Something New From Word of Mouth Guru

We’ve added a new section to the blog. FREE STUFF is now available. In addition to our posts you can now download white papers, presentations and interviews we’ve done on the subject of word of mouth. Check out our white paper “Tips for an Effective Word of Mouth Campaign” and listen to Word Up a one hour Blog Talk Radio discussion on word of mouth with the Urban Brand Architect, J. Richard Byrd.

If there is something specific you are looking for or trying to find out about Word of Mouth Marketing, let us know. Also give us feedback on the materials. Let us know what you like and even what you don’t like.

Enjoy!

Find Out About Cool Stuff via Word of “Mouse”

I found out about ooVoo from my good friend Kevin “Coach K” Caliup out in sunny California. Now Kevin and I have only communicated over the Internet, but over time we have become trusted advisers to one another. So it was with great anticipation that I downloaded this new software that I found out about through Word of “Mouse”.

ooVoo is a free software application that let’s you connect with people anywhere in the world through live video. Not only can you talk face to face with friends, families and colleagues, but you can also send video messages. And did I mention it’s free? You can have up to 6 people on at once and have a video free for all. All you need is a broad band connection, a computer, a web cam and a headset and you’re doin’ the ooVoo thing.

Now here’s a great way for a small business to gather 5 of its best customer advocates to share breaking news about the company or give them a first look at a brand new product. Anything to make them feel part of your inner circle and ensure that they are giving prospects the right messages about you.

Web 2.0 technologies are providing marketers with exciting new tools to cut through the clutter and create buzz. Small business marketers should give them careful consideration in planning and implementing a word of mouth marketing campaign.

Develop Your Story for Effective Word of Mouth Marketing

Every one loves a good story. We communicate through the use of stories that capture the imagination and provide information. A first step in developing a small business word of mouth campaign is to develop the story of the owner(s). What happened that made you decide to start your own business? What special set of circumstances led you to where you are? These are the type of things that enable small businesses to establish an emotional connection with their customers. It may cause your customers to feel a little bit closer to you.

Develop your story, include the elements that make you a compelling figure. Make sure that you talk about obstacles you’ve overcome or barriers you had to avoid to become the winner that you are.

Does Word of Mouth Work in the B2B Environment?

Word of mouth can and does work in the B2B space. In an interview with the Word of Mouth uber guru Andy Sernovitz,Dupont Corporation executive Gary Spangler indicates that B2B marketers are increasingly mirroring the behaviors of their B2C counterparts in terms of seeking out referrals, customer reviews and testimonials.

In his book Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, Sernovitz cites Conference Calls Unlimited. If you don’t believe that word of mouth works in the B2B space, check out their website. Now here is a B2B firm that shifted all its advertising spending to customer service. This laser focus on providing their customers with a superior experience creates a loyal customer base that provide the referrals, reviews and testimonials that Spangler mentions.

Get Your Advocates In Sync for Positive Word of Mouth

In many instances, small businesses have no clue why their customers refer them to their friends and colleagues. Okay, they may have a clue, but it’s usually pointing to the wrong thing. If you are a service company and most of us are, then you need to know what your best customers are saying about you. Do they highlight the same things you do in your brochures, web site, face to face touch points? Or do they refer you on the basis of more personal and emotional criteria? Are your messages complimentary or conflicting?

Effective word of mouth marketing begins with delivering an experience that people will talk about and making it easier for those that want to, to talk about it, especially your advocates. Consistent delivery of a superior customer experience can be the source of your referrals. Companies like Disney, Lexus, Ritz-Carlton take their customer experiences seriously. Keep these companies in mind when thinking of ways to improve your customers’ experiences.

Another way to make sure your advocates are saying the right things about your company is to share stories with them that they can relate to their circle of influence. Also let them be the first to know about anything new that you’re doing. Maker’s Mark the premium Bourbon distiller has a Brand Ambassador program. It’s their way of acknowledging their advocates and giving them a place to get information about their favorite libation. Their main purpose is to make it easier for Ambassadors to spread the word.

When considering a word of mouth campaign focus on consistent delivery of a superior customer experience and provide your advocates with the information they’ll need to send the right messages about you.

Just Give Them Something to Talk About

So I’m working on a marketing plan for a client. Like many small businesses they have a limited budget for marketing so every tactic we’re proposing is designed to get folks talking. Like the Bonnie Raitt song, our mantra is Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About.

A slam dunk tactic for generating conversation – Advertising Specialty Products (ASP).

Now hold on, before you go accusing me of trying to just give a fancy name to what some call “tchotchkes” let me explain the difference.

But before I do that, have you wondered where the word “tchotchkes” came from? Well according to Wikipedia it’s a Yiddish term for trinket. Being a native New Yorker I suspect I must have heard the term while growing up in Brooklyn and Queens, yet never knew what it meant.

Well, after several years in marketing I’ve become quite familiar with the term. I’ve given out countless thousands of tchotchkes in countless venues. Yet the term has somewhat of a negative connotation-cheap, showy, worthless or tacky. No marketer would ever want to be associated with the negative aspects of the term.

Anyway…back to my original point. A tchotchke is a cheap, showy, trinket we give away and maybe, just maybe someone will see our name on it, give us a call and place a big order. Yeah….right. On the other hand an advertising specialty product (ASP)is a high quality, branded item that serves as a key touch point for customers. In some instances an ASP is the first contact a client or prospect has with you. You certainly don’t want your prospect’s first impression of you to be cheap. showy, worthless or tacky.

My colleague Patrick Muli, President of the Branding Company is raising the bar in terms of incorporating ASPs into the marketing mix. He is an important part of our virtual team crafting the plan to get people talking.

