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Special thanks to:
Dave Evans, HearThis.com, for producing our amazing podcast, Conference Calls Unlimited for the podcast hosting call-in service, and the fanstic WOMMA members who have volunteered their time and energy to make this all happen.
Editors:
Dana Vanden Heuvel, Jennifer Nastu, and the WOMMA staff.
Home > November 2005
November 2005 Archive
How-To: Dealing with Negative Word of Mouth
5 Tips from Ketchum's Paul Rand
When people spread negative word of mouth, they're often determined to make an impact. How you react can make a difference -- negatively or positively -- says Paul Rand, Partner and Global Chief Development and Innovation Officer for Ketchum. Instead of "bashing back", Paul suggests these five tips:
Tip #1. Know your detractor
Detractors fall into three categories. First are the "Hear Me's" that have a gripe and just want to be listened to. Ignore them and they could turn into "Reputation Terrorists," who are determined to undermine your company and willing to go out of their way to do it. Finally, there are the "Competitive Destroyers," who are trying to get a competitive advantage over you for business reasons.
Tip #2. Listen to your complaints.
Whether they're coming via email, customer service reps, or a complaint line, listen to the people who have something to say. "If they're articulate and committed enough to write to you, they're committed enough to take it further," Paul says.
Tip #3. Have facts readily available.
You'll want the ability to point to the truth, so when negative word of mouth crops up, you can say, "Yes, there's all this silliness out there, but here are the facts."
Tip #4. Maintain perspective.
"Is the negative word of mouth having an impact, or is it a guy sitting at home in his underwear in the basement with his dog looking over his shoulder?" Paul asks. Monitor BlogPulse or Technorati to see if the negative commentary is being picked up anywhere. If not, don't blow it up and make it worse.
Tip #5. Activate your influencers.
If there's truly a problem, make sure you have people willing to step up to the plate for you, and be ready to activate them if the time comes. That doesn't mean simply saying, "I'm right and he's wrong." It means having people willing to talk about their experiences with you.
Digging up dirt on the bad guy will only land you in more hot water, Paul says. But with a thoughtful, honest approach, negative word of mouth can be counteracted quickly.
More about Paul:
Paul's presentation from WOMMA WOM vs. Ads conference (Slides 18-24)
Posted on 11/29/05 | 1 Comments | Link
How-To: Generating and Using CGM
5 Tips from Intelliseek's Pete Blackshaw
The most successful companies know how to influence consumers most likely to write or talk about the company via consumer generated media (CGM). Pete Blackshaw of Intelliseek shares his tips on making CGM happen and making the most of it when it does.
Tip #1. Be aware of all forms of CGM
Unless you know where CGM happens, you can't successfully track or understand it. The following are the major areas online consumer generated media takes place:
* Blogs
* Message boards/forums
* Ratings/review sites
* Clubs or groups
* Direct company feedback
* Third-party web sites
Tip #2. Give customer-centric service
The phrase "customer service" doesn't go far enough. Companies should focus on customer-centric service. Blackshaw cited a recent example in his blog: after a shaky and frustrating month of hosting service, Typepad offered him a choice of "recovery options". He could choose from 15 to 45 days of free service as compensation.
"I couldn't imagine a more consumer-centric and respectful model for managing a difficult customer service experience," he wrote. The cynics might assume that all consumers would grab the 45-day option, but Blackshaw chose 30 days. "That's fair as far as I'm concerned, and I have little interest in gaming a service that is so openly showing respect for me."
Tip #3. Use CGM to inform search engine ad buys
"Half the game in buying targeted ads on search engines is to figure out what's relevant, hot, and timely in the long tail of consumer curiosity and conversation," Blackshaw wrote in a recent ClickZ article. "Use CGM to identify and place relevant keyword buys for Google or Yahoo. We constantly anchor our keyword buys for our site to emerging buzz topics. CGM can be your best friend in ensuring relevancy."
