Marketing Officer, Nielsen BuzzMetrics
Jim Nail, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Cymfony

Blogs featuring the participants:
Pete Blackshaw -- Consumer Generated Media
Jim Nail -- Cymfony's Marketing Insight

Topics referenced during the call:
Jeff Jarvis' Buzzmachine blog
AOL/Goodmail controversy

Download Pete's handout (PDF download):
Click here to download

Register to sign up for upcoming WOM Wednesday Teleconferences:
http://www.womma.org/telecon.htm

Posted by WOMMA Editor at March 29, 2006 | Link

WOM Wednesday Teleconference Recap -- CEO Blogger Richard Edelman and GM's FastLane Blog Team

For WOM Wednesday #2, WOMMA hosted a teleconference featuring two of the most impressive examples of top corporate officers blogging the right way -- GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz's FastLane blog and Edelman CEO Richard Edelman's Speak Up blog. The executives behind both blogs all spoke candidly about their experiences opening up themselves and their companies. Even as they have earned customers and respect for their efforts, all the bloggers talked about the challenges they face, including logistics, promotion, engagement, and transparency. All talked about the main upside of blogging as being able to communicate and listen to what customers are saying.

Featured speakers:
* Richard Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman Public Relations
* Laurie Mayers, Senior Vice President, Deputy Managing Director, Hass MS&L
* Michael Wiley, Director, New Media, General Motors

Blogs authored by the participants:
GM's FastLane
Edelman's Speak Up

URL's referenced during the call:
Movable Type (software that runs FastLane blog)
Technorati (blog search engine)
Poynter Online - Romanesko
Doc Searls
Gawker
Wisdom of Crowds
YouTube
MySpace

Register to sign up for upcoming WOM Wednesday Teleconferences:
http://www.womma.org/telecon.htm

Posted by WOMMA Editor at March 22, 2006 | Link

WOM Wednesday Teleconference Recap -- Jackie Huba, Creating Customer Evangelists

On WOM Wednesday #1, WOMMA hosted Jackie Huba, co-author of "Creating Customer Evangelists."

During her teleconference, Jackie talked about the customers who become outspoken "evangelists" for your organization when they are truly thrilled about their experience with your product or service. She explained how traditional marketing tactics are declining in their effectiveness and how passionate customer-driven referrals are becoming the valuable new currency for businesses today. Based on case study work done for Build-A-Bear Workshop, O'Reilly & Associates and Southwest Airlines, Jackie identified six solid strategies for creating your own customer evangelism plan.

Download Jackie's presentation (PDF download):
Click here to download

URL's referenced during the call:

Church of the Customer
http://www.churchofthecustomer.com

20 Ideas for Making a Podcast Great
http://blog.frogbody.com/frogblog/2006/02/notes_to_self_a.html

Blog search engines
http://www.pubsub.com
http://www.technorati.com

Posted by WOMMA Editor at March 15, 2006 | Link

Lunch Invitation for Chicago WOMMA Members

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association Presents:

Members' Meal #1
Chicago -- March 15, 2006
http://www.womma.org/chicago

We'd like to invite our Chicago-area WOMMA members for an informal member lunch.

There will be NO speakers, NO panels -- just a chance to relax, shoot the breeze, do a few deals, and dig into huge platters of scrumptious food.

Spend some time with people like you who get it -- who see the wonders of WOM, jumped in with WOMMA early, and share your excitement about the future that we are building together.

Members-Only Moussaka
Join your fellow WOMMA members for this no-hassle, no-speeches feast. We've booked our favorite Greektown eatery for a great afternoon of chewing and chatting with the cool characters who are the word of mouth pioneers.

In true WOMMA style, we guarantee interesting people, fascinating topics, and more food than you can handle. You'll fill your brain, fill your belly, and find your next partner, client, or buddy.

Details
Where: Costa's, 340 S. Halsted, Chicago
Map: http://www.costasdining.com/map2.htm
When: March 15, 2006, 12:00 - 2:00
Food: Carb-o-licious
Cost: $50
Attire: Required

PLEASE RESERVE YOUR SEAT
http://www.womma.org/chicago

Why You Should Attend
When was the last time you shared a no-BS meal with people who face the same challenges and experiences that you do?

Our meals are all schmoozing, never boring, and we guarantee that you'll meet interesting people. We'll have a nice mix of big names, smart marketers, and the future stars that you really have to meet.

Remember, this is for WOMMA members only.

PLEASE RESERVE YOUR SEAT
http://www.womma.org/chicago

Posted by WOMMA Editor at March 7, 2006 | Link

Mark Your Calendar -- Announcing "WOM Wednesdays"

Introducing WOM Wednesdays, a new series of in-depth weekly teleconferences where leading experts teach practical word of mouth tactics and techniques. Each session will cover an important word of mouth subject such as blogs, customer evangelists, ethical best practices, viral marketing, and more!

Participation is easy -- just register and listen in over the phone. Master the art of word of mouth marketing from your own desk!

WORD OF MOUTH WEDNESDAYS
Every Wednesday at 12:00pm EST
Open to the Public
$50 non-members, $10 members
Register at: http://womma.org/telecon.htm

* Learn to Create Customer Evangelists
March 15, 2006
Jackie Huba, Co-Author, "Creating Customer Evangelists"
Ben McConnell, Co-Author, "Creating Customer Evangelists"

* GM and Edelman Case Study: When the Boss is Blogging
March 22, 2006
Richard Edelman, Edelman
Laurie Mayers, Hass MS&L

* Countering Negative Buzz
March 29, 2006
Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen BuzzMetrics
Jim Nail, Cymfony

* How to Create a Viral Word of Mouth Campaignt
April 05, 2006
Virginia Miracle, Dell
Mark Kingdon, Organic

* WOM Ethics: A Practical Guide to Doing It Right
April 19, 2006
Walter Carl, Northeastern University
Andy Sernovitz, WOMMA
Gary Spangler, DuPont

Register at: http://womma.org/telecon.htm

Posted by WOMMA Editor at March 7, 2006 | Link