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Special thanks to:
Dave Evans, HearThis.com, for producing our amazing podcast, Conference Calls Unlimited for the podcast hosting call-in service, and the fanstic WOMMA members who have volunteered their time and energy to make this all happen.
Editors:
Dana Vanden Heuvel, Jennifer Nastu, and the WOMMA staff.
Home > WOMBAT Sessions
WOMBAT Sessions Archive
Informal - But Interesting and Informational - Stats on Blogging
During Wednesday's session on corporate blogging, Debbie Weil mentioned an informal survey that she sent out to her email newsletter list, asking them questions about blogging. Debbie offered a few stats during her talk, and I followed up with her after the show to get some more information on what she learned.
Debbie sent the survey to her 18,500 newsletter subscribers, a mix of corporate and small business marketers worldwide. As of Thursday, she had received 301 responses and was hoping for a total of 1,000. "I find that the results don't change much, though, so the stats below will remain pretty much the same," she says.
Here's what she found:
On launching a blog:
-72% of respondents say they've considered launching a corporate blog
Biggest concerns about launching and maintaining a corporate blog:
-60% cite the time it would take to write as their biggest concern
-57% worry what to write about
-36% worry about the time to review comments
-34% are concerned about who should write the blog
On corporate blogs in general:
-83% say blogs are NOT a fad
-69% say blogs wil become a must-have corporate marketing and communications tool
On use of RSS (Note from Debbie: "There's still not widespread adoption on this. Results are very similar to what I got a year ago."):
-55% say they've downloaded an RSS newsreader or subscribed to a
Web-based RSS service like Bloglines
-only 38% say they're reading blogs via RSS.
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
AllRecipes.com Sells WOM to Moms
Challenge:
When Sara Lee wanted to launch a new bread, Soft & Smooth Whole Grain Wheat Bread, in order to appeal to the growing group of people who wanted to feed their children healthier foods and more whole grains, the company turned to AllRecipes.com for a partnership.
"Moms have no control when kids are out of their sight, except for sack lunches," says Esmee Williams, VP of Marketing for AllRecipes.com. That food, she acknowledges, may be eaten, or it may end up in trashcans. Nonetheless, Sara Lee wanted to influence sack lunches.
Campaign:
So the team began an "online taste test panel" just before a new school year began.
An invitation was advertised in areas of the site "where we tend to find influencers," Esmee explains. (To the team implementing the campaign, an influencer was someone on the site who tends to submit content and offer opinions.) They were asked to fill out a survey. Those who fit the target profile (moms with school age children) were given coupons for 70% off a loaf of the bread. Others were given a coupon for 40% off.
Those who agreed to be on the "taste test" panel were given a microsite where they could talk about the product, tell what they thought about it, submit recipes using the product, or tell a friend. They were also asked to come back and participate in a survey.
The campaign also included:
-ads on the AllRecipe.com website
-TV ads
-FSI coupons
-store displays
Results:
"We looked at the community section of our site and really thought through how many influencers we thought we could get and we thought we could get 5,000 people to sign up," says Julie Dey, Director of Advertising Services for AllRecipes.com.
In fact, they got well over 15,000 people to participate, most in their target market.
Seventy percent of the audience downloaded the coupon, and 40 percent redeemed it. "We project that we reached over 100,000 people just through WOM alone, and on average each participant told 6.6 others about the program," Julie explains.
Ultimately, the popularity of the bread was so great that Sara Lee extended the product into an entire line.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
And Now, 'The Religious Guy'
Pinny Gniwisch (who wears a yarmulke), with Ice.com and Diamond.com, cracked up the group during the corporate blogging session when he introduced himself by saying: "You remember the guy yesterday, the guy with the striped shirt? He was the striped shirt guy. Well, I'm the religious guy. So, if any other religious guy attempts to join WOMMA, I'd request that you steer them away."
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
15 Golden Rules for Blogging
The companies that are going to be the most successful are the ones who are able to "unlock content" and the blog is the best way to do that.
It's important to understand that there are a lot of flavors of blogs. There are event blogs, CEO blogs, blogs about the news, crisis management blogs.
Marc Schiller of Electric Artists offered 15 Golden Rules for blogging:
#1. Recognize that every client has a different set of business objectives
An A&E blog he launched around tattooing to reach a specific niche, while a blog for Starwood Hotels was launched to increase loyalty and drive ecommerce.
#2. Don't focus on the results.
Document the process. The best blogs let you peek behind the curtain of the company.
#3. Don't try to force someone to be a blogger.
#4. Copywriters can't be bloggers. The worst blogs are over-written.
#5. Center editorial around advice and recommendations.
#6. Ot's okay to enter a crowded marketplace, but you must be best in class.
#7. No stealth blogs, no character blogs.
#8. Get the lawyers and PR team invovled early.
#9. Don't let your branding and advertising compete with the content.
10. Let bloggers publish early.
#11. Update every day or you won't hit critical mass.
#12. Develop themes and obsessions that will get people coming back for next session.
#13. Keep content eclectic.
#14. Make sure bloggers can respond to legal side.
#15. Be benevolent.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
A Snippet from the Talk of Leslie Forde, Communispace
Leslie Forde of Communispace talked about building customer evangelists:
Just by listening to customers, establishing trust, and having a relationship with them, they want you to do well and they will do amazing things for your brand.
Here's a quick example Leslie offered: For one client, a customer hopped onto a bulletin board in the middle of the night after having seen a competitor's commercial on TV. He wrote about the commercial to say, basically, "Here's what they're doing, here's what they're saying, and they're trying to rip us off!"
Yes, he said "us," as though he and the brand were on the same team. In other words, you don't necessarily have to ask them to talk about your product. They just will, Leslie says.
For communities, she suggests you keep it exclusive, and small enough to be intimate but large enough to be vibrant. She mentioned that 500 was a good number.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
How-To: Ted Wright, Liquid Intelligence
Ted Wright of Liquid Intelligence offered a high-energy, fun presentation on how to turn customers into evangelists.
The influencers are actually embodying the essence of your brand, and again, it's 6-8% of your customers. When you build a program around having those people as your influencers, everybody else gets visual clues to what you're all about.
