Word of Mouth Basic Training -- Word of Mouth Marketing Association -- WOMMA

Posted on 12/29/05 | 1 Comments | Link

Podcast: Organic's Mark Kingdon on Effective Viral and Word of Mouth Campaigns.

Marketers willing to take risks are at the heart of the emerging non-traditional campaigns going the distance. In this podcast, Mark Kingdom of Organic explains why.

Prior to joining Organic as its CEO in 2001, Mark worked for Idealab and provided strategic guidance to emerging companies. Earlier, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he led the Americas retail and distribution practice, managed the PWC & Lybrand merger, and led of the e-business practice globally. Mark is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and serves as a Webby judge. Mark received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA in Economics from UCLA.

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 Mark:

Posted on 12/28/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: John C. Bloomstrom, Northlich

An experienced and popular presenter, John has been a featured speaker at previous Word of Mouth Marketing Association conferences and other national marketing and branding events. Join him at WOMBAT for his case-study session; Downy Wrinkle Releaser: Smoothly Integrating WOM With Traditional Advertising on day 2 of the conference.

John joined Northlich in 1986, serving a variety of clients representing consumer products, financial services, and healthcare. With ten years of client-side experience as Marketing Director for Ambulatory Medical Care and Sales Promotion Manager for Huffy Bicycles, he contributes keen insight and a deep understanding of marketing from a client's perspective.

He encourages a disciplined approach to developing influencer marketing programs to make sure clients identify the most vocal and viral advocates for their brands.

Posted on 12/25/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Podcast: NPR's Bob Garfield on the Rise of Word of Mouth

Bob Garfield knows advertising.

* He explores its place in popular culture as the co-host of NPR's "On the Media".

* He skewers it as the writer of Ad Age's influential "Ad Review" TV-commercial criticism column.

* He makes you think (and laugh) as the author of two brilliant (and damn funny) business books on it.

Bob now sets his experience and critical eye toward word of mouth.

In a memorable interview with WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz, Bob shares his points of view on word of mouth's emergence as a reponse to the increasing clutter and noise levels associated with traditional advertising. He also talks at length about how traditional advertisers are coping and responding now that consumers are talking back. "Those who stay in denial will eventually, in the near term, will see their market shares erode while others who understand the dynamics of the consumer-driven marketplace will prosper."

WOMMA Exclusive! Come to the Word of Mouth Basic Training conference and hear Bob speak as a main keynote. All attendees will receive a copy of Bob's book "And Now a Word from Me" absolutely free.

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 Bob:

NPR's On The Media

Posted on 12/23/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Podcast: BuzzMetrics' Max Kalehoff on What Word of Mouth is NOT

What is word of mouth marketing? According to Max Kalehoff of BuzzMetrics, it's not simply blogs and other new technologies. In this podcast, Max goes in depth into the emergence of trust and engagement as key factors in word of mouth marketing and explains the role of word of mouth as a component of an overall marketing campaign.

BuzzMetrics helps companies listen to, measure and act upon the online consumer dialogue affecting their markets. As the Vice President of Marketing, Max leads marketing and communications, and supports strategic partner and product development.

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 Max:

Posted on 12/23/05 | 1 Comments | Link

Podcast: Kevin Burke on Marketing to Moms

"Women are the consumer. They are driving purchasing decisions in all categories." So says Kevin Burke of Lucid Marketing. In this podcast, Kevin talks about the changes he's seen in marketing to women. Kevin also goes into detail about the common mistakes marketers make when focusing their marketing on women.

Founded in 1998, Lucid marketing specializes in marketing to women. The firm builds relationships, relevance and trust with mothers for the world's premier brands.

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 Kevin:

Posted on 12/23/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Kevin Burke, Lucid Marketing

Kevin's specialty is connecting todays' moms with todays' brands. So, it's no surprise that Kevin will be leading a how-to at WOMBAT on How To Get Women Talking! If women are in your target demographic, this session is not to be missed!

Kevin Burke founded Lucid Marketing in 1998 to lead brand marketers in strategizing and implementing marketing programs that build successful relationships with customers. He's helped consumer brands build millions of lasting relationships with their customers by putting the customers' needs and emotions first.

