4 Rules of Word of Mouth Marketing

I sat through many sessions at the Word of Mouth Marketing Show a few weeks ago in DC. I’m going to be posting a bunch of ideas that came from it.  The one thing that really resonated for me was the fact that the customer is finally in control. Did you know that 30% of the population is reviewing products online today and making their voices heard? I didn’t. It’s a pretty big number when you think about it.

Word of mouth or "buzz" marketing has always been a necessity for any business. But since tools on the web make it easier than ever to talk about a product it's becoming vital. Look at Amazon reviews or yelp.com. Salesforce.com has a review center, even one on VerticalResponse. They've all got people talking.

Andy Sernovitz, who up until recently headed up WOMMA.org, wrote a wonderful book on WOM and Buzz. I read it, I love it, you will too. It's a quick read. I sat in his session and got some great ideas and examples on the 4 rules of WOM. Check them out…

1. Be interesting, be remarkable – Zaza Nail Salon right around the corner from us has HUGE theater-style reclining leather seats, Carnegie Deli in NYC has 7” tall corn beef sandwiches, each in its own way is worth talking about. Ask yourself, what have you got?

2. Make people happy – The Mini Cooper, Dyson working on the vacuum for 14 years to get it right, Target rolling a semi into Manhattan on the hottest day selling air conditioners off the back of the the truck, all of these brands created buzz because they’re fun and they’ve got a story that makes us happy.

3. Earn trust and respect – I trust that Starbucks is always going to have working WIFI and somewhere for me to sit. Nordstrom’s is always going to take a return, no matter what. We make sure your email is delivered. Have you got something people trust?

4. Make it easy for people to talk about you – Another example Andy gave was Kiehl’s skin products, whatever you buy, they’re constantly giving you free samples of other products you might like. What do you do? You talk about it.

I talked to Andy later on about his book and he said "Janine, all of the information in this book leads to buzz, but in the end, you've got to collect email address and communicate to them. Email is just the number one way." I couldn't agree more Andy.

I’ve got so much more to write about on this subject. None of us have big advertising budgets to play with so we all need more ideas about how to create buzz for our products or services.

What's your buzz? Share!

Comments

[Alex]

I love the buzz! I also think that the navigation of making any type of purchase becomes so much easier with word of mouth marketing. I should clarify, WOM that comes form someone that you trust and respect. Basically, I'm going directly to Carnegie Deli when I land in NYC...