Two points about influencers. In the same way that writers have to write and painters have to paint:
1. Influencers have to try new things because they're new.
2. They have to share new brands with their friends
An example of what Marc has done with a client:
Take Tiger Beer. It's big in Asia, and people in the U.S. think Asia is very exotic - but they don't know anything about Tiger Beer. Plus the brand had old logos, old posters, old bottles. So Liquid Intelligence came up with fun branding elements such as Funk Shui and other fun things that are interesting and relevant to the audience. They also created parties called "Happy Endings" (instead of happy hour), barbecues, etc. - and all of a sudden there's a big bump in Tiger Beer sales, all of a sudden the brand "owns" San Francisco, and Johnny Depp is calling asking to send for some cases
So here are five tips:
#1. Find the talkers
#2. Give them something interesting, relevant and authentic to talk about
#3. Create the tools to get the movement started
#4. Allow people to join the movement
#5. Measure results
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
The 'Secret Sauce' of Turning Customers into Advocates
Kathy Baughman of ComBlu believes that turning customers into advocates is more of a process than most people realize.
There are two main ways that people approach WOM:
1. Exposure:
This is more of an impression-based model. "It's hard to start here and turn them into advocates because you're reaching a larger swath," says Kathy.
2. Engagement model:
Here, people are more engaged, so it's easier to create advocates.
So in order to use an engagement model, ask three questions:
1. How do I identify customer evangelists? This is the secret sauce of word of mouth. If you don't identify the right people, they're not as passionate. Simply finding loyalists is not enough. Find a core of customers who love a product and who are passionate about it.
2. How do I activate them? Look at the raw data, get a demographic cut of them, look at loyalty (based on consumption patterns), look at influence based on indicators that work for your company and that will lead you to the people that will work the hardest for you. Six percent of your customer base make up the most passionate core.
Also important in activation is listening and instutionalizing the feedback channel. If you're building your framework correctly and you're listening, you can start incorporating the stories and the lore and incorporate them into your marketing.
What we're starting to do is look at what people are willing to do for you in a WOM campaign, and build a composite snapshot. It shows what evangelists and activates are willing to do for you. Some of the things that people are willing to do is dependent on how you present it to them.
In one campaign, for example, Kathy presented the idea of an informal points program. The evangelists said "no, I don't want that, I'm not going to do that." Then she presented it to them as, "What if we surprised you once in a while and we kept track of what you were doing behind the scenes and we surprised you with it. It could be a coupon, a product sample," and they loved that idea. So it depends how you present it.
You come up with this list of what they're willing to do by first doing the identification process and getting evangelists to meet with you. Then, simply get them to identify what they're willing to do for you. "They'll put the elements of the engagement framework together for you, and you can change that as the program evolves," Kathy says.
3. How do I measure? Embed the measurement into the campaign from the beginning.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
WOM Still Scary - Even to WOMmers
During lunch yesterday, I had a conversation with a marketer from a big company who shared an interesting WOM story. One of her brands, she said, had appeared on a bunch of lists as a brand to avoid. The reason that it appeard on the lists was based on an incorrect assumption - people were assuming this product had an attribute that it didn't actually have.
I thought it was an interesting story. I asked her if I could write it up for this blog, and she said - no. She wasn't comfortable sharing the story publicly.
Not a problem, I thought. But later, I discussed the conversation with Michael Rubin - one of the WOMMA superstars - and he pointed out the irony: here's a woman at a conference about word of mouth, where one of the main topics is getting executives to become comfortable with the thought of word of mouth, and she was fearful of presenting the wrong message. She didn't want to lose control - one of the worst fears of big marketers/advertisers and a fear we're here to help counteract.
Just shows, to me, exactly how far we have to go...
Posted on 06/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
The Reality of Brands
Overheard this afternoon during a discussion about measuring and qualifying WOM metrics:
"The brand is no longer what we tell the customers it is... it's what customers tell each other it is."
posted by olivier blanchard
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Two Short Social Networking Q&A's from the Pros
Q: "Are people leaving current social networking sites to go to the next one?"
A: According to Jim Scheinman of Bebo, it looks like people aren't leaving altogether; they're joining another. However, most probably won't have more than two prime social networking sites.
Interestingly, Steve Sarner of Ringo/Tickle added that for 13-23 year-olds, they tend to have two to three social networking sites. There are the sites where they're "themselves, real," and the sites where they have the alter-egos of themselves.
Q: Ted Wright asked, "What are the triggers that are driving older people to get hooked into social networking sites?" Jim: Being single, being a traveler, it all depends upon your life stage.
Steve: I don't think my dad will ever post his MySpace profile, but he does share photos.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Quick, Funny Story from MySpace Competitor
A fun moment occurred during the social networking session when Jim Scheinman of Bebo recounted what happened when Bebo won a Webby Award. Acceptance speeches at the Webbies can be no longer than 5 words long. The CEO of Bebo made his speech: "In your face, MySpace."
The MySpace people, who were at the ceremony, got a big kick out of it, Jim assured us. "We're all friends."
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
A Few Quick Take-Aways from the Social Networking Session
Clark Benson of eCrush asked a sample of about 600 users of the eCrush site: "Which would make you most want to stop using a social networking site?"
Here's what he learned:
-24% said "too many ads on the page"
-21% said "a lot of fake profiles set up by companies"
-15% said "lame people on it"
-40% said "you find that people like teachers/parents/employers are using it to check on you"
Jim Scheinman of Bebo pointed out that the most successful advertisers on social networking sites are those that create the most compelling content. When content is engaging - such as "skins" that teens want to use on their own profiles - the user doesn't necessarily look at it as advertising. Brands, then, get free advertising as friends share their own profiles that contain branding elements from advertisers.
Steve Sarner of Ringo and Tickle offered what he called "a word of mouth marketing mouthful," which had three points:
-The first three words are most important thing
-Make it simple for them to figure out where to click
-Tell people what’ going to happen and make it inviting rather than intrusive.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
WOMMA Ethics: Day One
Andy Sernovitz opened this session with a discussion of WOM ethics.
He suggests that we ask the obvious questions. A good guideline he said is "don't do it if you can't tell you mom." And he suggests that we keep in mind, " it will be blogged."
Ethics he says, define your brand and one bad choice tarnishes your brand. There is little guidance for agencies or junior staff. Consumers have the power to hold you responsible. Go home and teach values to your company and staff.
Consumer protection and respect are paramount.