Today, as Lucid's president, Kevin works with several of the world's premier brands to provide marketing solutions that build relationships, relevance, and trust with mothers.

Posted on 12/23/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Laurie Blum, Best Buy

Hear a WOM case study from the trenches with Laurie's Best Buy Case Study session - Best Buy: Avoiding Typical Online WOM Mistakes.

As Best Buy's senior digital manager, Laurie Blum guides the digital advertising strategy for North America's No. 1 specialty retailer of consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, major appliances, and related services. She drives the development of emerging advertising capabilities and sets the company's digital strategy. Blum joined Best Buy as a member of its e-commerce team in February 2000. She began her career at Gateway and was a member of the 11-person team that launched www.gateway.com in 1995. She also led Gateway's Europe, Middle East, and Africa online advertising efforts. Blum has a bachelor's degree from University of South Dakota.

Posted on 12/20/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Download the first chapter of Fred Reichheld's new book

Free chapter of the new book from loyalty pioneer Fred Reichheld

The Ultimate Question you need to ask: "Would you recommend us to a friend?"

Bain & Company's Fred Reichheld is generally credited with laying the groundwork for the modern customer and employee loyalty industry. His new book, "The Ultimate Question", shows how to turn customers into promoters who generate good profits and true, sustainable growth.

Fred theory centers around one key question: "Would you recommend us to a friend?" This one question allows companies to track promoters and detractors, producing a clear measure of an organization's performance through its customer's eyes. Fred calls this new metric "the Net Promoter Score."

Catch a sneak preview of the new book by downloading the first chapter of "The Ultimate Question" today. Then come to WOMMA's Word of Mouth Basic Training conference, where Fred is delivering a keynote and all attendees will receive a copy of the entire book.

Download the first chapter of "The Ultimate Question" (1MB download)

More from Fred Reichheld...
Read Fred's WOMBAT How-To

Listen to Fred's WOMBAT Podcast

Go to Fred's blog

In case you're wondering, the answer to the Ultimate Question is not 42.

Posted on 12/20/05 | 1 Comments | Link

How-To: Finding & Motivating the Right Influencers

5 Tips from Matchstick's Patrick Thoburn

Matchstick helped launch the Chrysler 300C in 2004 by loaning it for a week to 105 consumer influencers. Co-founder Patrick Thoburn knew he'd be reaching out to a group of consumers who were highly engaged. Here, he suggests five tips on finding and motivating the right influencers:

Tip #1. Ask the right questions
Patrick believes that every product category has its own type of influencer. To find "category experts", he surveyed enthusiasts with questions such as: Do people turn to you for automotive recommendations? Do you attend automotive shows? Do you read automotive media?

Tip #2. Look for a "type"
Patrick's influencers would have the loan of the car for a week. To maximize the number of people who got to ride in them, he looked for types of people who tend to drive clients and other people in social professions.

Tip #3. Encourage natural tendencies
Influencers enjoy talking and sharing their opinions, so it doesn't take much to encourage them. Patrick's team encouraged the influencers to share the car with friends not only by talking about it, but by letting their friends test-drive it.

Tip #4. Educate
When the cars were delivered, the influencers were given in-depth tutorials on the car until they knew it inside and out, making it easier for them to share their knowledge.

Tip #5. Earlier is better
"Influencers are more likely to want to talk about something that others haven't heard about," Patrick says. It reinforces their identity, he says. He seeded the vehicles just before they became available at the dealerships. "We were turning heads," he says.

More about Patrick:

Marketing profile featuring Matchstick

Posted on 12/20/05 | 0 Comments | Link

How-To: Looking at BtoB Word of Mouth

5 Tips from The Phelon Group's Steven Nicks

Word of mouth (WOM) is not just for BtoC companies, says Steven Nicks, founding partner of The Phelon Group. "The CIO who buys your seven-figure software package also buys a home computer, car or other consumer goods," he says.

Tip #1. Consider structured vs. unstructured WOM
BtoB companies are more familiar with structured WOM like customer reference programs or analyst relations. With structured WOM, you significantly influence who says what, when.

Tip #2. Embrace unstructured WOM
There may be BtoC companies and BtoB companies, but the buyers are the same. They use the same set of skills -- peer networks, online research, etc. -- to make the purchases.

