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Loading ...Unless you’re running an affiliate site or need eyeballs, the best way to build a brand is to influence influencers: to make people want to visit versus tricking them into visiting through graphical and textual ads.
“Although a high level of online activity may suggest the influential brand advocates would respond to social marketing information rather than create their own; advocacy toward a product or service is most likely to be generated by word-of-mouth.” Via WebProNews
I still have loads of clients who still want to buy their way into traffic. Like I always say, like a broken record, is that the moment you turn off your ad campaign is the same moment the traffic dies as well.
Word-of-mouth can be a little tricky and isn’t immediate, however, it is durable; of course, you can’t be a control freak about it, because you can’t make word-of-mouth happen.
In order to succeed in the word-of-mouth arena, you must be as attractive as you advertsie, you have to have a great product or service, and you have to be willing to actually not be just hype.
Filed under: Buzz Marketing, Conversation Marketing, Word-of-Mouth, Word-of-Mouth Marketing
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WHAT!? you want us to advertise? What!? We can’t push out our message and have you make people read it?
What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know how to do marketing!!!!!!!?
:>)
Man, when “the choir” says things like that… I just don’t know what to do
Chris
“In order to succeed in the word-of-mouth arena, you must be as attractive as you advertise, you have to have a great product or service, and you have to be willing to actually not be just hype.”
Great quote and I completely agree with you about the power of WOM. That said, I think old school marketers have a hard time with the idea of WOM. They like to measure absolute ROI, the ability to mold and maintain the message, and are somewhat scared to hand over control.
In my experience, companies get really excited when they hear about word of mouth marketing, but the conversation tends to get tough when you start to map out a budget for word of mouth initiatives. I always hear, “now how much are we going to make from this?”
Any thoughts about the hard-to-measure ROI aspect of word of mouth marketing?
Glenn, I think the best way to approach that question is that an excellent product that gets noticed - and it could be partially through advertising - but then starts to build up steam through WOM - is what has become the essential foundation of brand building.
Advertising spells out the brand promise and asks (or too many times tells) us to take notice. We notice. Maybe we’re interested. Maybe not. But the advice and the enthusiasm from others - stuff that you really can’t pay for - is what builds that brand. ESPECAILLY IF IS UNIFORM.
Because when it is consistent and that consistency reflects the quality your product you are supposed to have, you will end up having an expanding customer or client base. A base that will probably be wider (getting different types of customers) and deeper (developing greater brand loyalty).
If a company really wants to build a brand, they’ll need not just happy customers, but ones that are entusiastic enought to help build the brand ever so slightly. WOM does that. And that’s the ROI.
One more point.
When it comes to WOM (or even potential advertising), ask a client if they are confident about their product. If they believe in it. And if they see a sense of consistency in it.
If they’re not, then maybe WOM is not for them. They need to go back to the drawing board.
I’ve asked clients that question before and they almost always say yes without hesitation. If they actaully believe in what they’re saying and you can show them how that confidence can be turned to assurance and trust by their custormers, they’ll start to see what ROI is all about.
Good post-on a similar thread: It is very difficult to earn someone’s trust and much more difficult to regain it if broken.
Hi Jonathan.
That’s a great point and one I was also going to bring up…the product. There are some companies where word of mouth is a key driver for their business… I think of Apple, TIVO, Blackberry, Honda, etc. People love their products…since those products provide a great benefit and make it easy to get passionate about them. For example, for a while I would go out of my way to tell people about TIVO…since it made a big impact on our lives. I know that sounds crazy, but it did!
But those companies already know that WOM is important and how it drives business. Not every company has a product that’s easy to get passionate about…or some companies don’t have a great track record with their customers. In my experience, Word of Mouth has been an explosive driver of business (especially with the web acting as a catalyst for spreading the message), but it still could be a tough sell to senior management that might be looking closely at hard return on investment of the initiative. I think that is changing, though…I know that more and more people are seeing the power of WOM. I hope it keeps trending that way.
I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts!
Glenn, you’re so right on all counts. An often overlooked truth is that most products are solid. Not much of a need to improve, they do the job. WOM is harder for them. You mentioned Apple, TIVO, Blackberry, Honda. Three technology companies and an automotive company.
But the mundane products, like the dog bowl I just filled with water, can’t rely primarily on WOM.
I would guess that answer is that we need to show how WOM can supplement current and planned efforst to add to the bottom line.
Don’t piece-of-shit clients throw the most money at ads?
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