Core concepts: The Honesty ROI
Honesty of Relationship
Honesty of Opinion
Honesty of Identity: Say who you are
Next Steps:
Adoption: encourage voluntary adoption
Tools: Practical resources to help you
Recognition/Rejection: Drive Business to ethical companies
The Four Horsemen of Consumer Deception: Abusers, Accomodaters, Bystanders, Enablers
This conversation is working: Companies are avoiding stealth, Ethics are top of mind, WOMMA has defacto endorsement, Stealth marketers are in hiding
Gary Spangler from Dupont presented a case study: How Dupont Endorsed the WOMMA Code of Ethics. On April 18, 2006 Dupont became the first Fortune 500 company to adopt the WOMMA Code of Ethics. Gary presented a teleconference for WOMMA on this major event.
He presented the steps that he went through to make the code of ethic adoption a reality at Dupont.
Two questions must be satisfied before consumers will trust us and make a referral: Believe in the superior value of the offering and feel good about the relationship with the company. Have to market not only our products, what we make but also who we are.
At Dupont, ethics are top of mind. This is key to success. Gary quoted from the movie Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility." Good advice from Uncle Ben..
Getting started: Have an endorsement in place before launching an initiative. Have a champion who is passionate, principles, persevering, and personable.
Spangler suggests that the internal beginning should start with writing a letter for senior management to issue to employers; also get agreement from corporate media and corporate marketing departments and use legal departments for contractual language.
Accountability: for employees, vendors, and agencies. Send letter explaining. Announce it to the press.
To be sustainable, you must continually remind and train employees.
Dupont is beginning to look at employee blogging Spangler said.
Ann Moravikc, CEO & President of Rowland Worldwide Communications,k was the next speaker and she answered the question: What causes Ethical Dilemmas? She said:
Newness of new media
Irrational creative exuberance
Pressure to perform
She then reviewed various scenarios for ethical evaluation that corporations and agencies might be faced with; it was a though provoking talk.
Gary Spangler, Platform E-Business Leader Electronic & Communication Technologies, Dupont Company www.dupont.com
Ann Moravick, CEO and President Rowland Worldwide www.rowland.com
posted by Marianne Richmond
Resonance Partnership
Media Slaves-Life in Permanent Beta
Tags: ethics, word of mouth, WOMMA, WOMBAT2, Gary Spanger, Ann Moravick, Dupont, WOMMA Code of Ethics
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Huba Discusses 'iPod's Dirty Secret' Commercial - and What It Means to Marketers
Citizen marketers: everyday people who voluntarily create media on behalf of product, services, companies or people they love. Or hate. And in some cases they're rivaling network TV shows.
As marketers, how do we get the message out? The people.
For example: Surge. Came out in 97, didn't sell very well, Coke yanked it from the market to the consternation of this guy named Eric. On eBay, a 2001 expired 12-pack version of Surge was going for $130.
So this Eric guy created a site called SaveSurge.org. He created a weekly newsletter, had hall of fame for the people who had done the most to bring back Surge, and had hundreds of pages of content sent to him from Surge evangelists - and, he and the soda got lots and lots of press.
He didn't save Surge, but he discovered a similar product called Vault, so he created VaultKicks.org, and began to track the launch of the new drink. Now, Coke is doing traditional marketing for Vault, but if you do a search on Google, VaultKicks.org comes up first. The consumer is doing more marketing than the company.
Jackie offered homework: go to YouTube.com, type in your product name and see if there's a commercial out there that you didn't create.
Consumer generated media is not all positive, of course. How about this story:
The Neistat brothers had an iPod and after 18 months the battery died. When they called iPod, the company basically said it would be cheaper to go out and buy a new iPod because the battery wasn't replaceable. So the brothers created a commercial featuring them on the streets in NYC spraypainting an anti-iPod message over every iPod poster they could find. The Washington Post picked it up, etc. A website called iPod's Dirty Secret contains links to news articles on the topic. It also includes the commercial they created.
Another example: the GM ads created by consumers.
GM's mistake, says Jackie, is that the automaker gave the tool of creating an ad, to anyone and everyone, which allowed consumers to effectively highjack the brand.
So, to avoid that, and embrace the people who are actually beneficial to your brand, she suggests four tips:
-Listen
-Give fans and evangelists nuggets of things that they can mash up and use in their media. Give them photos, video snips, other content.
-Provide an outlet to show their love of the product. Even WD-40 has a fan club.
-Be communal. Build a community of evangelists, people on your real estate connecting and talking with you first hand.
One final example: Snakes on a Plane. There has been so much online buzz that there are hundreds of mash-up movie trailers, and one kid, Brian Finkelstein, has created his own website.
The movie was shot last year with a PG rating. But the movie studio began following the buzz online, seeing the "F-bombs" that were out there, seeing the mash-ups and the products and movie posters being created, and they said, "A PG rated movie won't fly with this crowd." So they went back into production, added more gore and more language. The product is being influenced by the audience, Jackie says.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Jackie Huba on Citizen Marketers.
Jackie Huba's lunchtime lecture about citizen marketers (everyday people who voluntarily create media on behalf of products services, companies or people they love... or hate) gave everyone at the conference a terrific glimpse into the world of consumer-generated content/media, and the role it plays in the way that brands are perceived by the public at large.
One of the most powerful elements of Jackie's presentation was her bit on YouTube (which has apparently overtaken the New York Times in terms of viewrship/readership). The site's explosive growth is a testament to the democratization of consumer-generated content and media. To give you an idea, YouTube enjoys about 40,000,000 views per day. (Yes, you read it right: 40 million.) What's on YouTube? Home-made movies, home-made commercials, etc.
Google just about any major brand, and you are likely to find that some of the most highly ranked search results are for consumer-created online communities, and not the brand's own or sponsored sites. Unlike fan sites - which are specific to a particular product, brand, movie, celebrity, etc. and is thus unlikely to reach anyone not doing an online search for something specific, YouTube works more like a giant TV station that aggregates clusters of free-floating video. (Just now, its welcome page pointed me to three videos, one of which referenced SAAB.
This is precisely this kind of accidental brand exposure that makes a site like YouTube so potent when it comes to brand image. One passionate fan on a shoestring budget can create more positive buzz for your company (across the globe) than a high-priced superbowl ad (seen perhaps only once, and mostly in the US). In this regard, YouTube has become a creative extension of consumers' passion. Anyone with some free time, a camera and some editing software (say... a $300-$400 total investment) can film and cut their own commercials now, and reach as many viewers as a television network.
