 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
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 > May 2006
May 2006 Archive
How-To: Becoming a Company Evangelist
5 Tips from TechSmith's Betsy Weber
"The way we look at it, word of mouth is not marketing. It's building relationships and learning from each other," says Betsy Weber, Chief Evangelist for TechSmith. "Word of mouth marketing is all about creating deep, authentic relationships and then bringing those conversations inside to TechSmith."
Here, Betsy shares her five tips on becoming a company evangelist.
Tip #1. Be a power listener
Listen as much as you talk (if not more). Then, bring those conversations with customers into your company so the user's voice is heard. Keep the conversations going. Relate the feedback you hear to product teams, be the voice of the customer, and fight for what they want at your company.
Tip #2. Get out of the marketing department
This isn't a marketing job. This isn't to create sales. It's about customer care and customer relationships. Dump the marketing lingo. Be transparent, open and honest. You have to be an extrovert and people person. It's almost a way of life -– you're either suited for it or you're not.
Tip #3. Get your whole company onboard
It takes more than a Chief Evangelist to create customer evangelists. Every area that the customers interact with must be on board with creating customer evangelists. If one department fails to give outstanding service or gives the customer a negative experience the whole company is affected.
Tip #4. Open the front door and be accessible
Give out your direct phone number and real email address. If you hide behind voicemail and an email alias you might miss a great opportunity. Give VIP tours and arrange for customer meet-ups. Customers will appreciate it and it can be a competitive advantage. (If you're a gadget lover, you'll be right at home, as you'll need a BlackBerry or Treo to keep in touch with everyone.)
Tip #5. Have passion
You must love and believe in the products, and you have to be passionate about the people who use them. If you won't, who will?
More about Betsy:
Read Betsy's WOMBAT 1 presentation (PDF download)
Posted on 05/31/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Getting into Online WOM
5 Tips from Weber Shandwick's Robert Ricci
Not every online tactic is right for every campaign. "My colleagues, like lots of other advertising and marketing folks, are stuck on what's the hot buzzword of the week," says Robert Ricci of the Web Relations Group for Weber Shandwick. "They say, 'I want to do viral marketing,' but they don't even know what viral marketing is."
Here, he offers five tips on easing into the waters of online WOM:
Tip #1. Want a blog? Start by posting on other blogs
Do a search related to your industry product or service and identify the most relevant blogs. Watch the dialogues that are taking place, and when there's anything you can add to the conversation, join in (being transparent about who you are, of course). That way, when you begin your own blog, readers may think, "I recognize him, he's the one who started that thoughtful thread."
Doing this will help you understand the medium without having to maintain a blog of your own.
Tip #2. You can't create a viral email
Most of what people consider viral has become viral by accident and is rarely attached to a brand. You can introduce pass-along elements and hope that it's shared (such as "invite five friends and enter the contest") but you can't ever guarantee that it will "go viral" on its own. It's almost always an accident.
Tip #3. Message boards are a lot like blog conversations
When you find a message board related to your topic, interject when you can (again, honoring the rules behind transparency).
For example, if you're reading a message board about the Yankees you wouldn't go in as "Joe Yankee Fan." Rather, you would identify yourself as someone who loves the Yankees but also works for the Yankees.
Tip #4. Follow up
After you post messages, whether on a blog or a message board, be sure to follow up and see if a conversation got started around your idea. If you post something that's exciting enough to be responded to, you should be there in order to respond back. It's a process: enter a site, post, check back to see if something has bubbled up.
Tip #5. It's about relationships
Just as PR revolves around creating relationships with journalists, word of mouth is about cultivating a relationship with a consumer. Ultimately, your job is about gaining their trust.
Special note: You can learn more from Robert and meet him in person at WOMBAT 2. He's set to speak on a panel during Day 1 about blogger relations and working with bloggers the right way.
More about Robert:
Posted on 05/31/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Ann Green, Millward Brown
If you want the latest numbers on word of mouth, we've got them. Ann Green of Millward Brown will be one of the speakers on a panel featuring all the latest data and stats on word of mouth. Some of your most pressing questions will be answered and you'll get more insight into the who's and why's of word of mouth marketing.
With extensive marketing, research, client service, and interactive expertise, Ann currently heads up Millward Brown's North American marketing solutions initiatives. Ann began her early career with Millward Brown, later holding key positions with Ipsos-ASI and NFO Interactive, Harris Interactive, and Grey Interactive.
More about Ann:
Read Ann's presentation from the 2005 Measuring Word of Mouth conference (PDF download)
Posted on 05/29/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Richard Fielding, Starom Worldwide
Marketers sometimes hesitate to launch WOM campaigns as they are not sure whether these campaigns will be effective and over concerns of how to measure their effectivenss. Richard Fieldig of Starcom will be speaking at WOMBAT 2 about methods for measuring a WOM campaign.
As VP Director of Starcom, Richard brings more than a decade's experience in media and marketing research. He leads Starcom North America in the field of media research for five years. Prior to joining Starcom, Richard was with AC Nielsen, where he ran their media measurement division.