Tip #3. Maximize the effects of unstructured WOM
If you have something of value to offer, there are people out there saying good things about you in an unstructured way. Watch and learn who your proactive promoters are, reach out to them, and develop a strong relationship.

Tip 4: Plan ahead for negative WOM
Have a plan in place to react when someone says something negative about your company or products -- and make sure it addresses the problem at its source, not the negative comment. Most big examples of negative buzz are more about a company's failure to react well than the original problem.

Tip #5. Offer real value and build real relationships
You can offer real value and find mutually beneficial opportunities for your customers to speak about you. Avoid asking your customers to help out "as a favor" and don't try to bribe them with points or rewards. After all, Steven reminds us, relationships are not about transactions. They are about building trust and helping each other succeed.

More about Steven:

Posted on 12/20/05 | 0 Comments | Link

WOMBAT Podcast

New Speaker: Steven Nicks, The Phelon Group

How does WOM change in a BtoB environment? Answers to that and other questions you have about applying WOM to B2B can be found in Steven's how-to session at WOMBAT; How To Do Business to Business WOM.

Steven is a founding partner of The Phelon Group and leads the firm's operations and service delivery. With 17 years of proven experience in strategy, marketing, and large-scale enterprise implementations, Steven brings a strong consulting background and a unique blend of innovation and strategic thinking, coupled with the ability to understand technology from both a business and technical perspective. Steven honed his consulting expertise at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young, and also served in senior marketing management and operations for eAssist Global Solutions and 3M Europe.

Posted on 12/19/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Joshua Sinel, Kaava

A new media veteran, Joshua co-founded Kaava in 1996. The company uses an eight-stage process to decipher online dialogue and conversations and turn them into actionable data. In turn, it provides its clients with competitive intelligence on key industry areas, brands, producst, and topics.

Prior to co-founding Kaava, Joshua served as the Executive Producer for PoliticsNow, the first real-time, online political news center. Prior to that, he worked as a lead producer for the then-forming WarnerBros.com and as an original member of the team that developed and launched Hearst's HomeArts.com. This was the first-ever venture to take offline magazine publications to the then-new medium of the Internet.

Catch Joshua's session, How To Use Online Feedback To Improve Your Marketing, on day two of WOMBAT!

Posted on 12/16/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Podcast: Fred Reichheld on Good Profits and True Growth

In this exclusive podcast, noted author and loyalty pioneer Fred Reichheld talks at length about the difference between good profits -- those that build on the earned loyalty of current customers, and bad profits -- those which arise out of a milking strategy focused on continuous acquisition rather than retention and referral generation.

WOMMA Exclusive! Catch a sneak preview of Fred's new book "The Ultimate Question" and download chapter 1 today. Then come to WOMMA's Word of Mouth Basic Training conference, where Fred is delivering a keynote and all attendees will receive a copy of the entire book.

Now serving as a Director Emeritus and Bain Fellow, Fred is the founder of the Loyalty Practice at Bain & Company. His pioneering work in customer, employee, and investor retention has made him widely recognized as a leading authority on business loyalty. His previous book, Loyalty Rules, was an international best-seller.

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 Fred:

Posted on 12/15/05 | 1 Comments | Link

Fred's WOMBAT How-To: How-To: Applying the Golden Rule for Good Profits

Download the first chapter of "The Ultimate Question" (1MB download)

Podcast: Paul Rand on Creating an Effective WOM Campaign

Paul Rand of Ketchum Communications discusses a 4-step process for creating effective word of mouth campaigns built around the creation of an honest, sharable story. Paul also talks about negative word of mouth, and some of the common misperceptions associated with it.

A noted expert in strategic communications, Paul brings 20 years of expertise in corporate, industry analyst, financial, crisis, business-to-business and marketing communications. He fills several senior positions at Ketchum, including Partner, Global Chief Development and Innovation Officer, Global Technology Practice Director, and Associate Director of the firm's Chicago office.