Tip #4. Use parents when possible
Blackshaw, who recently became a parent of twins, conducted a study which proves that people in parenting mode create a disproportionate amount of CGM. In fact, "engaged" parents outpace typical online consumers across a host of CGM factors, including propensity to share content with others. Get a parent involved in, and happy with, your brand, and he/she may shout your praises from a rooftop.
Tip #5. Use CGM to reach a hard-to-reach demographic
Consumers who regularly skip over or delete television or online ads are often those who shape, create, and absorb consumer-generated media. "Active ad skippers" are 25 percent more likely to create and respond to CGM on Internet message boards, forums and blogs than non ad-skippers. In other words, these consumers are not only increasingly elusive from an advertising perspective, but they are now taking control of the messaging. Use them to reach each other rather than trying to reach them directly.
More about Pete:
Blog
Posted on 11/29/05 | 3 Comments | Link
Podcast: Ed Keller on the Influentials
Ed's book, The Influentials, co-authored with Jon Berry, established him as a leading authority on word of mouth marketing. The Influentials was selected as one of five finalists for the 2004 Berry-AMA Book Prize for Best Book in Marketing, an honor that recognizes books whose innovative ideas have had significant impact on marketing and related fields.
To download the podcast, right-click the "Listen Now" icon and choose "Save As" or "Download Link Target"
Click the "Get Podcast" icon to subscribe to WOMMA's podcast series
More about Ed:
Ed's presentation on the State of WOM from WOMMA Summit 2005
Posted on 11/29/05 | 0 Comments | Link
Podcast: Jackie Huba on Creating Customer Evangelists
Jackie is a foremost expert on how to engage and motivate customer evangelists. In her book "Creating Customer Evangelists" with co-author Ben McConnell, Jackie talks about taking a company's best customers and turning them into influential, loyal, and enthusiastic evangelists. She will lead a workshop at the WOMMA conference in January: during her interactive presentation on creating customer evangelists, participants will learn how to develop grassroots marketing strategies and programs that create communities of influencers who expand and drive sales.
To download the podcast, right-click the "Listen Now" icon and choose "Save As" or "Download Link Target"
Click the "Get Podcast" icon to subscribe to WOMMA's podcast series
More about Jackie:
Blog
Posted on 11/29/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Dan Buczaczer, Reverb
Dan is 'famous' for leading the team that developed the talking "Chihuahua" campaign for Taco Bell which helped reverse company sales decline and won a Grand Effie for advertising effectiveness. Since then, Dan has shifted his focus to helping build WOMMA, as a co-author on the WOM terminology framework and as a featured speaker at previous WOMMA events.
Dan was recently quoted in a Reuters news report as saying You're not going to see mass blogs equaling some of the largest media companies in other spaces, said Dan Buczaczer, a director at interactive media buyer Starcom IP, part of Publicis (PUBP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research). But their very appeal to niche audiences "neatly mirrors where other media is going he said.
In fact, you may want to read that article on the way to Dan's seminar, ROI of WOM: How to Convince Your Boss (or Client), where you'll learn how to build a business case and a financial model around WOM. Dan and his co-presenter will also help you understand its impact on your marketing and business, and how to present that value.
Posted on 11/29/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: David Binkowski, Hass MS&L
David Binkowski of Hass MS&L is a pioneer in the blogosphere in so many ways. David is part of one of the most high profile blogging for marketing operations in the agency world today, BlogWorks - the name of Hass MS&L's blogging practice.
Hass MS&L is the agency of record for General Motors' FastLane and Smallblock blogs. It's no wonder that David is part of the session How To Create Great Blogs That Get People Talking. David will draw on his vast corporate blogging experience to help you learn how to create genuine blogs that really connect with your customers.
More on David:
Posted on 11/29/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Dr. Walter Carl, Northeastern University
Dr. Walter Carl's name is synonymous with WOMMA and word of mouth marketing. Dr. Carl is an active member on the WOMMA Advisory Board and Research & Metrics Council and has written numerous articles and book chapters on the subject of word of mouth.