That's great if your company is doing everything right, but not if it has dropped the ball in the minds of some of its customers. Case in point: Casey Neistat's iPod battery video which bemoaned Apple's iPod battery replacement policy (and ultimately helped change it), and the 14% of negative Chevy consumer-generated commercials - which generated a whole lot more buzz than the reported 86% of positive ads that no one ever saw). If that CGM Chevy ad wasn't enough, try this one... or this one.
Don't get me wrong: The point here isn't to rag on Chevy (or its efforts to bring consumers into the creative and brand message process). The point is to show that consumers are more empowered to control and disseminate a message they believe in today than ever before, whether it is positive or negative. If you aren't listening to your customers and addressing their concerns, they will bring those concerns right to your doorstep... and that of 40 million people (and growing). GM apparently wasn't expecting that passionate anti-SUV activists would use their CGM tool to make their point. If anything, there is a discussion now where there wasn't much of one before this campaign.
And that is perhaps the saving grace of even negative consumer-generated content: If anything, social networks and CGM tools could very well become the ultimate feedback mechanism for brands. Every bit of feedback a company receives from its most vocal customers is an opportunity for it to address a problem its management may not have picked up on before, and an opportunity to adjust their course. This is not a bad thing.
The lesson here: Make your customers happy. Don't sell them junk, don't lie to them, don't ignore them, and don't trivialize what they have to say. (Or it will come back to bite you in the proverbial butt.)
If your relationship with your customers is positive and you allow them to become true brand advocates (especially if you give them the tools), they will become your biggest allies. Check out this ad for Sony, created by a 19-year-old self-taught animation prodigy named Tyson Ibele. Unreal. Any company with 50 Tysons would be absolutely golden. Your customers have a whole lot more power now than they did ten years ago. In a very real sense, either use it, or lose it.
If this doesn't get you to rethink the relationship (or lack thereof) that you have with your customers, I don't know what will. ;)
For more discussion on this topic, check out these two companion articles: Article 1, Article 2.
Tags: WOMMA, WOMMA WOMBAT2, consumer generated media, Olivier Blanchard, Jackie Huba
posted by olivier blanchard
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
And Now, the 10 Most Talked About Brands
Ed Keller of The Keller Fay Group introduced the most talked about brands in America, plus those that have the highest net promoter score.
10. Apple/iPod
9. Honda
8. Coke
7. Toyota
6. Chevrolet
5. Wal-Mart
4. Cingular
3. Dell
2. Verizon
1. Ford - the most alked about brand in America
And, the word of mouth All-Stars (positive conversation vs. negative conversation score):
10. Verizon
9. BMW
8. Home Depot
7. Sony
6. Target
5. Chevrolet
4. Apple/iPod
3. Honda
2. Wal-Mart
1. Toyota
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/20/06 | 3 Comments | Link
Lots of Stats on WOM (Just Before Lunch)
Ann Green, Millward Brown and Ed Keller, The Keller Fay Group share facts and figures about WOM:
First, Ann:
76% don't believe that companies tell the truth in advertising
68% trust other people "like themselves." This has gone up from 22% in 2003
92% cite WOM as best source for product ideas
84% find the advice at least somewhat credible
19% choose brand solely due to recommendation
43% of companies plan to use WOM in the next year
What does this mean for brands? Brands ranked by consumers as "brands I talk about" vs. "brands that talk to me," the "brands I talk about" brands are 1.5 times more likely to grow.
Now, Ed:
15% of every conversation that Americans have include something about a product or service. So they're talking, and they're talking frequently.
46% of brand conversations take place between spouses or other family members.
35% of teens and young adults are talking to their good friends ("they're talking to each other even when they're not talking to us," Ed says.) We tend to talk to people in the same age group as us.
2 times as many brand conversations per week come from "conversation catalysts"
Back to Ann:
71% of WOM conversations are taking place face to face
94% of WOM conversations are taking place offline
Categories that lend themselves to online WOM: those that we see as most relevant for WOm are the categories where there is the biggest knowledge gap - in other words, individuals who like to talk about these topics, but who don't know a lot about them.
Ed - what exactly is being said in WOM conversations?
Average American engages in 56 conversations a week, right? But these are averages. Some categories get far more. For example: food and beverage garners the most, automotive, public affairs, shopping and retail follow.
Can you engage in WOM if you're not in one of those categories? Absolutely, but you might have to create something that will help get the conversation going, or focusing very specifically on your brand advocates.
By a 6:1 ratio, when people talk about brands they're saying posiive things. Consumers are trying to make decisions, they're trying to decide what they should be doing.
And. positive conversations are seen as more credible, more believable.
Lots more stats available as research stories on the Womnibus blog.
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Practical Ethics and the Guy with the Striped Shirts
Here's the obligatory WOMMA panel on ethics. Andy Sernovitz, along with Ann Moravick of Rowland Communications Worldwide and Gary Spangler of DuPont, talk about how to prove that WOM is "as wonderful as we all know it is," says Andy.
Ethics define the future of our business - it's about customer trust (as we all know). But it's also about protecting our medium.
Sony sending out fake tourists with cameras is the classic example of unethical WOM, and every story focused around bad WOM brings up that example. The point? You get to screw up exactly once - one bad choice can screw a brand - and continued bad choices can screw the medium.
So go back to your company and talk to your staff about this, Andy suggests. Please, he adds.
Then, Andy reiterated The Honesty ROI: honesty of relationship, honesty of opinion, honesty of identy. Doesn't matter the relationship as long as you disclose it. You don't say things you don't believe, you don't ask people to lie for you. You always say who you are, you don't send armies of employees to fill up chat rooms with posts...
These rules are awfully easy and there's absolutely no reason why you can't follow them. The press, the public are going to hold us accountable.
But we know all this already, right?
Moving on:
Four big causes of consumer deception:
The abusers
The accomodators
The bystanders - the big brands who spend lots of money but refuse to take a stand
The enablers - anyone who pays for results without asking where they're coming from
Andy points out that this open conversation is working: stealth marketers aren't showing up at places like this, eithics are top of mind, WOMMA has de facto endorsement, etc. So even if it dominates the conversation, we're going to continue talking about this, he says.
Ask yourself: if you're embarrassed to tell a friend, don't go there. Ask your mom. Ask your friend.