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 Paul:

Ketchum bio page

Paul's WOMBAT How-To: Dealing with Negative Word of Mouth

Paul's presentation from WOMMA WOM vs. Ads conference (Slides 18-24)

Posted on 12/15/05 | 0 Comments | Link

How-To: Making Your Brand Approachable

5 Tips from Scott Ginsberg, That Guy with a Nametag

Scott Ginsberg began wearing a nametag every day in college as an experiment, to see if it would make people friendlier. Now, 1,863 days later, he has learned some important lessons on building a brand. He shared five tips to make your brand approachable:

Tip #1. Do something cool
"In my years of wearing a nametag, people say, 'Scott, that's the coolest thing I ever heard.' They tell other people about it," Scott says. "When you have a product or company that's 'cool,' people can't keep it to themselves. Try to understand the "cool" things that you like, then look for the commonalities between them to discover your own brand of cool."

Tip # 2. Be "That Guy"
In Scott's first six months wearing a nametag, he learned that people didn't just call him by first name. He was always "That Guy with the Nametag" and it has become part of who he is -- his own personal brand.

People enjoy dealing with "That Guy" because he's memorable. What guy are you? Consider this:

* Every time I [blank], it makes people stop, listen, and say "WOW!"

* People always remember me for [blank].

* I'm probably the only person you'll ever meet who will [blank].

Tip #3. Fans not customers
Fans stick with you even if you do something bad. They'll go to the ends of the earth to find your product. And they don't need to be sold to.

"A customer is someone who comes to a store to buy a lamp and never comes back," Scott explains. "Fans crave experiences unlike any others." Think about how to give them the experiences they crave.

Tip #4. Own a word
Scott recently got a call from an editor at Cosmopolitan magazine who was writing about approachability. After searching on Amazon, Scott was the only author she found. "I own the word 'approachability'" he says.

To discover the word you own, consider this:

* If you looked up [blank] in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of my company.

* If I was about to give a speech to 10,000 people and one of the audience members came backstage and asked what my speech was about, I'd probably say, [blank].

Tip #5. Market yourself daily
By wearing a nametag, Scott is marketing himself every day. And it's working: "I ran into a guy I went to high school with, and he said he was just reading about me. Where? In Ripley's Believe It or Not."

Scott's career as speaker and author took off thanks to a conversation he had with a guy on a bus about the nametag thing. The guy was the boyfriend of a reporter ... and the rest is history.

More about Scott:

Hello, My name is BLOG

More about Scott's quiz in Cosmo

Posted on 12/13/05 | 0 Comments | Link

How-To: Using WOM to Cut Through the Noise

5 Tips from Market Navigation's George Silverman

"A lot of people talk about getting the buzz going," says George Silverman, author of The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing and president of Market Navigation. "But I think buzz is just noise. When you get undifferentiated buzz going, you're overloading people with information."

To use word of mouth (WOM) to cut through the "noise," George suggests these five tips:

Tip #1. "Rig the game" by making a superior product
Start with your evangelists -- whether actual or theoretical. Evangelists are moved by products that wildly exceed expectations. What kind of people, and in what circumstances, will use the product? Make sure your product is a superior one for those people in those circumstances.

Tip #2. Map the decision-making process
People go through anywhere from 20 to 100 major and minor decisions before purchasing. They ask: Am I in the market for this? Should I seek information? Where should I seek information? How can I try it safely? Each time they answer one of these questions, they're making a decision. When you know the process, you can give the information they need at each step of the way, leading them willingly and cooperatively through the decision process.

Tip #3. Offer relevance, not truth
Truth is easy to come by. A patron does not need to be told a restaurant's food is safe to eat. Relevancy is a decisive factor in decision-making.

In minivans, for example, one of the most relevant pieces of information is the number of cupholders. That's more relevant than the fact that the minivan can go 100 miles per hour.

Tip #4. Overcome obstacles
Every product has obstacles. Hold focus groups and try this: bring in a mix of interested but skeptical consumers and your top evangelists. Get them talking together, and find out what convinces the skeptics and gets them over their stumbling block.

Tip #5. Collect the right kind of word of mouth
Once you know what's persuasive and what gets skeptics past their objections, you can easily forward that information to consumers by encouraging customers to engage in word of mouth that is specific to those issues. Remember that consumers listen to experts and peers at different times: experts are successful when telling people the upside, ideal potential of a thing; peers tell people how a thing works in the real world.