More about Richard:
Read Riichard's presentation from the 2005 Mesauring Word of Mouth conference (PDF download)
Posted on 05/29/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Greg Wester, VoodooVox
Measuring WOM is a crucial issue for marketers and advertisers. After all, how do you know if a newly-launched WOM campaign works? At WOMBAT 2, we have a special panel of experts that will present all the latest data and numbers on word of mouth marketing. Greg Wester, Vice President, In-Call Ad Network for VoodooVox, will be one of those panelists.
Greg is no stranger to the WOMMA stage, having spoken already on the surging importance WOM research. He was one of the key drafters of the WOM Terminology Framework released in July 2005 and also contributed a paper to "Measuring Word of Mouth, Volume 1". Prior to VoodooVox, Gregory was founder and President of Soapbox Marketing, a word of mouth consultancy that helped brands strategize, design, launch, and measure best-practice digital word of mouth campaigns.
More about Greg:
Read Greg's WOMBAT 1 presentation (PDF download)
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Esmee Williams, Marketing, Allrecipes.com
Everyone wants to know how to create buzz about a new product. What can WOM do for your new lines? At WOMBAT 2, Esmee Williams will present a case study of how Sara Lee spread the word about its newest bread, Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread to Moms, and how in turn Moms spread the word to their friends and family.
With a decade of experience in both brand strategy and new product development, Esmee Williams currently works as VP of marketing with Allrecipes.com. Prior to joining Allrecipes, Esmee led product development and marketing efforts for multiple brands of home productivity software at Sierra Online. Esmee also spent time at McCann-Erickson, managing the communication strategies for the Washington State Lottery.
More about Esmee:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker:Julie Wittes Schlack, Innovation & Design, Communispace
If there is anything word of mouth has taught us, it's that consumers do not only buy your products, but also talk and share their opinions about them. So why not turn your consumers into advocates by connecting them as a community? At WOMBAT 2, you'll have the opportunity to learn how to do this from Julie Wittes Schlack, VP of Communispace.
Before co-founding Communispace, Julie served as Manager of Learning Design for Omega Performance and for Micromentor. Her background also includes consulting and developing training materials for WGBH, Houghton-Mifflin, Upjohn, Sanders Pharmaceutical, Schering, Tufts Managed Care Institute, Arrow Electronics, and New England Telephone.
More about Julie:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Ed Sarraille, Informative
It's a given -- no matter what product or service you provide, people are already talking about you. What are they talking about? Who is doing the talking? Where it is happening? Informative CEO Ed Sarraille will participate on a panel at WOMBAT 2 about the qualitative measurement of WOM effectiveness and attempt to answer those questions.
With more than 30 years of Chief Executive and entrepreneurial experience, Ed joined Informative as CEO in June 2005. Previously, he was President and CEO of ProcurePoint, an Internet startup providing travel procurement software to Fortune 500 companies. Over his five years at ProcurePoint, Ed revolutionized how corporations negotiate for their second largest controllable expense -- travel -- by introducing online reverse auction technology to the space.
More about Ed:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: David Rabjohns, MotiveQuest
A powerful global conversation has begun. Consumers are sharing relevant knowledge everyday and everywhere. How do you learn more about what they are talking about -- and what are your options when you do? David Rabjohns, President of MotiveQuest, will help you understand how to gather qualitative data about consumer conversations and identify trends and themes.
David is the founder of MotiveQuest, a marketing consultancy specializing in helping manage the marketing and business implications of online consumer dialog. By talking to both quantitative and qualitative data, MotiveQuest applies their unique "Online Anthropology" approach to digging deeper than mere buzz measurement to create models of consumer emotion and loyalty.
More about David:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Ivan Palmer, Wildfire
How do influencers influence businesses and markets? At WOMBAT 2, Ivan Palmer of Wildfire Word of Mouth Marketing will present a case study studies on the role of influencers in marketing campaigns of two pet food products in the UK (Whiskas & Pedigree). You'll learn about planning and creating a word of mouth direct mailing campaign that helps influencers spread your message.
Ivan Palmer is the founder of Wildfire Word of Mouth Marketing, the UK's first dedicated marketing consultancy specializing in word of mouth marketing. His interest in word of mouth started 3 years ago while researching new customer centric business models as Planning Director for Joshua, the UK's leading integrated marketing services companies. Prior to that he had worked as a writer and manager in the creative field for 15 years.
More about Ivan:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: William Mosher, Echopinion!
Are you familiar with the key WOM concepts? Are you curious about how to turn WOM from a cluster of concepts to implementation? WOMBAT 2 will give you the tools you can take back to the office and implement right away. Bill Mosher, Founder and Director of Echopinion!, will help kick off the second day of WOMBAT 2 with a panel on getting started in WOM.
Bill brings to Echopinion! over 20 years of marketing and advertising experience at The American Dairy Association, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Crouse-Hinds. Prior to founding Echopinion!, Bill served as Senior Strategist for the Internet development firm Rway Communications.
