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A brief introduction to the world of word of mouth marketing (WOMM) from DISRUPTIVE. We live, eat and breathe WOMM and wanted to share some insights and suggestions. This isn't your typical e-book.
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Word of
Mouth
Marketing
Primer
www.mydisruption.com
@MyDisruption
Be interesting or be invisible. – Andy Sernovitz, author
Yes, it’s a simple concept…in theory. You
provide a great service or product, your
customers tell their friends, you get more
business.
But how you arrive at that desired end result
is anything but simple. Word of mouth doesn’t
just happen. It requires strategy, cohesion
and consistency across all communication
points, creativity and the drive to not just
exceed expectations, but destroy them every
single day.
This resource is intended to help you get your
word of mouth marketing (WOMM) program
off the ground. It promises to provide
everything you need to understand in order to
have a successful journey.
“Create something cool, and people will distribute your brand for you. And content will become the new forum for advertising.” - Sanaz Ahari, Microsoft
“If it’s not worth talking about, it’s not worth doing.” - Andy Sernovitz, author Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking
“The idea that word of mouth can’t be harnessed is probably the most dangerous and costly marketing oversight.” - George Silverman, author The Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing
“More contact means more sharing of information, gossiping, exchanging, engaging – in short, more word of mouth.” - Gary Vaynerchuk, author The Thank You Economy
88% of consumers said
WOM is the #1
influencer
impacting their
opinions of a
company
90x per week the
average consumer
mentions brands to
friends & family
12x = the amount
consumer reviews
are trusted over a
brand’s own
product
descriptions
94% of consumers trust
WOM; only 14%
trust
advertisements
Sources: Think Insights (Google), Keller Fay, WOMMA, eMarketer, Forrester Research Inc.
WOMM is NOT….
Pushing messages out to the general public in hopes
that a few might land
Casually telling your customers to bring their friends
in as an aside
Going “viral” on YouTube
Social media (on its own)
Don’t be that guy. Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a megaphone.
The World According To Andy…
(you know, Andy Sernovitz, the godfather of WOMM)
Definition of WOMM:
1. Giving people a reason to talk about you
2. Making it easier for the conversation to take place
The Four Rules of WOMM:
1. Be Interesting
2. Make People Happy
3. Earn Trust & Respect
4. Make It Easy
The Three Reasons People Talk About You:
1. They like you and your stuff
2. Them. Talking makes them feel good
3. Us. They feel connected to the group / community
“People spread awesome…”
“…they don’t spread meh.”
That’s Scott Stratten of UnMarketing fame….I highly recommend you spend some time learning from him
Every single interaction
your brand has with a
customer should be
awesome. Not just
satisfactory, but…
“WOW!”. If not, then you
simply are not worth
talking about!
THESE GUYS GOT TALKABLE RIGHT
(click each image for more info)
Gapingvoid.com = brilliance
Sources: Think Insights (Google), Keller Fay Group
SPECIAL SAUCE 90+%
of WOM
conversations
occur offline
Yes, social media is awesome and connects consumers
and brands with unheard of ease, but truly valuable
engagement often happens in the flesh!
The Internet is both
the leading spark of
WOM conversations
and the #1 resource
utilized to take action
after conversation
60% of consumers are
“highly likely” to make
a purchase based on
an offline WOM
interaction
SPECIAL SAUCE 90+%
of WOM
conversations
occur offline
The best approach is to utilize both online and offline
opportunities to maximize your communication
strategies… …like these guys (click each image for more info)
CONSIDER THIS….
The next level of fusing online and offline experiences is to determine where each
tactic will activate most effectively along the communication timeline
Before Offline Experience: Utilize online systems to tease the upcoming event
During Offline Experience: Make it easy for participants to share their
experience with friends
After Offline Experience: Recognize participants will go online to research and
verify your brand (i.e. reviews, your website,
your social media channels)
Source: Think Insights (Google)
More people doing it right…
(click each image for more info)
Source: Think Insights (Google)
SPECIAL SAUCE
Schema
Disruption:
The most powerful
tool in WOMM
A mental schema is a structured cluster of pre-
conceived ideas that helps our brains to conserve
energy for crisis situations. You don’t have to focus
strongly every morning to remember to drive on the
right side of the road – a mental schema already exists
from previous experience so we don’t have to waste
precious brain power on these types of activities and
thoughts.
SPECIAL SAUCE
Schema
Disruption:
The most powerful
tool in WOMM
“If something contradicts our schema, it may be encoded or interpreted as an
exception or as unique.” (Wikipedia)
When a schema is disrupted, the brain jumps out of its natural steady state and
into full attention.
And because the brain is designed not to think (i.e. conserve energy for crisis
situations), it yearns to get back to its steady state.
To get back to that steady state, the brain has to recognize and address the
disruption.
Recognition = talking = WOM spark!
SPECIAL SAUCE
Schema
Disruption:
The most powerful
tool in WOMM The disruption doesn’t have to be a huge explosion. Schemas are
easily disrupted once you determine the expectations. A small
move, such as your local dry cleaner sending a hand-written thank
you note on a random Tuesday, can have significant impact.
Check out these other examples (click each image for more info)
Parting Shots….
Sexy is not a prerequisite Contrary to popular belief, your product does not need to be “sexy” for
customers to rave about you
Professor Jonah Berger of the Wharton School found “…no
evidence that more interesting products get talked about more
frequently.”
Good is better than bad Positive WOM is shared more than negative WOM
66% of brand references in WOM conversations are “mostly positive”,
compared to 8% being “mostly negative”
Source: Keller Fay Group
@MyDisruption
www.mydisruption.com
