This is old content! The Womnibus Blog has been retired. For the new stuff, visit The WOMMA Word.
Skip to Content | Skip to Navigation
← July 2005 | Womnibus Home | September 2005 →
Microsoft recently announced that the name for the next version of Windows would be Vista. One problem, as noted by bloggers Matt Galloway and Michael Bates, is that the name might become be so innocuous and common that using various measurement and metrics tools like BlogPulse and Technorati to track WOM trends becomes more difficult. After all, if
people can't remember the name, how can they talk about it?
More info:
Michael Bates post
If word of mouth is fundamentally a medium of messages passed from consumer to consumer to share news and information, then a case could be made that gossip is a form of word of mouth marketing. An article in the New York Times recently documented how researchers are now studying the act of gossip more closely as a form of social interaction.
What do you think? When does gossip qualify as WOM?
Let us know at editor@womma.org.
[9/1 UPDATE: The readers have responded.]
More info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/16/science/16goss.html
Recent figures in a report released by Intelliseek casts an interesting light on Amazon.com book ratings. When asked how they would react to the news that a publisher or author had posted a favorable review to their own book, 60% of those surveyed indicated they would be "disappointed." Half that number would either email everyone they know or refuse to ever purchase from the site again.
Here's how the numbers tallied out:
60% Would be disappointed
44% Would write the company, author, or publisher
30% Would email everyone they know
25% Would never buy from the store again
25% Would complain to the Better Business Bureau
13% Wouldn't care
More info:
http://www.clickz.com/experts/brand/cmo/print.php/3525681
Word of mouth has become the most dominant form of advertising to which today's college students pay attention. That's the key finding in a survey of American college students conducted by WOMMA member Alloy Marketing + Media and Harris Interactive.
According to the study, 91% of today's college students pay the most attention to WOM-based ads while 70% say word of mouth has the largest influence on their purchasing decisions. 48% reported that product sampling was the most influential technique when making purchasing decisions.
More info:
http://www.alloymarketing.com/whatweknow
The e-fluentials team at Burson-Marsteller is trying to start a discussion about evaluating online monitoring service. As part of measuring the ROI of a WOM campaign, having an online monitoring service is definitely becoming more crucial. Some tips and thoughts to keep in mind are also included.
Geno Church of Brains on Fire talks about WOM as a crucial element in the design and promotion of a local music store/cafe/cool hangout called Earshot.
The last paragraph is the key: "We didn't spend thousands on media proclaiming the excitement to come. We just gave Greenville something undeniably cool and let them do the rest. That's the heart of WOM -- you've got to trust the audience."
Trust the audience. Good words to live by.
Peter Kim of Cymfony talks about how the communal aspects of blogging can be a positive catalyst for social change. Noting that social networking began well before the Internet, Peter also speculates on the future of social networks and their capacity to enable word of mouth.
More info:
http://blog.cymfony.com/2005/08/the_power_of_so.html
Job: ScholarPoint Financial (La Jolla, CA) seeks an Online Marketing Manager to lead and execute online marketing strategy, including responsibility for creative implementation of word of mouth marketing techniques. Send resume and salary requirements to: lee.mills@scholarpoint.com
>> Make a new hire? Have an open WOM, viral, or buzz job opening? E-mail editor@womma.org and let us know!
You can't make this up.
A customer service representative for Comcast was tired of receiving repeated calls and complaints from LaChania Govan of Elgin, Illinois. When LaChania received her next cable bill, she found a little surprise. Comcast had changed her account name to "BITCH DOG."
LaChania didn't just get mad. She went public. Huge stories appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and others. Bloggers jumped all over the story, too. Within six hours, there were already 39 blog posts and over 16,000 links referencing the story. In an even more ironic twist of fate, Comcast was Technorati's lead advertiser when searching for "bitch dog" and "Comcast" (one has to wonder how much this hurts them?)
THE LESSON: Customers have a voice now.