More about Bill:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Ann Moravick, Rowland Communications
Part of what makes WOM such an amazing marketing practice is that it's absolutely impossible to generate positive buzz by engaging in deceptive stealth marketing. You'll have the opportunity to learn specific and practical steps to ethical WOM from Ann Moravick, President and CEO of Rowland Communications. She'll explain how to make sure your WOM campaigns are following ethical best practices.
Currently the President and CEO of Rowland Communications Worldwide, Ann is a communications counselor with 25 years of experience in marketing and public relations. Prior to joining Rowland in 2004, Moravick spent 18 years in the Office of the Chairman of Manning, Selvage & Lee (MS&L), one of the world's top public relations agencies. She held a number of key posts at the agency including Managing Director of the firm's London office and Managing Director of the firm's Global Health Care practice.
More about Ann:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Cynthia McCafferty, Fleishman-Hillard
Political campaigns were some of the first organizations to develop innovative outreach techniques on a grassroots level. Now, consumer brands are starting to use these grassroots outreach methods to get invited and welcomed inside consumers’ homes and businesses. Cynthia McCafferty, Senior Vice President of Fleishman-Hillard, will present a case study on how she worked with Clorox to create opportunities for consumers to share information, products, and services in a way they considered personal, credible, and valued.
At Fleishman-Hillard, Cynthia has led the development of grassroots education and marketing capability. She has worked on more than 50 grassroots programs for clients including Procter & Gamble, Dannon, Pfizer, Organon, and Astra Zeneca. The grassroots programs have ranged from nutrition and health education to wellness products and behavioral change. Prior to joining Fleishman-Hillard, Cynthia worked as a consultant on a variety of political and business campaigns.
More about Cynthia:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Felicia Martin-Hill, Virgin Mobile
How do big brands use WOM? How do you get people excited about your brand? How do you integrate WOM campaigns with traditional branding efforts? In her role as Manager of Network Marketing, Felicia Martin-Hill has helped Virgin Mobile USA launch its Pay-As-You-Go cell phone service using non-traditional tactics such as product integration, viral marketing, and deploying a team of one thousand influential customers. It's an amazing case study and you can only hear it at WOMBAT 2.
More about Felicia:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Jackie Huba, Creating Customer Evangelists
WOM works when you have a group of enthusiastic evangelists who are ready to talk positively about your brand, product, or service. How do you create a group of evangelists? Where do they come from? How do you work with them? All that and more will be revealed by Jackie Huba, co-author of the definitive primer on the topic: "Creating Customer Evangelists".
Jackie will be conducting a special lunch workshop at WOMBAT 2 that is not to be missed. Not only will you gain an insider's perspective on customer advocacy, but you'll come away with tips and techniques you can take back to your office and implement right away.
More about Jackie:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Bill Hanekamp, The Well Advertising
Have you heard of microsites? They are used to create buzz, encourage word of mouth, and establish relationships with potential buyers by focusing on a specific message or product. They are also quickly becoming a great equalizer for mid-sized and small companies otherwise drowned out by companies with bigger ad budgets. Bill Hanekamp, co-founder and CEO of The Well Advertising, will be presenting presenting case studies at WOMBAT 2 to demonstrate how The Learning Channel and Harvard Law School generated word of mouth using these microsite techniques. You'll learn what worked (and what didn't), and how to build effective campaigns.
More about Bill:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: John Finegan, Beck Ag
Everyone wants to know -- how do you apply WOM techniques in the BtoB space? John Finegan, CEO of Beck Ag, has found success using peer influence selling in the agricultural industry. He'll share his insights in a special panel on BtoB at WOMBAT 2. You'll learn about the unqiue issues involved as compared to BtoC WOM, how to motivate recommenders, and how to sell the idea at your organization.
More about John:
Posted on 05/26/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Building a Database of Influencers
5 Tips from Presslaff Interactive Revenue's Ruth Presslaff
"Word of mouth starts with 'mouth.' Mouths are attached to people, and a group of people constitutes a database," says Ruth Presslaff, president of Presslaff Interactive Revenue. "Unless you have a database of people, you don't have an audience to talk to and you don't have an audience talking about you."
Here are Ruth's five tips on gathering that database:
Tip #1. Ask: What's the common interest?
A database, in this instance, is a group of people who have provided information because of their interest in a product or brand or issue. In order to gather a database, you must understand what will bring the people together. Ask yourself, "Why would people give you their information?"
Tip #2. Give them a reason for becoming part of a group
Let potential members know that by identifying themselves with you, they'll get something back, either tangible things (giveaways, content about their favorite bands) or intangible things (insider knowledge).
Tip #3. Begin to segment the group
You probably know the name, age, zip code, and/or gender of members. Now, ask for more information in order to segment the group. For example, a radio station might ask its members who their favorite artist is. Promotions can be targeted around the answers.
Tip #4. Communicate based on the info you've been given
You might send special promotions based on members' favorite types of music or other preferences they have shared with you. Promotions might include presales of tickets to hot new concerts or backstage passes.
Tip #5. Let members share their passions
Now you have a database and you know quite a bit about your members, so begin to harness the power of word of mouth: offer events, communities, blogs, and other online and offline opportunities that will allow them to share their passions -- with each other, and with their own networks of peers.