Create and/or gather the right materials, in the right sequence, in the right form, from the right sources and encourage that kind of word of mouth to go on, and you'll multiply sales enormously.

More about George:

Posted on 12/13/05 | 0 Comments | Link

WOMMA Podcasts Now in iTunes

We've made it even easier for you to get your fix of word of mouth marketing wisdom -- even while commuting or exercising. WOMMA's WOMBAT Podcast Series can now be found at the iTunes Music Store. Podcasts are available as individual downloads or you can receive updates automatically as new recordings are posted by clicking the "subscribe" button.

Direct link to WOMMA podcasts

If the link doesn't work, just open iTunes, click the Music Store icon, and type 'WOMMA' into the search box. You will see entries for Youssou N'Dour (don't ask), but click WOMMA instead.

Posted on 12/12/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Podcast: David Binkowski on Corporate Blogging

In this podcast, David Binkowski explains the issues and challenges unique to corporate blogs. Drawing on on his experiences working on General Motors' groundbreaking Fastlane blog (among others), David provides specific insights into creating genuine blogs that connect with customers.

As the Director of Online Outreach for Hass MS&L, David combines eight years of entrepreneurial vision and Web experience with his clients' goals to create strategic online PR and marketing initiatives. His client list includes GM, P&G, and other companies that have two-letter abbreviations.

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 David:

Posted on 12/12/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Podcast: Todd Tweedy on the Realities of Effective Word of Mouth

In this podcast, BoldMouth CEO Todd Tweedy talks about the realities of launching an effective word of mouth program, and provides insights into the defining elements of successful word of mouth.

No stranger to the worlds of word of mouth and marketing, Todd is the author of the Neighboring marketing model published by Internet.com. Launched in 2005, BoldMouth develops cost-effective word of mouth marketing models that leverage real-time communications and database-driven information delivery to enhance customer acquisition, retention and new mobilization initiatives.

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 Todd:

Posted on 12/12/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Jamie Tedford, Arnold Worldwide

Since joining Arnold Worldwide's Brand Promotions unit in 2001, Jamie has focused his attention on leveraging non-traditional marketing strategies to develop brand building promotional marketing campaigns for clients such as Puma, Monster.com, VW, Truth, Southern Comfort, and Radio Shack. He has also leveraged his extensive youth marketing experience to help launch Arnold's youth marketing practice area, known as Project Y.

Recognized as an experiential marketing leader, word-of-mouth marketing pioneer and youth marketing specialist, Jamie has spoken at numerous industry conferences such as The Word Of Mouth Marketing Association Summit and IIR's annual "Capturing the Growing College Market" event. His team has enjoyed industry acclaim, winning the PMA's Gold Reggie in 2002 for the Truth Infect Tour. ABP has also won Reggie and Effie Awards for two campaigns last year: The VW/Apple iPod "Pods Unite" campaign and VW/W Hotels "Get Behind the Wheel" promotion.

Jamie will be conducting a How-To Session called How To Motivate Fans, Advocates, and Evangelists.

Posted on 12/11/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Paul Williams, iKarma

Paul Williams is the co-founder and CEO of iKarma Inc., a reputation management service that lets anyone capture their WOM and put it to work. Prior to founding iKarma, Paul served as marketing director for a mid-sized investment banking firm. Paul has been profiled by Registered Rep Magazine, which called him a "Technological Marketing Guru," and by Worth Magazine, which called him a "Modern day J. Edgar Hoover" for his innovative database marketing work. As scary as that may sound, Pauls iKarma profile at http://Paul.iKarma.com shows people he's really a good guy who gets great WOM.

Speaking of karma, Paul will be leading a how-to session on day 2 called How To Build A Great Reputation Online. You'll learn how adding reputation management to your WOM and advertising strategies can unify and enhance the value of all three.

Posted on 12/10/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Second Week Recap

Here's a brief recap of this week's how-to's and podcast. Thanks to everyone for their fantastic contributions!