Click here to follow the ongoing blogger reaction:
http://www.technorati.com/search/%22bitch%20dog%22%20comcast
Original Chicago Tribune story (free registration required)
In Q1 2005, 30 percent of the online population visited a blog. It was most likely to be focused on politics and hosted at one of five hosting services. Those are some of the key findings in a major report from WOMMA member comScore Networks on the size and composition of the blogosphere. Other key findings include:
1. Blogspot.com was the most popular blog host (followed by
LiveJournal, TypePad, Xanga, and AOL Journals).
2. Community blogs that connect younger audiences are the
most "sticky" (highest average time spent at a blog).
3. Political blogs were the most popular topic, followed by
hipster/lifestyle, tech, and blogs written by women.
comScore's Graham Mudd first discussed some of the report's findings at WOMMA's Measuring Word of Mouth Conference last month. Both Graham's presentation and the new report are available for download at our site.
Download the paper and presentation:
http://www.womma.org/content/comScore_BlogReport.pdf
Heineken wanted to re-connect its brand with a younger audience, so it worked with WOMMA member Vocanic to identify influencers who would spread positive WOM about its brand. Using its Groundswell survey, Vocanic collected a wide range of data about potential influencers, including their social networks, persuasiveness, and affinity for Heineken. Once identified, Heineken hosted events for these influencers to generate positive WOM about, including exclusive concerts and parties in Singapore and Australia.
THE LESSON: Choose your influencers carefully and then create WOM programs tailored to them.
George Silverman is back to blogging with a "disturbing memo to marketers." It's really a pop quiz of provocative questions that marketers ought to be asking themselves.
Some of the questions include:
1. What if your customers knew more about your product(s) — or, at least, the most important things about your product — than you do?
2. What if your products and services were defined by your customers and not you?
3. What if your customers were in control of the logistics of purchase: what if they determined how they would buy, where, how frequently, used or new, etc.?
As usual, George hits the nail on the head with some sage advice: "The customer is truly in charge, folks. This opens wonderful opportunities for people who want to partner with and serve the customer. Those who want to practice 'Marketing Warfare' with campaigns, hits, bombardments on targets -- are doomed."
Thomas Murrell of 8M Media & Communications blogged five ways to boost a viral marketing program and "quickly spread enthusiasm" about a product or service.
1. Collaborate With Thought-leaders In Select "Communities" of Influence
2. Offer An Incentive
3. Follow-up With A Personal Approach
4. Make It Immediate
5. Make It Interesting To Create Buzz
Job: Siebel Systems (Atlanta, GA) seeks an Online Community Consultant/Manager to help manage Siebel Online Community’s day-to-day operations. To learn more or apply for the position, please email OnlineCommunity@Siebel.com
Buzz marketing starts with getting people to start a conversation about your product or service. In his new book "BuzzMarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff", WOMMA member Mark Hughes stresses credibility and honesty as the foundation of building buzz. To be more effective, Hughes outlines the right buttons to push in consumers: the taboo, the unusual, the outrageous, the hilarious, the remarkable, and the secret.
THE LESSON: Give people something to talk about and you'll get their attention.
More info:
http://www.buzzmarketing.com
Like online communities and blogs, podcasting has its own "rules of the road" for marketers who want to participate. "Online Tonight" host David Lawrence recently shared some do's and don't of podcasting with MarketingSherpa:
* Keep it short
Remember, you're competing for people's time. Aim for 7-10 minutes.
* Don't be cute
Summarize your topic concisely and clearly so that it will spark interest.
* Get training
Even if you're naturally quiet and reserved, learn how to speak clearly with enthusiasm.
More info:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3042
As a way of gauging consumer buzz for cars that won't hit the road for some time, Ford and other automakers are observing and analyzing chatter in blogs and online communities. But instead of directly interacting with consumers and interfering with the conversation, automakers are opting to simply watch and observe. The result has been new insight into consumer sentiment and perception toward particular products and services.
THE LESSON: Consumers are already talking about you, so sometimes it works best to sit back and listen.