"All the talk about social networks assumes you have a network," Ruth concludes. "How did you get the network? You gave them a reason to tell you who they are and what they like."
SPECIAL NOTE: Learn more from Ruth and meet her in person at WOMBAT 2. She's set to present a case study during Day 2 on her work building a database of loyal customers at KFOG radio.
More about Ruth:
Posted on 05/23/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Making Viral Campaigns Work
5 Tips from PopularMedia's Jim Calhoun
"Getting a high volume of people to reach out across their social networks and talk about your brand is a lofty goal," says Jim Calhoun, CEO of PopularMedia. "Make sure the viral campaign has an actual goal attached to it."
Here are Jim's five tips on getting campaigns to "go viral":
Tip #1. Use good karma
Don't ask someone to dig into their address book and send something that isn't relevant. Make sure it's a good thing for the person sharing and a nice thing for the recipient.
You might send a coupon, for example, that thanks a customer for doing business with you and giving them the ability to send the coupon to five of their friends to get free shipping off their first order.
Tip #2. Make sure your message has clarity
Complex messages sent to busy consumers who have a hard time digesting it is one of the biggest mistakes in viral marketing. When a person has to delay decision-making in order to think something over, chances are they will never come back to it.
Tip #3. Enable viral marketing to happen
Viral marketing is a process, so be sure you are doing everything to enable it. All too often, marketers set up viral campaigns and don't ask people to share it. Let them know that you want them to send it to their friends. Better yet, give them tools. For example, you can help them send it to their IM list.
Tip #4. Test and listen
You probably won't hit on the right message the first time. Consider sending your campaign to a portion of your list. Watch conversion rates. You'll be most successful if you test a handful of messages. Send it out to a portion of your list, listen, and see what happens. Then make changes accordingly.
Tip #5. Analyze the campaign to keep it alive
Viral campaigns are alive, and the campaign will be either be exponentially growing or decaying. If it's growing, you must constantly watch to be sure that every wheel is properly greased.
For example, an email campaign that has been roaring along may suddenly halt for no apparent reason. On investigation, you may learn that emails to Hotmail addresses are no longer going through.
Special note: You can learn more from Jim and meet him in person at WOMBAT 2. He's set to present a case study during Day 2 on PopularMedia's work creating viral email for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
More about Jim:
Posted on 05/23/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Jeff Beringer, GolinHarris
Disneyland Resort is known as the "Happiest Place on Earth" -- and it's been busy lately working on ways to engage with its guests in new ways and create a new generation of fans. At WOMBAT 2, you'll have the chance to hear how Disneyland has identified what its brand evangelists are talking about and even built a dedicated Consumer Evangelist team inside the company.
As leader of the interactive communications team at GolinHarris, Jeff Beringer has worked with Disneyland Resort to create these programs. He will be co-presenting the case study on Disneyland at WOMBAT 2. In addition to his work with Disney, he has already created and managed campaigns for SC Johnson, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments, Coors, and the Florida Department of Citrus.
More about Jeff:
Posted on 05/23/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Debbie Weil, author of "The Corporate Blogging Book"
Everywhere you look, companies are starting blogs. Some are doing things right (feeds, comments, frequent updates) ... and some are doing things not quite so right (no feeds, no comments, no updates). Of course, if you come to WOMBAT 2, you'll be able to attend a session on creating great corporate blogs and learn how to tell your story and connect with customers.
We're pleased to announce that the panel will be moderated by Debbie Weil, dubbed the "Mona Lisa of Blogging" and author of the blog BlogWrite for CEOs. She is a consultant, speaker, trainer, and expert on blogs, RSS, podcasts, wikis and other social media.
Debbie's book, "The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get it Right", will be published on August 3. Don't wait for the book to hit the streets -- you can download a free chapter right now.
More about Debbie:
Download the first chapter of "The Corporate Blogging Book"
Posted on 05/23/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Julie Atherton, Hill & Knowlton
We get it. Bloggers have changed the rules and are redefining consumer conversation. So how do you work with bloggers and not get burned in the process?
As one of the panelists on the blogger relations panel at WOMBAT 2, Julie Atheron, SVP and Director, US Interactive for Hill & Knowlton, will help answer that question. She'll help clear up common misunderstandings about working with bloggers, emphasize the right way to comment, and generally help marketers stay out of trouble. She'll also talk about her experiences helping to craft Hill & Knowlton's employee blog policy and sensible code of practice.
More about Julie:
Posted on 05/22/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Ryan Berger, Euro RSCG
"Shake it like a Polaroid picture."
You couldn't listen to the radio in 2003 without hearing that lyric. Working for Euro RSCG, Ryan Berger heard it and built a campaign for Polaroid around it. In the end, he turned a product that had been considered uncool for years buzz-worthy again.
Ryan will be speaking at WOMBAT 2 on a panel about how advertising agencies can still be innovative in the word of mouth space. Many see word of mouth as anti-advertising, but some agencies are responding and thriving in the process. Come and learn how they're doing it.