Now, Gary Spangler, with DuPont.
"I'm known at DuPont as the guy with the striped shirts," he says. (And yes, he was wearing a brand spanking new striped shirt.) Anyway...
Historically, we used to market what we make, but now we have to market what we make and who we are. So with our vision, mission and values, says Gary, our stories behind the products that we make have to be consistent with the products we make.
As the WOM champion within DuPont, he can get his message heard by senior management. How? By doing four things (read more about these steps here). Here are two of them:
-Educate key leaders of effort and management on the value of WOM and WOMMA - it takes education. Gary tells a story of showing a memo to upper management and then asking if the exec had had a chance to read it. He said, "Yeah, I thought it was a joke."
- Write letter for senior corporate leader to issue to employees to teach them about WOM
"Once my company was educated, it was a pretty easy decision to adopt the code of ethics." After the ethics code was adopted, Gary sent out a press release about it, and got a ton of publicity (in MarketingVox, BtoB, and others).
Ann Moravick steps in:
How ideas that border on unethical can be adapted to become ethical. There are three factors that can be a perfect storm for missteps, and they are:
-It's all new, there's naivete
-We're marketers, we're passionate, that can lead to irrational creative exuberance
-We're under pressue to perform and that can lead us to make decisions that are not always right.
So our mantra is that we shouldn't be swept up by our drive to create the next big idea.
For example, a fun idea might be for a company that competes with iPod to have college students "kidnap" iPods from friends and leave clever ransom notes in order to have an opportunity to discuss the new product. Clever or not? Definitely not, as nothing should be done that is illegal - and also, you don't really want to alienate the people you're trying to sell to.
Another example: In training a buzz advocate, you find one who is generally critical of the brand. As a result you decide not to include him. That, says Ann, is missing an opportunity. Rather, if you get him involved, give him access to the company, develop a relationship, eventually you may get him turned around to your point of view and that's a great opportunity.
Posted by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Coming In Late to 'Practical Word of Mouth'
Customized cars, personalized license plates, and even a baby named after a video game character are some ways to push offline WOM...
After having arrived late and missing most of this session, that's the one idea that really stood out in the last 15 minutes.
Much more to come.
Published by Jennifer Nastu, Fast Trike
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Paul Rand - The Essential WOM Toolbox: Part 1
In his "The Essential WOM Toolbox" presentation, Paul Rand (Ketchum) gave us some practical WOMM "how to" pointers:
Part 1: Is Word-Of-Mouth Marketing right for you?
In terms of transitioning from traditional message marketing to conversation marketing, the fear is still, for a lot of people, that by giving their customers too much of a voice, companies will lose control over their message.
The reality is that they never had control. Reputations can't be spun (at least not for very long.) When it comes to companies who make choices that will negatively impact their reputations and the value of their brands, there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
Per Paul: "Companies can no longer create products that don't work very well, sell a lot of them, and hope that it'll take a while for people to catch on."
On the other hand, when companies do things right, they have a great story to tell. (And that's when the real magic happens.)
In Part 2, we'll look at how they can do just that.
Tags: WOMMA, WOMMA WOMBAT2, Marianne Richmond, Olivier Blanchard, Jennifer Nastu
posted by olivier blanchard
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Blogging From Wombat #2 - Notes on Andy Sernovitz' Intro
Greetings from sunny San Francisco, where WOMMA's second Word-of-Mouth Basic Training conference got under way this morning. To start us off, Andy Sernovitz (CEO of WOMMA) and Ed Keller (WOMMA Board President), ran us through a number of questions addressing the WOMM culture, its raison d'etre, and the path it seeks to follow. The main line: Truth and the voice of the consumer are more powerful than canned Marketing messages, and WOMMA's mission is to help create and guide a true consumer-driven future.
Some of his talking points this morning:
1. Real people speaking with real people is good. Deception is bad. (More on that in our coverage of Paul Rand's presentation.)
2. Genuine two-way dialogue between marketers and their customers is a whole lot more productive than the far more common Marketers vs. Consumers model, which focuses on (among other things) selling and interruption. WOMMA wants to be a change for the better.
3. Consumer satisfaction drives sales drives growth. Per Andy: "It is easier to satisfy customers/users now than provide tech support later." (I like that a lot.)
4. Are advocates of WOMM Innovators or whackos?
WOMMA is building a profession, creating a movement of thought leaders, and building credibility based on ethical Leadership, measurable ROI, and best practices.
5. Are WOMM professionals actually giving customers a voice, or are they just sneaky manipulators?
Per Andy: "We must fight to the death for ethics or we will be destroyed as a business. We do not invade relationships between consumers and their families and friends. We are not the next form of spam. We cannot let our industry be defined by a few bad apples."
The irony: "WOMMA's message of consumer empowerment is so good and so unique, that it is sometimes hard to believe." (Especially when a small army of unscrupulous marketers is waiting in the shadows to take advantage of the promise of honesty.)
Ten seconds of basic guidance: "Choose to support customers instead of selling to them, and practice what you preach." Transparency and reputation are vital to the success of this new evolution in the marketing world.
Andy's intro ended with a call to arms of sorts, to defend Word-of-mouth marketing and what it stands for in the face of shill marketing, deception, and a lack of understanding by the general public - as it becomes the focus of increasing scrutiny over the next year or so:
"We must fight for ethics, promote ethics, and educate the public as to the difference between the forces of good and the forces of deception in the world of marketing. We must draw a clear line that divides good from bad. We are going to make marketing and the world of business a nicer place."
Lofty goals? You bet. But definitely worth the fight. Welcome to WOM Basic Traing #2.
published by olivier blanchard
Posted on 06/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
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
Posted on 02/16/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Day 2: Case Study 16: National Outdoor Leadership School
Bruce Palmer, Director of Admission and Marketing, National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)
Bruce Palmer began his talk with an amazing number: 80% of those attending the National Outdoor Leadership School hear about it through word of mouth. Is there anyone who would not be envious of this kind of word of mouth success? Another amazing number...97% of attendees would recommend NOLS to a friend. Fred Reichheld would probably say that the Net Promoter score at NOLS is in good shape.
So what did they need....more of the same. They wanted to amplify their success...Increase enrollment though increasing awareness. They had the foundation of great WOM...a great product. So, they got on the bus, an alternative energy bus no less which is powered by recycled vegetable oil (RVO)...Enlisting their most ardent fans and devoted evangelists, their alumni. They went accrues the country on the tour, using the bus as a NOLs program on wheels and got great media coverage. Soy organic soymilk sponsored. Enrollment increased. Program a success.
