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

Posted on 02/28/06 | 0 Comments | Link

Read Laurie's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

How-To: Marketing WITH Consumers

5 Tips from Bazaarvoice's Sam Decker

"Customers are exposed to anywhere from 247 to 3000 commercial messages each day," says Sam Decker, vice president of marketing and products for Bazaarvoice. "The growing attention on word of mouth, authenticity, transparency, and social networking is in reaction to customer cynicism, distrust, sensory overload and lack of time."

To market with -- rather than to -- consumers, Sam shares these five tips:

Tip #1. Do the waggle dance
In the book "The Wisdom of the Hive" by Thomas Seely (and paraphrased in James Surowiecki's "Wisdom of Crowds"), the author describes how bees find nectar. Since they don't know where different flower patches are located, bees don't consider all alternatives first and then determine an ideal foraging pattern. Instead, a hive sends out scouts and trusts that one of them will find the best patch, return, and do a good "waggle dance" so the hive will know where the good food is.

Consumers, too, follow the waggle that will most likely lead to finding what they want. Learn to waggle.

Tip #2. Go upstream in the company
With a nod to Seth Godin, this means creating great "Purple Cow" products and services. Great products with real value are like a field of flowers: mavens and connectors find these products and waggle others to them.

Tip #3. Foster authentic, direct dialogue with customers
Customers will follow waggles from new sources â€“- blogs, reviews, personal recommendations, etc. The more emotional the subject and the more passionate and authentic the source, the more visible the waggle. These people are part of the hive, directing others to the nectar.

Tip #4. Empower customers to be authorities
By connecting customers to each other through forums and councils, and empowering them to be authorities (via customer reviews, for instance), they're more likely to express and share opinions.

Tip #5. Commercial messages have less waggle
Commercial messages have led us astray. It's as if spiders have disguised themselves as scout bees and are waggling the hive to fly towards their webs.

"A fundamental issue is to change management culture and perspective from internal waggle to external waggle," says Sam. "Be great, be real, let your flowers bloom, and the waggle will follow."

More about Sam:

Posted on 02/28/06 | 2 Comments | Link

How-To: Listening to Consumers

5 Tips from Cymfony's Jim Nail

Products that solve a consumer problem or meet a consumer need are going to be successful, but the only way to make those products is to talk to consumers. "Guessing or just meeting with R&D doesn't work," says Jim Nail, chief marketing and strategy officer for . By listening to consumers, you get direct, unbiased results, unskewed by a moderator or a single strong personality in a focus group.

Here are Jim's five tips on listening to consumers:

Tip #1. Appoint a consumer ombudsman
The CEO and CFO protect the interests of the shareholders. The COO protects business processes and manufacturing, and HR officers protect the interests of employees. The CMO should represent consumers, but more often, marketing is an internal agency and not always very strategic.

Tip #2. Get a tool to listen to consumers
There are so many conversations in so many places on the internet that trying to compile it with tools like Technorati or Google can be extremely labor intensive. You may pull hundreds or thousands of conversations, and trying to read through them manually and distill them practically just won't happen.

Tip #3. Add human analysis
Once you have a tool in place to analyze the feedback, you still need the human touch from analysts and account managers who have the particular perspective your company needs, to extract the insights from consumers.

Tip #4. Listen ethically
Marketing with consumers rather than at them is new, and being able to change the traditional mentality of marketing is not easy. It is tempting to take shortcuts, such as posing as a consumer and posting favorable reviews of products.

Yes, there's huge pressure to make quarterly numbers, and WOM is not something you can pull off in a quarter. But if you take shortcuts, you'll do more harm than good.

Tip #5. Tie WOM to a financial metric that CEOs can love
Plenty of development work needs to be done on this topic in order to see exactly how WOM contributes to cash flow. But WOM marketers need to lift WOM beyond the "let's be nice to customers and they'll be nice to us" realm, bringing it to the level of strategy that can be placed side by side with other marketing investments that result in rational, quantitative, data-driven decisions.