More about Ryan:
Posted on 05/19/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Kathy Baughman, ComBlu
To spread the word about a product or service, why go looking outside your company? Sometimes your best evangelists and idea-generators are your existing customers. But how do you go about identifying which key customers will make the best advocates? There's an art and a science to it, and Kathy Baughman of ComBlu is one expert who can help.
Kathy will be speaking at WOMBAT 2, offering her tips on identifying key influencers from your own existing customer base and motivating them to promote your products. She brings 25 years of experience to bear and currently serves as the WOM practice head of Pinnacle Worldwide, a network of 60 independent PR firms.
More about Kathy:
Posted on 05/19/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Emanuel Rosen, Author of "The Anatomy of Buzz"
Emanuel Rosen is the author of "The Anatomy of Buzz", a bestseller that has become one of the key primers of the word of mouth marketing industry. The book is based on 165 interviews conducted in the late 90's among researchers, consumers, and executives who were successful in building buzz for their brands. Prior to writing the book, he worked at Niles Software, where he helped launch and market the EndNote software package (largely by word of mouth, of course).
Emanuel's WOMBAT 2 author workshop marks his triumphant return to the WOMMA stage, having spoken at the very first WOMMA Summit in March 2005. You won't want to miss this workshop. It's your chance to learn from one of WOM's foremost experts and widely-quoted authorities.
More about Emanuel:
Posted on 05/18/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Chris Benson, eCRUSH
Social networking has become this year's hottest marketing buzzowrd (second to word of mouth, of course). Browse any magazine stand and you'll find several cover stories talking up the new media phenomenon. Consumers are talking and posting everywhere -- are you part of their conversation?
Chris Benson is the CEO of eCRUSH, one of the "original PG-13 social sites". He is set to speak at WOMBAT 2 about social networks and how to use them to ethically generate word of mouth. You'll learn why consumers are so eager to post content online, what they're talking about, who they are, and how you can join the conversation the right way.
More about Chris:
Posted on 05/18/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Generating Word of Mouth Wildfires
5 Tips from Thomas Nelson Publishers' Greg Stielstra
"The Purpose Driven Life," a religious book by a Southern Baptist minister, became the fastest selling hardcover book ever. How?
"Word of mouth is NOT what happens in the absence of marketing; it is the natural consequence of marketing done right," says Greg Stielstra, VP of Marketing in the Christian Book Group for Thomas Nelson Publishers. "The way to harness its power is to build your marketing plans the way you build campfires."
Tip #1. Gather the driest tinder
Focus your promotions on those people most likely to buy, benefit from, and enthusiastically endorse your product. They are the only ones whose ignition temperature is within reach of your advertising. The driest tinder is where word of mouth wildfires begin.
Tip #2. Touch it with the match
Give people an experience. If you want people to laugh, don't tell them you're funny, tell them a joke. Experience is the shortcut to product understanding. It touches people deeply and generates more heat than advertising.
Tip #3. Make sure your product has O2
Just as a growing fire needs oxygen in amounts equal to its demand, successful marketing campaigns need remarkable products. The deeper your product meets a consumer's needs, the more people they will tell. Before building your marketing fire, make sure your product or service is ready to grow your fire by satisfying your customers.
Tip #4. Fan the flames
Give people tools to help them spread your message throughout their network. People spread messages more effectively than advertising, and they do it better when equipped for success. Try reaching people when they gather in groups or encourage them to use your product in public. Little things make big impacts.
Tip #5. Save the coals
Keep a record of the people you encounter so you can easily reach them to encourage word of mouth next time. This allows your marketing to build equity and keep pace with the needs of your growing business.
Success stories like The Purpose Driven Life do not reach lots of people all at once through mass marketing. Rather, they happen through word of mouth, a process you can start and encourage.
More about Greg:
Read Greg's WOMBAT presentation
Listen to Greg's WOMBAT Podcast
Posted on 05/17/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Using Brand Ambassadors to Build Store Sales
5 Tips from CEI-Star's Kai Dozier
"Innovation is more important to me than marketing," says Kai Dozier of CEI-Star. "We like to think of what we do as a balance between 'information out' -- sometimes known as marketing -- and 'information in' which goes to business innovation."
Using those streams of information, Kai has built a community of brand ambassadors for a major manufacturer of outdoor clothing that helped increase buzz and store sales. Here, Kai shares five tips that he learned along the way.
Tip #1. Find the right ambassadors
Develop a set of criteria based on what you want. Kai looked for connectors who are both heavily into the outdoors and are "nice people, that other people like to be around." In many cases, those people are already leaders, such as heads of canoe clubs or backpacking groups.
Tip #2. Ask for long-term commitments
If you just ask for innovation and ideas, you'll get blank stares. But if you work with them for the long-term, ideas will crop up. Kai asked the "mountain techs" to commit to the program for a year.
Tip #3. Share information
To keep ambassadors happy, offer information on trends, latest products, etc. Kai's mountain techs were eager to know about waterproof zippers and other innovations, so he provided all this information to them.
Tip #4. Educate and reward
Kai wanted to be clear with mountain techs about the products they'd be talking about, so he created an extensive guide that contained details about all the different brands. Then he quizzed the techs and awarded prizes for high scores.