How-To's

How-To: Applying the Golden Rule for Good Profits

How-To: Generating WOM for Starbucks-like Success

Podcasts

Podcast: Greg Stielstra on PyroMarketing

Posted on 12/ 9/05 | 0 Comments | Link

Podcast: Greg Stielstra on PyroMarketing

In this podcast, author Greg Stielstra talks about his book, PyroMarketing: The Four Step Strategy to Ignite Customer Evangelists and Keep Them For Life. Greg talks about the dramatic changes that have taken place in mass marketing as he puts forward pyromarketing as a positive new word of mouth marketing strategy.

An innovative marketer, author, speaker and consultant, Greg was the marketing director for numerous best-selling books including The Purpose Driven Life. Currently, he works as the Vice President of Marketing for Christian Trade Books at Thomas Nelson Publishing

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 Greg:

Download the full audio of the book (free registration required)

Posted on 12/ 8/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Keynote: Don Peppers, Peppers & Rogers Group

Recognized for over a decade as one of the leading authorities on customer-focused relationship management strategies for business, Don Peppers is an acclaimed author and a founding partner of Peppers & Rogers Group, the world's premier customer-centered management consulting firm. Peppers' and Rogers' most innovative strategic thinking is embodied in their newest book, Return On Customer or ROC), released in June 2005. Return on Customer documents the customer base as a revenue-producing asset for businesses, capable of driving a company's long-term economic worth.

More about Don:

Posted on 12/ 8/05 | 0 Comments | Link

How-To: Applying the Golden Rule for Good Profits

5 Tips from Bain & Company's Fred Reichheld

The only way to truly earn customer loyalty is by building a loyal team of front-line employees, believes Fred Reichheld, Director Emeritus and Bain Fellow. Here, Fred shares five tips on ensuring employee loyalty, and turning it into measurable success.

Tip #1. Leaders live by the Golden Rule
"The rules of loyalty fold into one: treat others the way you would like to be treated," Fred says. When leaders treat others fairly, with honest communications, employees are more inclined to follow. The Golden Rule should form the basis of all management decisions, which lead to profitable growth and good communities.

Tip #2. Ask customers the "ultimate question"
The best question to ask is: How likely are you to recommend us to a friend? Every customer, when taken seriously, should be willing to answer "occasionally." A customer who responds with a nine or ten on a 1-10 scale is very different than a person who responds with a three or four. Get a high percentage of customers to respond seriously. By looking at their responses, you can divide your customer base into promoters and detractors.

Tip #3. Hold employees accountable
By calling or emailing customers immediately after interactions with customer service reps (or by other systems), you can see if employees are creating promoters or detractors. Hold them accountable for their actions based on that success, rather than on profitability.

Tip #4. Have employees grade each other
The ultimate question works equally well among employees. At Bain & Company, for example, front line employees grade their bosses on how well the leaders are living up to the values represented by the Golden Rule. They are graded every six months via secret ballot, with results for each leader published soon after.

Tip #5. Measure promoters as rigorously as profits
Most companies hold employees accountable by profit, but they can't tell "good profit" (earned from promoters) from "bad profit" (earned from detractors). Bad profits make life bad for customers and destroy growth. To measure good versus bad profits, take the percentage of customers who are promoters and subtract the percentage who are detractors. That number marks the net worth of your customer base, or net promoter score.

"The best word of mouth gets generated from customers who feel they have been treated according to the Golden Rule," Fred concluded. "How would people like to be treated? In a way that makes them so pleased that they would like the same experience for a loved one."

More about Fred:

Posted on 12/ 8/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek

Of course you knew that Pete would be speaking at WOMBAT! He wouldn't miss it. Pete is a consumate evangelist for companies gaining and understanding of what your customers are saying about you online and what impact they have on your brand.

Pete Blackshaw is a recognized expert in interactive marketing, word of mouth, and consumer understanding. He presently serves as Chief Marketing and Client Satisfaction Officer of Intelliseek, a Cincinnati company specializing in measuring and analyzing online "buzz," or Consumer Generated Media (CGM) - in blogs, message boards, and direct consumer feedback to companies. Intelliseek's blog portal, Blogpulse.com, monitors over 3.5 million blogs every day, and serves as a showcase of Intelliseek's advanced text mining capability. Intelliseek was recently named to Inc 500's list of "Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies." Pete is one of the founders of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, one of the fastest growing industry groups in advertising and marketing circles, and he presently authors a bi-weekly column on JupiterMedia's "ClickZ" network.