NOLS seems to have the formula for success...Based upon what was said at the conference about consumer behavior and the requirements for a successful won campaign. They have a great product, customer evangelists, the bus was engaging and allowed for trial...And they have a blog
Technorati Tags:
WOMMA WOMBAT
Posted on 01/25/06 | 0 Comments | Link
MORE WOMBAT VIDEO INTERVIEWS
Whew! Early this morning I posted 9 new video interviews, you can see them on the coBRANDiT site. Look for WOM testimony from Doug Atkin, Pete Blackshaw, Bob Garfield, Jamie Tedford, Laurie Weisberg, Mark Kingdon, Paul Rand, Steve Friedman, and Ted Wright, plus David Fletcher, John Moore, Steve Rubel, George Silverman, and Andy Sernovitz from my earlier postings. Lots of great stuff. In the next day or two we'll be releasing a couple more things and building a microsite to contain the project...thanks once more to all participants, and thanks to the WOMMA team (Andy and Michael, particularly) for making it happen. --Owen
Posted on 01/23/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Post-WOMMA WOMBAT Withdrawal - Post Your Comments!
Well, now that was a conference!
First of all, thanks to the fellow WOMMA bloggers who helped me bring the conference coverage to everyone:
- Toby Bloomberg of Bloomberg Marketing and the Diva Marketing blog.
- Josh Hallet of hyku - another pro blogger and blog consultant
- Marianne Richmond of Resonance Partnership, LLC and the Resonance Partnership Blog
Thanks also to WOMMA for bringing us all to Orlando to be part of such as great thing. It was a pleasure working with such fine folks covering such a monumental event.
What were your thoughts on the WOMMA WOMBAT conference? Leave your feedback in the comments here.
Technorati Tags: bloggers, feedback, Josh Hallett, Marianne Richmond, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Toby Bloomberg, wombat06, womma+wombat
Posted on 01/22/06 | 1 Comments | Link
Editing Video Like Crazy
We are back in Boston and editing like crazy...thanks to all the great people who agreed to be on camera. We have a lot of interviews in the can and will be cranking thru them (and posting) over the next few days. Look for more insight from Mark Kingdon (Organic), Paul Rand (Ketchum), Jamie Tedford (Arnold), Steve Freidman (Weblogs Inc.), and others...we even wrangled some key quotes out of Bob Garfield. Stay Tuned. -Owen
(ps if you want to subscribe to the vids w/ a feed (iTunes or otherwise) there's one set up on our site.)
Posted on 01/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Day 2: Shave & A Hair Cut WOMMA Styled
Virgil Simons, The Prostate Net
Virgil Simons is on a mission to inform every African American man about the risks of prostrate cancer. (African American men are the highest risk group at approximately twice the rate of other American men.) Not only does he intend to spread the world about the dangers of the disease but he wants men to get tested.
Prostate Net has two challenges: 1 - how to find every guy. 2. how to convenience men to take action e.g., get tested.
At the heart of Virgil's simple but brilliant strategy, is a word of mouth program using community barbers and barbershops. In the African American culture the barbershop is a place outside of school, church and home that reinforces black life. It's a place for every day talk among friends to exchange gossip and ask advice.
Unless they really mess up your hair, barbers are trusted members of the community who usually have known families for generations. Fathers bring sons for their first hair cuts who then grow up and bring their sons and so it goes. To put it into word of mouth marketing terms, barbers are influencers.
A national effort was tied to the sequel from the film The Barbershop. In addition, celebs filmed PSA spots. Promotions coincided with cancer awareness week. The program even reached Jay Leno's radar; Jay mentioned it on The Tonight Show. That's word of mouth on steroids.
To assure that his barbers are comfortable talking about prostate cancer, and are perceived as credible, Virgil created a training program complete with framed certificate ready for display.
The other half of the equation involves the action - the testing and that means involving medical centers. Virgil built a business case focuses on benefits to the medical centers.
-increased traffic to the medical center
-increase reveune
-increased market share
-clincial trials recruitment
2004 Results
-27 medical centers
-500 barber
-over 10,000 men screened
-over 440 PCA cases diagnosed
Throughout WOMBAT we heard the secrets to a successful word of mouth program are make it easy and give something back. The Prostate Net has that covered too.
-Posters in medical centers
-Listings of participating barbershops
-Counter cards in barbershops
-Handbooks for barbers
-Post-training and recognition plaques for barbers
-$250 screen coupons in barbershops
-Merchandise items for barbers and consumers
-Incentives for barbers
-On-gong recognition for barber efforts
Now that relationships with barbers are being developed, Virgil's vision is to build the first digital grassroots effort to bring healthcare information directly to where people work and live. "Wired Barbershops" will include computer stations complete with printers. It will take urban healthcare education to the next level.
The future includes building relationship with organizations such as American Cancer Society, American Medical Society, corporate partnerships. Blogs and podcasts are also on the to do list.
As Virgil said, "At the end of the day will you be at the barber shop?"
www.prosttenet.org
www.prostatenet.com
1.888.477.6763
P. O. Box 1292 Secaucus, NJ 07096
Technorati Tags: WOMMA, WOMBAT, WOMBAT06,
Posted on 01/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Day 2: Polo Gives Back And Connects With College Students
Samantha Skey, Senior Vice President, Alloy Media & Marketing
About 60% of today's college students live in the bubble of a college campus. According to Samantha it's not easy to market to this audience; however, with a total disposable income of over $200 billion it might be worth the effort.
Samantha stressed that word of mouth is critical to reaching this market.
-70% of college females say talking to friends is the most influential when making a purchase
-9 out of 10 college students pay attention to input from friends
Example
Alloy Media & Marketing was challenged to increase demand for Polo demin among college students. They created relevancy and hit on an emotional note through a cause related event on campuses that supported Hurricane Katrina survivors.
The goal was to encourage students to donate their old jeans in exchange for a Polo jean coupon. Students' old jeans were displayed creating a cool mural and instant gratification; donors could see right away that they were involved with doing something good and important.
Displaying the old jeans also produced immediate excitement as kids compared jeans and told friends the stories behind fades and rips. In addition, the denim jean "mural" built buzz and drove more students to the event.