Tip #5. Seek feedback and listen
The mountain techs, marketers, and product developers from the manufacturer have periodically gathered to share ideas and information. For one meeting, the manufacturer sent 15 questions in advance for mountain techs to answer.
The meeting lasted four hours. The manufacturer got wonderful ideas, and the mountain techs walked away extremely excited about the company. "They all said they'd never been listened to like that before," says Kai.
More about Kai:
Posted on 05/17/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Chris Baggott, ExactTarget
Chris Baggott, the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer for ExactTarget, lives and breathes email best practices. He will be speaking at WOMBAT 2 on a panel about creating viral emails that spread like crazy. Along with Julian Aldridge of Freestyle Interactive, he'll teach how you can use email in viral campaigns to get people talking -- and hitting the forward button.
As ExactTarget's CMO, Chris is responsible for driving the company's market definition and position and new business development and partnerships. His blog was named as one of the "10 Best Blogs of 2005" by MarketingSherpa and part of the "Best of the Web" by Forbes.com.
More about Chris:
Posted on 05/11/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Julian Aldridge, Freestyle Interactive
Seth Godin once wrote a book about how people can spread ideas quickly and likened the behavior to a virus (an "ideavirus" as he called it). Soon, viral marketing was born. Email has become a primary vehicle for it, since it's an easy way for people to spread messages to each other.
So how do you create an email and craft a message that has the capacity to "go viral"? That's just one of the questions that Julian Aldridge, President of Freestyle Interactive, will answer at WOMBAT 2. He'll be speaking on a panel about how you can use create a viral email that spreads an idea quickly.
Julian has spent 20 years in the advertising and branding industries, having worked for agencies such as Grey, Tattoo Marketing, and Red Sky Interactive. He is credited for having brought the art of British-style ethnographic account planning to the interactive industry.
More about Julian:
Posted on 05/11/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Placing Products in the Hands of Influencers
5 Tips from Matchstick 's Matthew Stradiotto
"The power of WOM comes down to the ability of one individual to share relevant information with someone who trusts their opinion," says Matthew Stradiotto, Co-founder of Matchstick. To make this sharing happen, he seeds influencers with products where people are getting together to have a shared experience.
Here, Matthew shares his five tips on seeding products to influencers:
Tip #1. Qualify the influencers
Define the type of person you want to target. Are they important because they have already invested in the category, or in your competitor's product? Are they influential simply by virtue of the fact that they often socialize with friends and peers?
Then, using techniques such as in-person intercept or phone interviews, or customer database mining, identify actual influencers by adhering to your key criteria.
Tip #2. Look for naturally occurring gatherings
When seeding products, it's important that the gathering is unforced. Piggyback on natural consumer experiences rather than creating unnatural ones. For example, you could choose a dinner party that was going to happen already whether you sent a product or not.
Tip #3. Size of gathering is key
Depending on the product, a 200-person outdoor event might be a difficult one at which to make your presence known. Gatherings that are too small are also less valuable. Matthew has found that gatherings of between 50 and 100 people are of the optimum size.
Tip #4. Engage the attendees
It's not always enough just to have the influencer introduce the product into the gathering and hope people will talk. Instead, create games or tasks. If your product is wine, ask guests to bring their favorite wines and have a taste test where your wine is compared to the wines the guests bring.
Tip #5. Refine your story
Don't go into the situation with a long list of product attributes and benefits. Rather, refine your story to three engaging "bite-size" portions, so that everyone who engages will come away with the product's core message.
By following these rules, you lay the stage for conversations; when conversations take place, buzz begins. "You get deeper impact, because people who have shared an experience tend to be more involved and excited about a product and more likely to enter into future WOM conversations," says Matthew.
More about Matthew:
Read Matthew's 2005 WOMMA Summit presentation (PDF download)
Posted on 05/10/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Tracking Online WOM
5 Tips from Cymfony's Andrew Bernstein
"As PR becomes more strategic, and campaign time shortens, you can't wait six months to do a focus group," says Andrew Bernstein, President and CEO of Cymfony. He suggests tracking the conversations taking place online. "By tracking a variety of areas, you can get a good sense of what people are thinking about your product, brand, and company.
Here are Andrew's five tips for understanding and tracking online WOM:
Tip #1. Develop a broad solution for monitoring
There's a lot of noise when it comes to online conversations around brands, so monitoring can be tricky. Understand what's important to your company, as well as who the influencers are, before you start to monitor it. To really understand what consumers are talking about, you must filter deeply for more varied layers of brand conversations.
Tip #2. Focus on more than one area of media
Include mainstream media and consumer generated media for your monitoring, and as a subset, cover all the different areas involved: broadcast, radio, print, trade, blogs, message boards, and opinion sites. Evaluate not only what people are saying about your company specifically, but evaluate more general conversations to pinpoint trends.
Tip #3. Be dynamic, not static
Follow relationships and trends over time. Some things will get stale in a six-month period, while other, more relevant things start to bubble up.
Tip #4. Don't be afraid to correspond
The people writing about you online are influencers, and many are your advocates -- don't be afraid to correspond with them. Even if their comments are negative, respond and see what you can learn.