Dr. Carl will participate in a session with previously mentioned David Fletcher on Why People Talk: Consumer Behavior and Word of Mouth.
More on Walter:
Posted on 11/29/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Nate Mordo, Ubisoft
Nate's world revolves around developing cutting edge marketing campaigns that push the envelope in Word Of Mouth and online marketing. He spends most of his time in the world of gamers and bloggers as a marketing manager at Ubisoft, the makers of Peter Jackson's 'King Kong - The Offical Game of the Movie', one of the hottest games on the market today.
Nate has previously been a featured WOMMA speaker at the WOMMA Summit, in addition to lending his expertise as a spokesperson for Ubisoft and participating on a variety of industry panels. Nate will put his time spent working with bloggers to good use at the WOMMA WOMBAT conference. He will cover the topic of 'Blogger Relations' in a how-to session called How To Work with Bloggers and Communities, The Ethical Way.
More about Nate:
Nate's Presentation at the WOMMA Summit
Posted on 11/24/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: David Fletcher, Mediaedge:cia UK
If you've had a chance to read the 'Where's Debbie?' study on word of mouth marketing, produced by David and his firm MEC MediaLab, you'll begin to understand the depth to which Mr. Fletcher is involved in the word of mouth marketing scene. In addition to the great insight that the study provides, it also won the media category in WPP's Atticus awards.
David and his panel will be presenting on Why People Talk: Consumer Behavior and Word of Mouth. If you want to understand what activates customers in a word of mouth world, attend David's session where you'll learn how to understand customer word of mouth motivations and how to measure them.
More on David:
Posted on 11/24/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Laurie Weisberg, Informative, Inc.
A familiar face around the WOMMA crowd, Laurie Weisberg of Informative presented on Word of Mouth 101 at the WOM vs. Advertising conference that we held in New York in September. Laurie is a consumate evangelist for seeking an understanding of the Voice-of-the-Customer in any marketing engagement.
At the WOMBAT conference, Laurie will once again show us "how-to" in the session titled "How To Motivate Fans, Advocates, and Evangelists." Laurie will share her expertise in understanding customer influence and how customer conversations affect your brand. She will illustrate how word of mouth marketing is about real people talking to their friends about your products. She will show you how to get them talking, why they talk, and what motivates them.
More about Laurie:
Laurie's Presentation at WOM vs. Advertising
Posted on 11/23/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Dan Cooke, Interactive Marketing, Whirlpool
Coming to WOMMA events, you expect to hear from marketing industry luminaries like those on the speaker list, but it's always refreshing to hear from the folks on the front-lines like Dan Cooke at Whirlpool Corporation, a $12 billion dollar manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances.
In case you haven't seen (or heard), Whirlpool is podcasting! So, it's only fitting that Dan's session at the WOMBAT conference will be on none other than podcasting. Learn from Dan Cooke of Whirlpool on how his company was able to master this new technology, create the "American Family" podcast, and use it to educate and help out consumers.
Dan is a regular speaker and panelist at marketing conferences around the country. If you're looking for the front-line view of how podcasting works for a major manufacturer, look no further than Dan's session at WOMBAT.
More on Whirlpool:
Posted on 11/22/05 | 0 Comments | Link
A Special Thank You to WOMBAT Sponsors
WOMMA would especially like to thank the sponsors and distinguished WOMMA member companies who have come aboard to help us bring you this event. Check 'em out when you get a chance, and let them know that we sent you!
- HypeCouncil is a proud member of WOMMA! From advertising to PR, HypeCouncil can seamlessly integrate your brand and hundreds of targeted web channels.
- Kaava, also a WOMMA member, provides clients with ongoing competitive intelligence on key industry areas, brands, products and/or topics and monitors your company's consumer conversation on the web.
- CRM Metrix provides clients with actionable insights, gathered through ongoing consumer conversations that lead to profitable relationships.
- MotiveQuest uses software, combined with an anthropological research approach, to help you better understand online customer conversations about your brand.
- Decision Analyst is a decision-oriented, analytical marketing research company that translated research data into marketing actions.