Patrick brings a strategic view to the process that goes beyond looking at the the items we can get the most of, for the least amount of money. Instead we search for items that are consistent with our brand positioning and have the power to inspire customers to talk. We are creating a story about each particular item, how it relates to the brand and what it stands for. We’re looking at unique items and even when we look at the more traditional ASPs we’re looking for the one’s that do something a little differently.

Working with Patrick and the Branding Company let’s you really get the creative juices flowing. He’s got a ton of items and a great selection of brand name, top quality Advertising Specialty Products.

And so my fellow marketers, let us put to rest the “T” word or “C” word (depending on how you spell it), let’s resolve to never risk creating a first impression with new customers that we are cheap, showy or worthless. Develop a plan for the customer experience we want to deliver and begin the experience with a unique, high quality, well-crafted, knock-your socks off item. That will really give them something to talk about.

Regulation May Be On the Way for Word of Mouth Marketing

If you’re considering paying people to spread buzz about your business, brand, product or service, make sure they disclose their relationship with you. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking a look at buzz marketing and it could result in increased enforcement of existing regulations.

Target recently had some difficulties when it’s buzz marketing campaign got outed. Don’t make the same mistake.

The reason that word of mouth is credible is because those that ask about a product believe that their friend or colleague has their best interests in mind. There is an expectation that they are getting an independent and unbiased view about a particular product. Today’s consumers don’t like to be sold too, unless they want to be. It’s usually not a good thing if customers are duped into believing one thing only to find out something different.

Because of the rising popularity of word of mouth as a viable marketing tactic and the likelihood that there will be some overzealous practitioners, federal regulation could very well be coming if the industry doesn’t police itself.

Word to small business: Generate word of mouth the old fashioned way… earn it. And if you do provide incentives to customers to sing your praises, tell them to disclose their relationship with you, especially if they are being paid for it. It beats having to explain it all later to the Feds or your customers.

A Good Relationship Is Something To Talk About

I belong to this really cool networking group (The Entrepreneur Circle) that has monthly round table meetings where small groups of members get together to listen to one another’s challenges and discuss ways to deal with them. So I’m sitting in one of these meetings today and the topic of networking,referrals and how do you know if you’re about to cross the line comes up.

Many business people have been in the situation. You’re in one of those “networking” events and you know that networking is a great way to promote your business and your brand. But what is appropriate when it comes to getting a lead, referral or a business deal?

For most of us, it’s going to require a change in mindset and behavior when it comes to how we go about networking. Our entrepreneurial instincts tell us to get the deal done and move on to the next person in the room. This transactional mindset is very “me” oriented. Get the person to give up whatever it is you are trying to get them to (a contact, a lead, a job etc.). You’re just completing a transaction. In a transaction, there is no need for relationship because it is not intended to last. Two parties come together for mutual gain. Over and done with.

The alternative to the transactional mindset is one in which the focus is on building a relationship. A relationship mindset is more “we” oriented than “me” oriented. In building a relationship you know that “you have to give to get” as my business coach and mentor Andrew Morrison says. Because of the time value difference with a relationship we are under less pressure to close the deal right now.

Small business takeaway: Use networking to manage relationships. That means, starting, cultivating and enhancing your relationships with your colleagues and even more so with your customers. Companies that have strong relationships with their customers will probably have customers who are advocates. They will be less likely to leave you and may be willing to pay a premium because they value the relationship. Now that’s something to talk about.

World Class Service Gets WOM Going

When it comes to customer service there’s myth and then there’s reality. CEO’s and senior managers will proclaim that “customers are the key to our success”. This for many companies is a myth. The reality is that customer service around the world is either stagnating or declining. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), customer satisfaction with the goods and services that Americans buy declined in the fourth quarter of 2007.

It’s no wonder that customer satisfaction is so poor. Despite their pronouncement about the importance of customer, management actions often convey the opposite impression. Customer service is viewed as a cost that must be controlled. Front line customer service representatives, the face of the company to customers, are in most cases the lowest paid employees in the company. There is usually high burn-out and turnover rates in customer service. Very few people remain in customer service, instead it is seen as an entry level position, by both management and employees. As a result little is done in most companies to enrich the job of customer service representatives or do anything to reduce burnout.

What you have then are relatively inexperienced, low paid, burned out employees dealing with the very “keys to our success” the customers. How can customer service be anything but poor.

Companies with great customer service are usually the companies that are most successful even during economic downturns. Their customers rave about them and tell others. Companies that provide world class service, Amazon.com, Nordstrom, Lexus to name a few truly put customers at the top of the list.

With customer service being at such low levels, we have lowered customers expectations in terms of how they are treated. This is an opportunity for businesses to make an impression with their customers by simply increasing the level of service they provide to their customers. Front line employees need to be empowered and feel empowered to do whatever is reasonably possible to satisfy a customer. Given the state of customer service today it may not take much to get customers talking if you focus on service.

Personal Stories Fuel Word of Mouth Campaigns

Most people love a good story. The more compelling the story the more that people will relate it to others. In many cultures, storytelling is the way that cultural norms are taught, shared and accepted. Having a good story, particularly about a product, brand or service is a good starting point for developing a word of mouth campaign. Brands like Google, Yahoo and Apple, to name just a few have compelling stories about how each was started.

Small businesses need to develop their stories with an eye towards how it might spur conversations about them. Think in terms of how your business started. What caused you to set off on your own? What were the circumstances? The stories about your business can become part of your brand lore. It becomes something that your advocates and evangelists can talk about when introducing you to their friends and families. So tell your story for positive word of mouth.