Tip #5. Be transparent
It's an obvious but important point. You can hire someone to talk you up, you can have a surreptitious blogger, but the minute you do, someone's going to find out, and they'll come down on you hard. Avoid it at all costs.
More about Andrew:
Posted on 05/10/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Turning on Customer Advocacy
5 Tips from ComBlu's Steve Hershberger
"Buzz is perishable. Once you build a campaign and reap the benefits, it dies away," says Steve Hershberger, Principal at ComBlu. "To extend it, you have to start from scratch."
Here, Steve offers his insights on turning on consumer advocacy and keeping it from dying.
Tip #1. Buzz doesn't create advocates
Buzz may create awareness, with people saying, "Wow, I want to talk about this." But they may or may not act on it. That costs brands time and money, because the effort that's put into a buzz campaign the second time is the same as the first. It doesn't have its own inertia.
Tip #2. Advocates create buzz
Creating advocates keep buzz alive. Advocates are the concentrated perfect customers. They understand the relevance of the product, and when people spread relevance -- when they passionately recommend it with the force of their personality -- that's engagement and it spreads buzz.
Tip #3. Shut up and listen
Advocates will communicate with you via the avenues you give them. Sometimes those aren't the best ways. Ask yourself if you're creating natural pathways to communication or roadblocks.
Better yet, ask them. Many brands don't distinguish between what they want, what their customers want, and what their prospects want. It only matters what the customer wants: they own the brand. They'll tell you what drove them to choose you and stay with you.
Tip #4. Repeat what was said
If somebody tells you there was a problem, find out why. Too expensive? Couldn't get through to customer service people? Hear them, then repeat the problem back to prove you understand their situation.
Tip #5. Act on it
You've heard what was said. You've repeated it back. Now, fix the problem.
It's okay to say, "We can't do that right now," as long as they know you understand. For example, if they say, "I love your product but I can't afford it," you might respond that you only get a 15 percent margin on that particular product and can't afford to reduce the price. Of course, it's better to fix the problem if you can.
"Be consistent," Steve concludes. "Once is nothing more than a one-hit wonder."
More about Steve:
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Using Consumers to Increase Product Relevance
5 Tips from Electric Artists' Marc Schiller
"Effective WOM marketing is about ensuring that your product is relevant to whom you are marketing. There's nobody better in the world at doing this than somebody you admire or respect," says Marc Schiller, CEO and founder of Electric Artists. "Marketers are no longer credible in making things relevant. But consumers are. The best campaigns are ones where consumers are active participants."
That's why viral marketing can be so effective: "Relevance is created, impact goes up, and the results are much stronger than any other form of media."
Here are Marc's tips for working with consumers to increase product relevance:
Tip #1. Allow the consumer's voice to be loudest
A simple "send to a friend" button is not viral marketing. While it can potentially increase the audience, it doesn't allow for consumers to imprint their own passion and relevance onto the message. When you allow the consumer to add something to the creative they're inserting themselves into the mix, making the voice of the message, and of the brand itself, authentic.
Tip #2. Get the details right
Authenticity is critical to success. You should understand your audience better than anyone in the world, so that when you develop the creative, it has all of the nuances and quirks that give identity to sub-groups. Resist homogenization: the audience will know that you don't understand them, and the brand will lose credibility.
Tip #3. Develop your own point of view
Every marketer needs his own point of view when it comes to marketing on new technology platforms. The companies that will succeed using blogs, for instance, are those that create their own points of view and draw lines in the sand based on their own positions.
Tip #4. Forget about chat rooms and message boards
They are no longer relevant. Rather, understand the importance of blogs, social networks, and tagging. Update your view of what community means on the Web to accommodate new ways that people interact online.
Tip #5. Get out of the way
When word of mouth takes off, don't always attempt to stoke the flames. Watch from the sidelines, and enjoy it, but don't try to insert yourselves artificially.
More about Marc:
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 2 Comments | Link
New Keynote: Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
Spread the word and tell your friends, colleagues, and associates -- WOMMA is thrilled to announce one of the WOMBAT 2 keynotes will be delivered by none other than Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, co-authors of "Naked Conversations".
Word of mouth works because it all comes down, in part, to a very simple idea -- honesty matters. In their book "Naked Conversations", Scoble and Israel explore this idea at length. They chart the rise of blogs as a vehicle for informal, unfiltered -- okay, "naked" -- two-way communication between companies and consumers. In their keynote, Robert and Shel will talk about what's worked, what hasn't, and share more of their insight on blogs and word of mouth.
Robert Scoble -- aka "the Scobleizer" -- writes about Microsoft, the Internet, geeks, coders, life, the universe, and everything at his Scobleizer blog. He works for Microsoft as a technical evangelist and helps run the company's Channel 9 web site.
If you use a computer in the US, you're probably using a product Shel Israel has helped introduce -- Sound Blaster, PowerPoint, FileMaker, dBase, are just a few. He is a veteran consultant, has advised CEO's the world over, and was also the founder of the SIPR public relations agency.