More about Jim:

Posted on 02/22/06 | 1 Comments | Link

Read Jim's shared WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

How-To: Creating Corporate Blogs

5 Tips from Hass MS&L's David Binkowski

"I don't think every company is ready to do a blog because of what's involved," says David Binkowski, director of online outreach for Hass MS&L. "But if a company really wants to know what their customers are thinking, there's no better way." Here, David shares five tips on creating corporate blogs.

Tip #1. Do your homework
It's important for companies to understand how the blogosphere works, what kinds of questions they can expect, and what's involved, so spend a couple of months reading all types of blogs.

You must be able to approve comments, watch for comment spam, and set up an editorial calendar to make sure it's moving forward. You also want the author to be someone who has an opinion and distinct voice.

Tip #2. Have 12+ ready-to-write ideas for posts
Suppose you put up your first post and then get caught up in other projects? Spend some time pulling together posts on new products, strategic initiatives, or something in the corporate community you want to write about. It's important to have a back-up arsenal.

Tip # 3. Cultivate a corporate champion to defend the blog
When the lawyers try to kill the blog idea, it's vital to have a well-placed champion to help, to fight for integrity and honesty in the blog, and who is determined to be sure that legal "gets it." It's a harder sell if the champion is also the author of the blog.

Tip #4. Define the blog's mission and stick to it
A good blog connects with readers and is honest, so that should be part of the mission. Beyond that, every company's mission is different, from trying to gather customer feedback to hoping to put a finger on the pulse of what's going on in the industry.

This may be less of an actual mission statement and more a statement to remain honest. That's the difference between a good corporate blog and one that's just a mouthpiece.

Tip #5. Encourage discussion, but don't be suicidal
The moderator should understand how to interject without bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. On the other hand, it's easy to be attacked in the blogosphere, so while being open and honest, you have to defend yourself. Learn to avoid killing the conversation, and avoid letting yourself be killed.

More about David:

Posted on 02/22/06 | 1 Comments | Link

Read David's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

Podcast: eMarketer's Geoff Ramsey on Emerging Trends in Word of Mouth Marketing

In this podcast, eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey talks about the trends driving the emergence of word of mouth as a prime marketing channel. He also explains how WOM can be effective as a strategy across various sectors.

As the co-founder of eMarketer, Geoff has become a well-known expert on e-business trends, using statistics and analysis to drive home points about the Internet's advertising and marketing potential for companies. He is on the cutting edge of new research statistics, trends and best practices covering every aspect of the Internet, e-business and online marketing.

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 Geoff:

Posted on 02/22/06 | 0 Comments | Link

Podcast: Dan Buczaczer on Obstacles to WOM Adoption

In this podcast, Dan Buczaczer of SMG's Reverb discusses the specific issues and obstacles that agencies and clients face when considering the formal adoption of word of mouth as a strategy. According to Dan, the issue for agencies is inertia. Word of mouth is the newcomer and still gets the "play money." For clients, the issue is deeper and often goes to the very structure of the firm.

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 Dan:

Read Dan's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

How-To: Making Pharmaceutical WOM Happen

5 Tips from BuzzMetrics' Lydia Worthington

"Regulations have forced the pharmaceutical industry to become one of the most advanced in several aspects of word of mouth," says Lydia Worthington of BuzzMetrics. "Who would've guessed that?"

Here, Lydia shares five tips for marketers to responsibly promote products and manage relationships in the pharmaceutical industry.

Tip #1. Deliver deep content to the most engaged
Your most highly involved patients and professionals are thirsty for information. Create separate web sites or information centers with expert opinions, deep technical content, 'talkable' new ideas, community interaction and exclusive features that can be accessed by your best customers. They will then carry it forward to a larger audience.

Tip #2. Focus on events
Don't underestimate the willingness of consumer and patient participation. If you create the right kinds of events -- webinars, live online chats, in-person meetings, facility tours -- your most highly involved stakeholders (who also tend to be word of mouth igniters) will engage. Make sure participants leave with new and interesting ("buzzworthy") topics they will be excited to share with their peers.