Pete will be presenting a session from 2:00 - 2:45 on day 1 of the conference called: Research Report: The Latest Data on WOM

Posted on 12/ 7/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Kerry Stranman, MotiveQuest

Kerry Stranman is the Chief Strategist at MotiveQuest, a strategic consultancy and online research firm. Kerry considers herself a "Humanist Planner," having a particular aptitude for navigating universal human truths in the context of contemporary culture to build meaning for brands. At MotiveQuest, Kerry is applying this planning approach to the field of online anthropology, utilizing her experience in textual analysis to gain insight into online consumer conversations in newsgroups, message boards, and blogs. Prior to joining MotiveQuest, Kerry was a Vice President, Strategic Planning Director at Leo Burnett.

If you're eager to learn how consumers interact in a word of mouth world, join Kerry and her co-presenters for the second course on measurement at WOMBAT, Why People Talk: Consumer Behavior and Word of Mouth.

Posted on 12/ 6/05 | 1 Comments | Link

How-To: Generating WOM for Starbucks-like Success

5 Tips from Brand Autopsy's John Moore

Not many companies would pass up the success that Starbucks and Whole Foods have seen in recent years. The best way to get people to remark on your company is to make it remarkable, says John Moore, marketing medic for Brand Autopsy.

Here, John shares his 5 tips on building brand buzz:

Tip #1. Be the best, not the biggest
Companies should seek to be the best at what they do. Only by focusing on being the best are you guaranteed to grow.

Tip #2. Make the common uncommon
Starbucks took a basic cup of coffee -- simply a vehicle for caffeine -- and made it uncommonly better. Whole Foods took a chore -- the common grocery shopping experience -- and turned it into a time for exploration.

Tip #3. Close the aspirational gap
Consumers aspire to live a certain lifestyle. Businesses that help consumers actualize those aspirations can command premium prices and premium prestige. People who shop at Whole Foods want a healthier, happier, and more rewarding life. Whole Foods gives them a glimpse of that. For people who go to Starbucks, it's about taking a moment to exhale and to enjoy a community with friends. Starbucks allows and invites that moment to happen.

Tip #4. Remember, marketing has two audiences
The best marketing program has a greater impact on employees than any internal memo. Companies often forget about their own employees, but they are one of the best places to start when it comes to word of mouth.

Tip #5. Everything matters
At Starbucks, you'll never hear a marketer say, "Oh, that doesn't matter, because a customer will never see that." Everything small matters, and it matters greatly, because great branding happens when a business does everything right.

By following these tips, says Moore, word of mouth is guaranteed to happen, because it follows the law of remarkability: remarkable things get remarked about.

More about John:

Posted on 12/ 6/05 | 0 Comments | Link

First Week Recap

In case you missed any of our how-to's or podcasts, you can find them on the right-side column of the blog. Here's a brief recap from the exciting first week. Thanks to everyone for their fantastic contributions!

How-To's
How-To: Generating and Using CGM

How-To: Dealing with Negative Word of Mouth

How-To: Building Buzz for A New Book - Hollywood Style

How-To: Using WOM to Cut Through the Noise

Podcasts
Podcast: Steven Nicks on BtoB Word of Mouth

Podcast: Ed Keller on the Influentials

Podcast: Jackie Huba on Creating Customer Evangelists

Posted on 12/ 5/05 | 0 Comments | Link

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Posted on 12/ 5/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Eleanor Leger, Creative Good, Inc.

Eleanor Leger has more than 20 years experience as a management consultant and senior executive in the financial services and software industries. Most recently she led the development of a new customer-focused management discipline at Intuit.

She has also been at the forefront of Internet developments in the insurance industry as Corporate VP of Strategy for Alexander & Alexander Services, as VP/GM of CNA's Legal Professional Liability programs where she built the world's first Website for commercial insurance, and later as Chief Product Officer of EmployeeMatters (acquired by Intuit in 2000).

Prior to her industry experience, Eleanor was a consultant with Bain & Company and a Principal with Mercer Management Consulting. She holds a BA cum laude in Economics from Harvard and an MBA with distinction from the Wharton School.