- Organic designs and builds exceptional online experiences for leading brands by delivering integrated digital marketing communications.
Posted on 11/20/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Ted Wright, Liquid Intelligence
If there's a guru of word of mouth for beverages, Ted Wright would be him. Ted, a partner at Liquid Intelligence, is returning once again after speaking at WOMMA's Word of Mouth Marketing Summit in March of 2005. He was a hit at that conference and we're confident he'll be able to wow you with the data he'll be presenting on Tiger Beer, one of the fastest growing imports in the US. Ted's firm is hired by both well-known and less famous beverage companies and really understands how beverages become popular.
Posted on 11/11/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Mark Kingdon, Organic
Organic is responsible for much of the amazing viral marketing work that is out there today. Mark Kingdon, the CEO of Organic, is a great asset to the "How To Create a Viral Campaign" panel, along with Virginia Miracle of Dell. He helps guide the company in this new field and has been developing viral campaigns since 1994. In addition to overseeing things at Organic, Mark also writes a column for ClickZ.
Posted on 11/11/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Geoff Ramsey, eMarketer
We're delighted to have Geoff Ramsey, the CEO of industry analysis firm eMarketer on our speaker lineup. Along with Pete Blackshaw of Intelliseek Geoff will talk the latest numbers on word of mouth, with a detailed report on WOM's adoption rate, who is u sing it, and how it affects consumer behavior. eMarketer, together with WOMMA, recently released a report containing the lastest data on word of mouth marketing. One key finding of the study concluded that 43% of all marketers -- nearly half -- plan to incorporate WOM into their marketing efforts in 2006.
Posted on 11/10/05 | 0 Comments | Link
Author Intensive Workshops
On the second day of WOMBAT, we're delighted to bring you four internationally-known authors to discuss their work and lead small-group discussions on word of mouth issues. This isn't part of the standard "sit down and listen to panelists" agenda. Guests will get the chance to discuss and meet with both these famous authors and other attendees who share the same WOM interests.
Jackie Huba, co-author of Creating Customer Evangelists, will show you how to "turn buyers into believers." "By deepening customer relationships, successful organizations create communities that generate grassroots support and value for their products and services... Huba demonstrates how you can convert good customers into exceptional ones who willingly spread the word."
Ed Keller and Jon Berry have written one of the most important books in word of mouth marketing entitled The Influentials. "One American in ten tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy." Keller and Berry will show you how to find the most influential people in the marketplace and educate you on the way those people think and how they can be targeted.
Douglas Atkin's work "The Culting of Brands is the fruit of research that has spanned more than seven years. Douglas Atkin became fascinated by the way brand addicts expressed the kind of conviction one might only expect at a religious revivalist meeting." He'll discuss how "brands are becoming the new religion" and that "modernity is allowing communities to grow" and influence the world of marketing.
George Silverman, author of The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing is "an expert in creating word-of-mouth campaigns" and an internationally-known speaker on the subject of word-of-mouth marketing. He specializes in "creating multifold sales increases through positive word of mouth." Ask him questions and he can give you tons of information on WOM and how to create the best WOM program for your company.
These authors will each tackle a separate word of mouth issue for a 30-minute presentation and then invite spirited, guided conversation on that particular subject. It's a great opportunity to both get to know the authors and their work, along with learning a great deal about a new WOM topic.
Posted on 11/ 1/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Keynote: Scott Ginsberg, "That Guy with the Nametag"
Scott Ginsberg is an internationally recognized author, professional speaker and the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7 to make people friendlier and more approachable. In his site, http://www.hellomynameisscott.com/, Scott shares techniques, stories and observations from his speeches, articles and books on how to maximize approachability and become an unforgettable communicator - one conversation at a time.
Audience reactions to Scott have been really positive with remarks like, "When I met Scott before the speech I wondered how a man so young could teach me anything. Now, after hearing him talk, I've become an amazing networker!" "Past clients have raved about the level of excitement Scott brings to the stage. Also, thousands of audience members will agree that Scott is, in fact, hilarious."