Customunity Launches WOM Marketing Community
Read the full story
NPR: Church Sermons Go Podcast
Read the full story
Village Voice: Litblogs Take Off
Read the full story
Job: CSAA (San Francisco, CA) seeks a Product Manager, Membership Products to develop products and services including an online community for AAA members. To apply, please visit http://www.csaa.com.
Job: SAP America (New York, NY) seeks a Director, Competitive Business Strategy to develop and execute business processes through traditional and viral marketing strategies. More details at http://www.sap.com/careers/index.epx (SAP Career Center).
Job: Classmates.com (Seattle, WA) seeks a Marketing Manager for Banners & Viral Marketing to develop an acquisition advertising program that includes developing and deploying online and offline viral marketing programs. Send cover letter and resume to jobs@classmates.com.
>> Make a new hire? Have an open WOM, viral, or buzz job opening? E-mail editor@womma.org and let us know!
WOM generated in "managed" programs is not all that different from everyday "organic" WOM. That's a key finding in a paper to be published next year by Dr. Walter Carl of Northeastern University. While stressing every day relationships and conversation as a key toward effective WOM and buzz marketing, the study also concluded that managed WOM programs do not unduly inundate social networks in part because 80% of all WOM occurs face-to-face. Co-sponsored by BzzAgent, Carl's study investigated differences in WOM behavior and results between organized programs and naturally occurring WOM.
More info:
http://womma.org/pages/2005/08/the_value_of_ma.htm
http://www.atsweb.neu.edu/w.carl
http://customerevangelists.typepad.com/blog/2005/08/the_science_of_.html
Flashy attention-grabbing viral techniques may work well in a consumer space, but don't often translate well to BtoB. The key to BtoB success, says Sean Carton of Carton Donofrio Partners, is to engage your audience. Once they're engaged and involved, then promote their involvement through marketing that makes them a part of the big picture.
THE LESSON: Engage your audience and get them involved as a way of spreading your message virally in the BtoB space.
More info:
http://www.clickz.com/experts/ad/lead_edge/article.php/3504836
More companies are allowing their employees to blog, but only after individuals agree to abide by a private code of conduct. When WOMMA member Hill & Knowlton unveiled its employee blogger community, the consulting firm went a step further and shared its 15-point "code of practice" with the general public. Some points are meant to guide employee behavior, but others clearly enlist the public to act as "watchdogs":
* I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly
* I will never delete a post
* I will disagree with other opinions and respectfully
* I will distinguish between factual information/commentary and advertising
Kudos to Hill & Knowlton for demonstrating ethical best practices in action. This may even serve as a model for other companies taking the blogging plunge.
More info:
http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/blogs/about.aspx
Church of the Customer Podcast: Measuring Word of Mouth
Read the full story
Toronto Star: Matchstick Talks Word of Mouth Basics
Read the full story
BBC: One Blog Created Every Second
Read the full story
Job: The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (Arlington, VA) seeks a Blogmaster to write daily blog entries from the CEO, monitor online forums, and assist in grassroots recruiting. Send resume to recruiting@nreca.coop with the word "Blogmaster" in the subject line.
Jobs: WOMMA is looking for amazing people to join our staff. If you're really a smart, talented, miracle worker who really "gets" word of mouth marketing, send us your resume.
>> Vice President, Membership
http://womma.org/pages/2005/06/vice_president.htm
>> Vice President, Member Recruiting
http://womma.org/pages/2005/06/were_hiring_vic.htm
>> Vice President, Events
http://womma.org/pages/2005/06/were_hiring_vic_1.htm
We're also hiring new interns for the fall semester. If you know an undergrad or grad student who is a star in the making, please send them our way!
>> Buzz-worthy Internships
http://womma.org/pages/2005/08/womma_seeks_fal_2.htm
>> Make a new hire? Have an open WOM, viral, or buzz job opening? E-mail editor@womma.org and let us know!
If you're doing word of mouth marketing, you belong in the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Join WOMMA to take advantage of our exclusive member benefits, and build your reputation as an industry innovator. Join today ».
© 2005-2008 Word of Mouth Marketing Association. All Rights Reserved.