New Speaker: Drew Neisser, Renegade Marketing Group

Like the handsaw in Renegade's logo, Drew has a distinctive knack for cutting through, especially the baloney that pervades the marketing industry. After 15 years of working at big agencies including JWT and Chiat/Day, Drew co-founded Renegade with funding from Dentsu in 1996. Since then, Drew has helped grow Renegade into a leading non-traditional marketing agency for such clients as Panasonic, HSBC, DoubleClick, TV Guide, and Avaya while winning just about every award imaginable. Ranked among both the Top 100 Promotion and Interactive agencies, Renegade reflects Drew's passion for solving old-fashioned marketing problems with idea-driven cross-disciplined brand experiences.

New Speaker: David Neupert, M80 Services, Inc.

Dave Neupert is the founder of M80 Services, Inc., and acting CEO. M80 specializes in developing online publicity, promotions, and grassroots marketing campaigns for top entertainment properties and consumer brands. M80 identifies, empowers, and activates word-of-mouth marketing among online influencers and opinion leaders. Dave oversees the company's financial operations and provides the vision for the strategic direction of the company. M80 has developed and implemented marketing campaigns for more than 150 top entertainment and consumer brands, including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Comedy Central, BBC America, The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Honda, Napa Auto Parts, Cingular Wireless, Fox Broadcasting, and Fox Home Entertainment.

New Speaker: Bob Troia, Affinitive

Bob is a passionate guy. As founder and president of Affinitive, he is using his passion to help "democratize" brands. Bob brings more than a decade of experience in marrying technology and marketing to create innovative ways for consumers and brands to share their zeal for each other-brands such as Cingular, Gillette, Ubisoft, Universal Pictures, and Virgin Mobile.

Previously, Bob was the co-founder of Olive, an award-winning strategic branding firm that was ranked among the top 100 U.S. interactive agencies. Bob sits on several WOMMA councils and was a speaker at the inaugural WOMMA summit. A graduate of Penn State University, Bob holds a bachelor of science degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

New Speaker: Jackie Huba, Author, Creating Customer Evangelists

Author Jackie Huba knows how to take a company's best customers and turn them into influential, loyal, and enthusiastic evangelists. To learn how to create your own company's customer evangelists, attend Jackie's session, How To Create Customer Evangelists, on day 2 of WOMBAT.

Jackie Huba is the co-author of "Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force." Her book has been called the "new mantra for entrepreneurial success" by the New York Times and "an absorbing read" by Harvard Business School. Jackie and her co-author, Ben McConnell, have been quoted in the Financial Times, Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Fast Company, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Boston Herald, Inc. magazine, and others on how customer advocacy has become the new currency in today's advertising saturated world. Ben and Jackie have evangelized audiences at Disney, Microsoft, Whirlpool, Cisco, and small/medium businesses around the country on how to make customers volunteer members of the sales force. She is also a co-author of The Wall Street Journal best-seller "The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable."

Podcast: Steven Nicks on BtoB Word of Mouth

Steven goes in-depth into the challenges of using word of mouth for business-to-business marketers. Established as a viable consumer channel, the misperception that business-to-business marketers are not subject to the effects of word of mouth is just one of the issues tackled by Steven in this podcast.

Steven is a founding partner of The Phelon Group and leads the firm's operations and service delivery. His areas of expertise include organization and process design, reference management systems and enabling technology, change management, and strategic planning.

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

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Posted on 12/ 2/05 | 0 Comments | Link

New Speaker: Tom Eiland, Conkling, Fiskum & McCormick

Tom Eiland is a partner at Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, a public affairs, communications, and research firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon. He heads CFM's research and word-of-mouth practices. For the past 15 years, Tom has conducted research for major corporations, associations, and government agencies. During the past year, he has worked on word of mouth efforts in consumer products, public affairs, and public broadcasting.

Can word of mouth build awareness for a brand of cheese in the Hispanic community? Tom's will be presenting a case study of his work with Tillamook Cheese to do just that at the WOMMA conference in January. Using community events, Tom engaged consumers and local officials to build awareness of the Tillamook brand.

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