Tip #3. Treat online commentators as influential media
According to a recent Jupiter Research study, one in five online consumers turn to other online consumers for advice on health and medical treatment. Develop genuine one-on-one relationships with leading medical bloggers, discussion group leaders and similar individuals who serve as filters and authority figures to their respective groups. Treat them in the same way you treat professional journalists. Engage them in conversation -- do not talk "at" them.

Tip #4. Extend existing marketing with WOM
Non-traditional, buzz marketing programs introduced by themselves may set off red flags with your regulatory affairs department, making your inventive ideas difficult to actually get approved and implemented. It is dramatically easier to get projects through your legal department if they are connected with an existing program.

Tip #5. Start with education programs
Tie your WOM strategies to education-based initiatives. Health education is viral (no pun intended), and participants are usually eager to learn more about specific conditions, diseases risks and treatments. Education marketing also is less restrictive than other tactics, so companies can execute more aggressive programs.

More about Lydia:

How-To: Getting the Right Message to the Right People

5 Tips from CRM Metrix's Laurent Flores

A marketing message is important, but the exact words you use to push the message are of equal, if not greater, importance. "In today's crowded marketplace, a lot of people have the same idea around the same time," says Laurent Flores, CEO of CRM Metrix. "You have to use the right words for the idea to fly."

Here, Laurent shares five tips on making your message "buzz-able."

Tip #1. Use words consumers recognize themselves in
Marketers tend to forget the essentials of communication, If you don't use the right words, if the consumers don't recognize themselves in the words you use, you won't be bonding.

Tip #2. Engage the consumers that matter
Leadership is in no way universal. Instead, it is category related. Look at natural touch-points with your customers to find the influencers who want to engage with their favorite brands.

Tip #3. Test the words
When marketers develop and test a product concept, they generally spend time testing the message, but not a lot of effort making sure the message is understandable. Invite opinion leaders and ask for their advice. Let them have a say about the actual words you use, perhaps via a simple online "VIP vote".

Tip #4. Seed trials and give them the ability to spread
Once consumers have been engaged, ask them to try out your product during a special premier. Give them the means to spread the word by making samples available or distributing coupons for discount.

Tip #5. Involve them in the process next time
When you invite consumers to view, evaluate, and help you evolve a product, it becomes theirs. Because they fully understand it, the message you create using their feedback is actually their message. Use the consumers you have found in previous campaigns to help you develop future products, and to help with the words for the campaign.

More about Laurent:

Read Laurent's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

Videoblog project complete

The WOMBAT videoblog project is now complete. It can be viewed here on the coBRANDiT site:

http://www.obttv.com/womblog.html

Thanks again to all participants, and to WOMMA for putting together such a great event.

- Owen and Jesse,
coBRANDiT

How-to: Getting Your Story Passed Around

5 Tips from Liquid Intelligence's Ted Wright

"One American in ten tells the other nine how to do everything," says Ted Wright of Liquid Intelligence. Here, Ted shares tips and advice on getting your story passed around.

Tip #1. Hire passionate advocates
Hire "real," excited, and passionate advocates, and they will translate that passion to others. When you hire people who aren't passionate about your product or brand to spread your story, they'll eventually be asked questions they can't answer (no matter how well they're trained). The minute that happens, they become an irritant.

Tip #2. Learn why people care
Someone working in a pickle factory comes up with an awesome new design for the dots on the pickles. Everyone gets excited to go sell the cool new pickles. Along comes a pickle-lover and says, "It's just pickles. We put them on the sandwich..." Even the most dedicated of advocates won't care about every detail. Learn why they care about the product. Then be interesting and relevant.

Tip #3. Ask yourself "Will the circle be unbroken?"
Every activity should reinforce messages from other activities. A company that supports charity by going to charity events may continue the circle by contributing to charities and using them as part of the brand "story." Each component creates part of the circle.

Tip #4. Let a thousand flowers bloom
You may have 15 different ideas for word of mouth campaigns. Go ahead and try them all, and see where the stories blossom. Even when you really understand your brand, you might be surprised to see what works.