Check out Scott's blog!
Posted on 11/ 1/05 | 0 Comments | Link
WOMMA Welcomes Media Partners
WOMMA would like to extend a special note of thanks to AdRants and MarketingVOX for their support in spreading the word about the "Word of Mouth Basic Training" conference.
Posted on 11/ 1/05 | 0 Comments | Link
Spreading the Word about WOMBAT
People have been asking us for text that they can use to help spread the word about the event. Which is no surprise, because we are the word of mouth people!
So, here it is.
Thanks for all the support!
WOMMA's Word of Mouth Basic Training THE BIGGEST WORD OF MOUTH EVENT EVER Master the art of word of mouth, viral, buzz and blog marketing This is the one event to attend to get the skills you need to succeed with word of mouth LEARN TO GET PEOPLE TALKING! More info at:
January 19-20, 2006 | Orlando, FL
http://www.womma.org/wombat
Posted on 11/ 1/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Keynote: Fred Reichheld
Fred Reichheld is the founder of Bain & Company's Loyalty Practice which helps clients achieve superior results through improvements in customer, employee, partner, and investor loyalty. In Reichheld's presentation about his new book, The Ultimate Question: For Opening The Door to Good Profits and True Growth (HBS Press February, 2006), he reveals new evidence that customer referrals proved the true driver of profitable growth. By measuring a firm’s Net Promoter® Score this basic truth will become apparent to an increasing audience of corporate executives and investors. They will finally recognize the powerful bottom-line impact of WOM. In his original bestseller, The Loyalty Effect, Reichheld developed the economic framework that underpins much of today’s analysis of customer loyalty and lifetime value. This work has become the foundation for justifying and evaluating investments to improve customer loyalty (ranging from customer acquisition campaigns to CRM software). In his new book, Reichheld reveals another breakthrough by clarifying the micro-economics of Word-Of Mouth. With this new framework, firms can begin to invest the appropriate level of resources in building positive word-of-mouth and referrals. Like its predecessors, The Ultimate Question is written to convince Chief-Financial Officers as well as CEOs and Chief Marketing Officers. Now, investing in word-of mouth can become more than simply an act of faith, it can be justified with the same financial tools as other strategic initiatives. Now, WOM can be subjected to the same rational measurement and analysis that enables accountability and delivers bottom line results.
Posted on 11/ 1/05 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Dan Buczaczer, Reverb
New Speaker: David Binkowski, Hass MS&L
New Speaker: Dr. Walter Carl, Northeastern University
New Speaker: Nate Mordo, Ubisoft
New Speaker: David Fletcher, Mediaedge:cia UK
New Speaker: Laurie Weisberg, Informative, Inc.
New Speaker: Dan Cooke, Interactive Marketing, Whirlpool
A Special Thank You to WOMBAT Sponsors
How-To: Dealing with Negative Word of Mouth
How-To: Generating and Using CGM
Podcast: Ed Keller on the Influentials
Podcast: Jackie Huba on Creating Customer Evangelists
W hodgson on How-To: Synthesizing Oral Communication
Michael Rubin on 43 Ideas You can Implement Tomorrow (REVISED: LIST AVAILABLE IN COMMENTS FROM MICHAEL RUBIN)
Natalie Jost on How-To: Launching Blogs to Increase Sales
Deborah Chaddock on How-To: Putting Secret Insights into Practice
Ben Bicais on How-To: Creating a Web Site that Encourages WOM
James Clark on How-To: Joining the Conversation
Simon Adams on 43 Ideas You can Implement Tomorrow (REVISED: LIST AVAILABLE IN COMMENTS FROM MICHAEL RUBIN)
Jeremy on How-To: Synthesizing Oral Communication
john on 43 Ideas You can Implement Tomorrow (REVISED: LIST AVAILABLE IN COMMENTS FROM MICHAEL RUBIN)
Gina Kay on How-To: Synthesizing Oral Communication