Campus ambassadors were recruited and asked ask to bring 10 friends to the event. And friends brought friends who brought friends...
Polo sponsored the event on 7 different campuses, received positive feedback from local media. In order to ensure that the event was perceived as "legit" Polo partnered with Habitant for Humanity.
Results
-4000 jeans sold
-2000 jeans donated
-Polo succeeded in connecting to the denim category with college students.
Technorati Tags: WOMMA, WOMBAT, WOMBAT06, POLO,
Posted on 01/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Day 2: Turning Customers Into Evangelists
Betsy Weber, Chief Evangelist, TechSmith
WOMBAT attendees have the coolest titles. Betsy's is Chief Evangelist. Her story is how a small software company, based in Okemos, MI, turned its customers into passionate fans who love talking about TechSmith and its products.
While some of the other sessions focused on high-level strategies, Besty provided a treasure chest of tips and suggestions that we could take home and with a tweak here and there implement with our own brands.
Step One - Your product/service. Betsy reminded us that turning customers into fans begins with your product or service. As the saying goes...GIGO (garbage in/garbage out).
Step Two - Power Listening. TechSmith has developed multiple customer touch points: meet-ups; feedback links on their website; blog; customer advisory boards; beta tests with customers. Where was Betsy off to after an intense 2-days at WOMBAT? You guessed it. She was meeting with customers in the Orlando area.
So you may say, meeting your customer where they live is great if you have a big budget. If you don't have the bucks to visit them, invite them to visit you. TechSmith has a standing offer to their customers to drop by for a chat when they're in town. You may ask, how many people get to Okemos? I don't know. What is important is the offer is on the table and that's what counts.
Step Three..Four..and so on .. let's just say here are
Betsy's Best Bets To Turn Customers Into Evangelists
-Include an extra 30-day free evaluation with every box
-Create a button to wear
-Create a brag tag button for web sites
-Create a brag tag to add to video
-Create a "presentation in a box" for user groups that includes a PowerPoint deck and support materials. Put it on your website for easy download.
-Use geo maps on your sites or blog that identifies where users are located. Helps with building user groups.
-Blogs allow for comments. Listen and respond. One of TechSmith's most important relationships (Channel 9) began on the blog.
-Have developers talk at user forums. Betsy says it's better than any formal training.
-Build good will by getting out into the community.
-Give your customers something for nothing. TechSmith doesn't charge for tech support.
-Speaking of tech support, make it easy to talk to a real person on the phone.
-Offer free training. Better users turn into evangelists.
-Respond back to all inquiries. Betsy sends handwritten thank you notes.
-Speaking of thanks, remember to thank you your customers.
-Give your customers something to talk about.
-Surprise your customers or as Betsy says, Make Their Day. How about an out of the blue call? Or invite a customer to participate in a screen cast and then put the video up on your website or blog. [Give a copy to your customer to add to her blog/website?]
-Make it easy for your customers
Take Aways
Listen
Get out
A pair to share
Involve
Use the Buddy System
Build Goodwill
Take your mothers advice - say thank you
Bonnie Raitt was right - give em something to talk about
Books recommended by Betsy
The Tipping Point
Creating Customer Evangelists.
Technorati Tags: WOMMA, WOMBAT, WOMBAT06, Customer_Evangelists
Posted on 01/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Day 2: Oxymites Chat It Up With College Kids
Drew Neisser, President & CEO, Renegade Marketing Group
Panasonic's Oxyride Extreme Power battery is positioned as the next generation in technology designed for the digital era. So it made perfect sense to target the college crowd. These kids consume batteries like beer at frat parties...great segment to tap into. But how the *!@? do you get college kids to care about a commodity product like batteries? That was the challenge facing Panasonic and their agency Renegade Marketing.
In doing their homework, Renegade Marketing learned that this audience is multi-tasking, blogging, planning fun stuff and even putting a few hours into the books. They love irrevent humor. But they are skeptics from the word go. They have more energy than most batteries. That was the hook...Panasonic wanted to convey that Oxyride was even more energetic than college students.
Renegade Marketing needed a killer idea that would connect with the target audience when they were involved with their passions e.g., music, games, online. And they wanted a campaign that had legs. And they knew it had to include that irrevent humor.
Ta da! The Oxymites...edgy, animated characters each with their own back-story meant to personify the buyers. Bully, Fighter, Helper, Hyper and all the rest of the Oxymites are designed with an "x/o" that relates back to the packaging.
Drew Nelson believes that effective campaigns have layers, especially for big brands, one layer is rarely enough. The Inner layer put the product in the hands of the consumer on college campuses and at concerts.
Students had an opportunity to interact with the Oxymites. How about a game where you bang on a drum until the Oxyride's head explodes? The target loved it. (Remember .. irrevent humor.) Winners were given t-shirts, wrist bands and more. Panasonic's prize was the kids thought t-shirts were cool and wore them creating more word of mouth buzz.
Jason Mraz was brought in as a sponsor. Panasonic won again when Jason used Oxyride batteries in all the mics at his performances and boasted that they were double the life of other batteries.
The "inner layer" touched 50,000 kids. Did they talk about the batteries? Drew is realistic. Batteries no. Oxymites? Jason? Yup! "The brand that understood them and was attempting to live their life style."
Second layer took the brand online into places where college students hang out like MySpace, and Yahoo. A community was built where kids could engage with each other and of course an Oxymite website that included download IM skins, games and even information about batteries.
Results
-10 million IMS
-Half million visitors to oxyride.me.com
The right blogs to advertise on couldn't be found; instead 9 blogs were asked to blog They were given plasma tvs and some other spiff. They had complete freedom..no editing from Panasonic. The first post was about a blogger's experience in lesbian bar. As Drew puts it, "Panasonic didn't blink."
TV was used with spots only on late, late night: 1a-4a. This gave Renegade Marketing an opportunity to create "un PC" spots staring the Oxymites. The production elements were cool...done in same black and white style as the characters with splashes of color.
The campaign was picked up by the NY Times along with other traditional media.