Tip #5. Start with known subcultures
Look at eight or nine subcultures when reaching out for WOM. It may happen, for example, that "tuners" and tattoo artists have the same values and personality needs. Reach out to one, and you could very well hook up with another.

For example, during a campaign for Pabst Blue Ribbon, Ted connected with bike messengers, snowboarders, and other subcultures. Somehow, the one that really came through for the brand was kayakers. "Who knew?" he asks. "Focus on a subculture, give it a shot, and watch it pass from one subculture to another."

More about Ted:

Read Ted's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

How-to: Engaging with Consumers

5 Tips from Northeastern University's Walter Carl

As consumers desire more control over their engagement with corporations -- and as their distrust for the messages from those corporations grows -- word of mouth is becoming increasingly important. Walter Carl, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communications at Northeastern University, shares his five tips on how to engage with consumers.

Tip #1. Recognize how consumers talk about you
People talk about companies as part of their everyday lives. From your point of view, remember that WOM is about marketing. For the consumer, it's simply about engaging in everyday relationships.

Tip #2. Involve consumers early on
Effective relationships happen when people feel involved. They want to be listened to, and they want behind-the-scenes access. Talk to them early, and give them reasons to be invested.

Tip #3. Look for WOM that's already happening
Provide new ideas and services to encourage WOM that is already happening. This might include inviting them to shoot photos and upload them to your site, having contests or events, or a "virtual community playground," Carl explains.

Tip #4. Remember, WOM is both methodology and philosophy
When you think of a WOM campaign, it's a short-term strategy, and it's an important one. But the broader philosophy goes back to consumer engagement, and it's ongoing. Create feedback loops so that you can be responsive to feedback, continually monitoring it and then using it in product design. Incorporate it not just in marketing, but throughout the organization.

Tip #5. Measure/assess online and offline
It's easy, and obvious, to track online through message boards, blogs, etc. But about 80 percent of WOM takes place offline. Have your brand advocates report back: what kinds of conversations are they having with people? What are they saying? Use focus groups as well.

Before beginning a WOM campaign, consider the metrics you will use to measure success. Don't forget your own employees: have them rate themselves and each other on how they're doing when it comes to getting and listening to customer feedback.

More about Walter:

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Read Walter's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

Podcast: Virgil Simons on Building Grassroots WOM

Virgil Simons had a hunch. After recognizing that a barber is often the one person most men will talk about anything -- including personal medical problems -- he figured that they would make ideal agents in a word of mouth campaign. In this podcast, Virgil explains how his hunch paid off.

Virgil Simons is the Founder & President of The Prostate Net, a patient education and advocacy organization. Using the experiences gained in surviving prostate cancer, Virgil built an international organization that uses a matrix of informational techniques (Web site, 800#, email and personal team counselors, public forums, newsletters and community disease interventions) to address disease risk awareness and early disease interdiction.

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 Virgil:

Read Virgil's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

Podcast: Zane Safrit on Employee-Driven WOM

Many companies say that happy employees produce happy customers. As the CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited, Zane Safrit put this belief into action. He re-built the organization to foster high employee satisfaction, recognizing that these employees in turn drive high levels of customer satisfaction --- and positive referrals.

In this podcast, Zane explores the link between happy employees, positive word of mouth, and strong business results.

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

Learn more:

Podcast: Sean Glass, Chris LaConte on Negative Buzz

Early negative buzz has the potential to shoot down any product launch prematurely. In this podcast, Sean Glass and Chris LaConte of Higher One share how they countered negative buzz during an early product launch by joining the conversation and engaging its detractors. They haven't looked back since.

Higher One provides refund management services and other assorted banking services to the higher education market. Sean Glass is Higher One's Founder and Chief Marketing Officer and Chris LaConte is the company's Student Liaison.

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

Learn more:

Podcast: Pete Blackshaw on Consumers Emotion and WOM

Pete Blackshaw is one of the original evangelists for consumer-generated media (CGM). In this podcast, Pete talks in detail about the CGM multiple, a concept that links the degree to which a consumer responds emotionally to a brand experience with the positive or negative word of mouth that results.