More about Robert and Shel:
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Ed Keller, The Keller Fay Group
"Show me the numbers." For word of mouth marketing to succeed as a core part of the mainstream marketing mix, there have to be stats and numbers to help quantify it and measure success. And now, WOMBAT 2 will feature the biggest minds in WOM research sharing a plethora of numbers, stats, and data all focused on word of mouth.
As part of this panel, Ed Keller of the Keller Fay Group will help marketers make sense of the data. Of course, Ed is no stranger to data-driven word of mouth. Along with co-author Jon Berry, his book "The Influentials" helped create the modern practice of influencer marketing.
More about Ed:
WOMBAT How-To: How-To: Harnessing Influentials
WOMBAT Podcast: Ed Keller on the Influentials
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Pinny Gniwisch, Ice.com
It seems everyone has a blog these days, but most fall short of their promise as a vehicle for WOM. The companies that "get it" are the ones using blogs to communicate direclty with cusotmers (and vice-versa).
Pinny Gniwisch of Ice.com will be speaking at WOMBAT 2 about how to use blogs to create a relationship that goes beyond the purchase. Thanks to his efforts, the Ice.com blog has become a resource for its customers, with compelling content that gets people talking. He'll share the steps he took to use the blog to communicate the true personality of his company.
More about Pinny:
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Joe Pilotta, BIGresearch
Word of mouth may be thought of as an art, but it's quickly becoming a science thanks to the new growing field of WOM research. At WOMBAT 2, Joe Pilotta of BIGresearch will share specific tools and metrics that marketers can use to quantify and measure the ROI of word of mouth.
As a member of WOMMA's Research and Metrics Council, Joe has contributed a paper to WOMMA's "Measuring Word of Mouth, Volume 1" book and spoke at the 2005 Measuring Word of Mouth Conference. He is both the Vice President of BIGresearch and a Professor at Ohio State University, School of Communications. With BIGresearch, Joe has launched the first Simultaneous Media Study, the Simultaneous Media Planning, and a Return on Customer Investment System.
More about Joe:
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Paul Rand, Ketchum
WOM isn't a tactic -- it's a way of doing business. Paul Rand will help kick off the first day of WOMBAT 2 by giving practical advice building the essential word of mouth toolbox. His insight will help you go beyond one-off campaigns and make WOM a central part of your company's marketing mix.
As the Global Chief Development and Innovation Officer for Ketchum, Paul Rand is no stranger to word of mouth. With over 20 years of strategic communications experience, Paul has shared his knowledge and insight at past WOMMA conferences on countering negative word of mouth and creating effective word of mouth campaigns.
More about Paul:
WOMBAT Podcast: Creating an Effective Word of Mouth Campaign
WOMBAT How-To: Dealing with Negative Word of Mouth
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Gary Spangler, DuPont
Gary Spangler helped make history in early April. Thanks to his instrumental leadership, DuPont became the first Fortune 100 company to endorse the WOMMA Code of Ethics, making it applicable to all their employees and vendors worldwide. Thanks to his efforts, the "full endorsement" went the further step of making clear that DuPont would only engage WOM services firms if they adhere to the Code.
Strong ethical best practices are the foundation for a healthy word of mouth marketing industry, so it's only natural that Gary would speak at WOMBAT 2. Gary will be speaking on a panel about practical WOM ethics and making it work. He will share practical, hands-on advice based on his experiences getting buy-in and selilng the idea at DuPont. Not only will his advice help stop unethical practices before they start, but his insight will no doubt inspire other companies to endorse the Code as well.
More about Gary:
Press release about DuPont endorsing the WOMMA Code of Ethics
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Virginia Miracle, Brains on Fire
Virginia Miracle is one of the few people in the WOM industry who has held the title Head or Director of Word of Mouth at not one, but TWO different companies -- first with Dell and now with Brains on Fire.
As part of the panel that kicks off the second day of WOMBAT 2, Virginia will be talking about how to develop and launch a word of mouth marketing plan. Based on her experiences at Dell, she'll share strategies on getting buy-in and talk about how she has helped turn WOM from an ideas into campaigns.
For anyone looking to launch a WOM at their company or for a client, this is one panel you won't want to miss.
More about Virginia:
Posted on 05/ 3/06 | 0 Comments | Link
New Speaker: Scott Wilder, Intuit
If you're looking for a company that "gets" blogs and how they can be used to create communities, one example that needs to be on your list is Intuit. With Scott Wilder at the helm as the Group Manager for QuickBooks Software and Small Business Services, Intuit has built a deep community using blogs, podcasts, and discussion forums.
But using blogs to create community is about more than the technology. Scott manages Intuit's online community and is one of the key authors of the QuickBooks team blog at QuickBooksgroup.com. The blogs overflow with tips and techniques on how to get the best out of the software, with users helping fellow users and spreading the word about the support they've received.
Scott will be speaking at WOMBAT 2 about how to create great corporate blogs that communicate directly with customers. He'll talk about how to use blogs to communicate the true personality of your company, how to manage consumer comments and responses, and will even try to answer the age-old question -- "What do I write about?"
More about Scott:
Posted on 05/ 2/06 | 0 Comments | Link