Take Aways
-Focus
-Engage offline
-Engage online
-Layer
Technorati Tags: WOMMA, WOMBAT, WOBAT06, Oxymites, Panasonic,
Posted on 01/21/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Session C: How to Build a Great Reputation Online
Ben Straley, Director of Marketing Judy's Book
Paul Williams, CEO iKarma
Herbert Ong, CEO Genuosity
Ben Straley talked about reputation value and reputation management. Reputation value is driven by what others write online and off. Reputation management is essential and the first rule is to embrace the concept that it is important and must be managed and integrated into the operation and marketing of your business.
Paul Williams is the CEO of a company called iKarma which is an online reputation management system similar conceptually to the Ebay feedback system. The iKarma system is an open system where comments and feedbacks regarding your business or service can be posted by clients and customers. You set up an account with Ikarma and can start rating businesses and services with a 1-5 star rating and open comments. The business or person that is written about can respond. ikarma seems to be getting positive word of mouth from the blogosphere..
Paul Williams suggests that "you can turn bloggers into happy customers or you can turn your happy customers into bloggers." Your customers, he said are friendly, already like you, have friends and family with active social lives; bloggers, he says already hate you, have online friends and live at home with their mothers. Customers give you standard WOM which is limited to your circle of friends. Relationship Management Systems (RMS) such as iKarma give you unlimited reach and influence. RMS can add credibility to customer opinions. WOM has more power,advertising has more reach. RMS has more endurance. Makes sense.
Herbert Ong, CEO of Genuosity Inc. talked about the importance of testimonials. He says that reputation is word of mouth and testimonials are the most important part of reputation. He has an equation that summarizes what he means:
PWOM (positive word of mouth)-NWOM (negative word of mouth)= your reputation
He suggests that you always ask for testimonials from your customers and that you collect and display them. They represent your reputation.
He says that promoters, or evangelists, represent positive word of mouth. Passive (amiables) are neutral or no word of mouth and Detractors represent negative word of mouth. It is important to turn the Passives into promoters. He suggests that you need to make it easy for the passives to give positive feedback: use a link in your email signture to a testimonial capture page. An added benefit is with search engines...they eat content and testimonials are content. Additionally you should try to get your customers to do video or podcasts.
He summarized by saying that you should lead with a remarkable product or service..not with marketing.
Posted on 01/20/06 | 1 Comments | Link
Day 2: Spread the Good Word! | Case Study: WOM In Faith-Based Markets
In the faith base market, almost every college in America has up to 25 different faith based organizations. For example, when The Passion of The Christ came out Ground Force Network (GFN) built a whole outreach campaign to get to each of these student organizations.
It's easier to get into churches and other faith based orgs. at the ground level. Thinks "church ladies network." It's often to get in the door starting at the top, but if you can move something in at the ground level, especially with the influencers, you're further ahead on winning the game.
Church Field Agents:
- post materials on bulletin boards
Case Studies:
- The Maker's Diet
- The Chronicles of Narnia
A few interesting tactics that I'm seeing separate GFN case studies from some of the other WOM case studies we've seen.
- VERY passionate, faith based street teams that are mobilized at near light speed
- Deep connections with the college and youth community, mostly thorough their outreach programs
- Feet on the street supporters that ARE PROUD to support the products
The acrostic "CAPTIVATE" for incredible WOM marketing:
* Community
* Anti-Spam
* Personal Interaction
* Tools
* Integrity
* Viral
* Authentic
* Testimonials
* Events
There was an interesting analogy drawn to marketing to the African-American community some 30 years ago in seeing them as a monolith, which was a bad idea - same in
Technorati Tags: faith-based marketing, wombat06, womma+wombat
Posted on 01/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Day 2: Online Feedback Is Good For Marketing
Josh Sinel,Kaava
We're hearing this over and over...online data is a new source of information. You can't control it...but what can you do about it and how can it help move the brand forward?
Josh reminds us that the information that is gathered online is a major mover in understanding how business can react to their customers. However, people speak differently online than they do in focus groups or other traditional research techniques. So, with any research technique, one of the challenges is how to analyze the data. And of course as with any marketing strategy you must set goals and objectives.
How Tos ...
First, strategy is to build a data base which means technology before you can mine and then analyze it.
Second, recognizing the noise factor...what is relevant ...and filter the noise
Third, although technology is necessary, you must understand the limits of the technology
Fourth, it comes back to human research skills
Benefits
-Large sample of current relecant opinons and beliefs
-Fast turn around
-Immediate understanding or competitve landscape through consumers' mind
-Early identification of consumer product experience ... positive and negative
-Listening to the "language" as well as hearing voice of the customer
The loudest and most prolonged voice not necessary be the most important. Bread crumbs are important ... follow the bread crumbs
Brett Hurt, Bazaarvoice
The company will officially launch February 2006.
Brett began with telling us a story of how he and his wife trusted an amazon review, about a baby carriage, over advice from family and friends. It seems he's not alone in the influence of strangers when it comes to making purchase decisions. Why? Reviews are about personal experiences and frequently included lots of research information.
Brett tell us that conversions are higher when people use customer reviews.
Tips
-Make it convenient for the consumer and don't let the results get dusty before you analyze it.
-Add results about your top rated products to your website with a direct link.
-Create a What's Hot area for products pulling great reviews.
As with any research reviews will pull strengths and benefits and weaknesses. Look for gaps in your product line and of course, customer concerns should be addressed with direct feedback to the customer.
Leverage your influential customers ... those who frequently review products. They may not be your highest revenue producers but these are the folks that will help you sell so invite them into a customer council.
Added benefit: as reviews increase per page natural search increases. Found that people who came in through these pages convert higher and come back more often.
Technorati Tags: WOMBAT6, WOMMA,
Posted on 01/20/06 | 0 Comments | Link
Day 2: It's Showtime! | Case Study: Showtime: Building Barbershop Buzz Via Radio And Telephone with Gregory Wester
Showtime ran an audio blogging, phone based promotion for Barbershop, The Series. (they ran the campaign through VoodooVox)
25% of people calling in from the target market press 9 (on their phone) to check out more about the contenst
Tips to success:
1: Target the right evangelists
2. Make is easy (really easy)
- get your friends to call
- listen to your story
- the more friends that call, the more that listen, the more likely you are to be a winner
3. Use multiple motivations
- mixture of motivations to get involved
4. Your catalyst - Their words
- text message to phone - forward to friends
5. Give them tools to facilite to word of mouth
- text messages, phone numbers, easy to forward
6. Gumbies are played out
Results:
Incall is a great way to engage
wom tracked via phone
voice recording created awesome wom