Pete is a founding member of WOMMA and a recognized expert in interactive marketing, word of mouth, and consumer understanding. He is the founder of PlanetFeedback and currently serves as the Chief Marketing and Client Satisfaction Officer for Intelliseek, which was recently acquired by BuzzMetrics.

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 Pete:

Read Pete's shared WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

How-To: Keeping 'em Talking

5 Tips from NOLS' Bruce Palmer

For any educational institution, one way to keep enrollment up is by transforming it into a cause and something worth talking about. 80 percent of students at the National Outdoor Leadership School, for example, found the school through word of mouth -- usually from graduates of the school.

"Our students leave their courses psyched to talk," says Bruce Palmer, Director of Admission and Marketing for NOLS. Here, Bruce shares his tips on how he has kept people engaged and ready to talk about the school.

Tip #1. Give them the tools
All of the school's graduates continue to receive the NOLS catalog in order to encourage pass-along. Plus, a select group also gets posters to hang on campus, a promotional DVD, stickers and other paraphernalia.

Tip #2. Keep them in the loop
NOLS e-News, the "What's the Buzz" blog, and an alumni newspaper keep the school's grads up-to-date on the latest news and happenings. When stories are in the news -- NOLS Olympians or leadership training for astronauts and the U.S. Naval Academy, for example -- make sure people know. It's fresh fodder, keeping the buzz building.

Tip #3. Keep them engaged
NOLS offers shorter alumni trips and seminars that allow grads to get another "taste" of NOLS and keep their relationship with the school alive.

Tip #4. Come to them
The NOLS recycled vegetable oil powered bus has been traveling the country for 18 months bringing NOLS to grads and prospects. Grads get free stuff at the bus, chalk campus and "hike for their outdoor alma mater".

Tip #5. Hook 'em up
Through email discussion lists, Yahoo groups, Flickr and reunions, NOLS helps graduates stay in touch with one another, communicating, swapping photos and "re-living" the most impactful educational experience of their lives.

More about Bruce:

Read Bruce's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)

How-To: Making Influencer Programs Work Harder

5 Tips from Northlich's John Bloomstrom

While many brands see the value in communicating through highly credible thought leaders and other people with existing relationships to their consumer, the practice is still emerging.

Here, John Bloomstrom, Executive VP, Manager of Influencer Marketing for Northlich shares a few success principles that companies can use to make their influencer marketing programs work harder and more effective.

Tip #1. Understand the touchpoints
There are three distinct touchpoints: brand, influencer and consumer. The more you know how they intersect, the better your program will perform. Without knowing the level of connectivity between an influencer and your consumer, or when your consumer is most receptive to a brand recommendation, your brand will never merit the mentions it needs.

Tip #2. Deliver the right currency to your influencers
The two primary groups of influencers -- professionals and peers -- are motivated by different messages:

Professional influencers (healthcare professionals, lawyers, etc.) react to brand messages that provide them with intellectual currency -- brand information that increases their professional stature or improves their understanding of the product.

Peer influencers (friends, family members, co-workers, etc.) prefer brand messages that include a degree of social currency, or new-to-the-world information that encourages pass-along because it imparts a higher sense of social worth.

Tip #3. Encourage connectivity and links
Successful word of mouth programs work best when connections and links are clearly identified and encouraged. The brand needs to help the influencer understand which types of consumers will welcome their recommendation, how to pass it along, and where the consumer can be directed for more information.

Tip #4. Create sampling opportunities to add value
Easy-to-dispense product samples always add more value to the influencer's brand recommendation. Samples serve as tangible proof behind the influencer's brand loyalty and, when delivered by a professional influencer, there is often a placebo effect that positively impacts the brand's perceived efficacy.

Tip #5. Cultivate relationships with your influencers
Neglecting this step is the biggest mistake brands make. Influencers are often the first gatekeeper to your brand and their loyalty is earned over time with relevant category information, insider knowledge, and ongoing messages that convey genuine appreciation for their interest and support. Anything less and they feel like disconnected brand shills.

More about John:

Read John's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)