Word of Mouth Marketing Association

womma Word of Mouth Marketing Association

Word of Mouth 101 An Introduction to Word of Mouth Marketing A WOMMA White Paper February 8, 2005

About WOMMA Contact Us WOMMA is the official trade association Word of Mouth Marketing Association for the word of mouth marketing indus- 333 W. North Avenue, #500 try. Our members are building a prosper- Chicago, IL 60610 ous word of mouth (WOM) marketing profession. 312-335-0035

Thriving markets are built on best prac- www.womma.org tices, effective standards, and ethical leadership. Those are the qualities that bring WOMMA members together -- and we hope that you will join us if you share these values.

• We’re fantastic brands and marketers who know that happy customers are our most powerful advocates. • We’re innovative agencies who un- derstand how to empower and amplify the voice of the consumer. • And we’re the good guys, commit- ted to protecting consumers with strong ethical guidelines.

Join us!

Word of mouth: The act of consumers providing information to other consumers.

Word of mouth marketing: Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easier for that conversation to take place.

What is Word of Mouth Marketing? Word of mouth is a pre-existing phe- All word of mouth marketing techniques nomenon that marketers are only now are based on the concepts of customer learning how to harness, amplify, and satisfaction, two-way dialog, and trans- improve. Word of mouth marketing parent communications. The basic ele- isn’t about creating word of mouth -- it’s ments are: learning how to make it work within a marketing objective. • Educating people about your products and services That said, word of mouth can be encouraged and facilitated. Companies can • Identifying people most likely to work hard to make people happier, they share their opinions can listen to consumers, they can make • Providing tools that make it easier to it easier for them to tell their friends, and share information they can make certain that influential in- • Studying how, where, and when dividuals know about the good qualities opinions are being shared of a product or service. • Listening and responding to supporters, detractors, and neutrals Word of mouth marketing empowers people to share their experiences. It’s harnessing the voice of the customer for the good of the brand. And it’s acknowl- edging that the unsatisfied customer is equally powerful.

Word of mouth can’t be faked or invent- ed. Attempting to fake word of mouth is unethical and creates a backlash, damag- es the brand, and tarnishes the corporate reputation. Legitimate word of mouth marketing acknowledges consumers’ intelligence -- it never attempts to fool them. Ethical marketers reject all tactics related to manipulation, deception, infiltration, or dishonesty.

Word of Mouth 101 Types of Word of Mouth Marketing

Word of mouth marketing encompasses dozens of marketing techniques that are geared toward encouraging and helping people to talk to each other about products and services.

Common types of word of mouth marketing are listed below. This is not a complete list -- we’re publishing it as a means to begin a dialog toward standardization, and we welcome your comments. (Not everyone agrees that each of these should be part of word of mouth marketing, and many marketers use different terms to describe them.)

• Buzz Marketing: Using high-pro- • Influencer Marketing: Identifying file entertainment or news to get key communities and opinion lead- people to talk about your brand. ers who are likely to talk about • Viral Marketing: Creating enter- products and have the ability to in- taining or informative messages that fluence the opinions of others. are designed to be passed along in • Cause Marketing: Supporting so- an exponential fashion, often elec- cial causes to earn respect and sup- tronically or by email. port from people who feel strongly • Community Marketing: Forming about the cause. or supporting niche communities • Conversation Creation: Interesting that are likely to share interests about or fun advertising, emails, catch the brand (such as user groups, fan phrases, entertainment, or pro- clubs, and discussion forums); provid- motions designed to start word of ing tools, content, and information to mouth activity. support those communities. • Brand Blogging: Creating blogs • Grassroots Marketing: Organizing and participating in the blogo- and motivating volunteers to en- sphere, in the spirit of open, trans- gage in personal or local outreach. parent communications; sharing • Evangelist Marketing: Cultivating information of value that the blog evangelists, advocates, or volunteers community may talk about. who are encouraged to take a lead- • Referral Programs: Creating tools ership role in actively spreading the that enable satisfied customers to word on your behalf. refer their friends. • Product Seeding: Placing the right product into the right hands at the right time, providing information or samples to influential individuals.

Word of Mouth 101 The Philosophy of Word of Mouth Marketing

Word of Mouth is . . . The only marketing based • The voice of the customer on genuinely passionate • A natural, genuine, honest process people • People seeking advice from each Word of mouth marketing is the most other honest form of marketing, building • Consumers talking about products, upon people’s natural desire to share services, or brands that they have their experiences with family, friends, experienced and colleagues.

Our work empowers peoples and gives them a voice . . . a process that can never Word of Mouth be reversed. If we succeed in satisfying Marketing is . . . our customers, we will benefit greatly because they will share their enthusiasm and support our brand. But if we fail, Recognizing that a happy custom- that same voice will hold us accountable er is the greatest endorsement and broadcast our failings. • We work to create customer en- Only honest marketers with confidence thusiasm instead of pushing market- in their products dare engage in word of ing messages mouth marketing -- because it will back- fire if the promise of your marketing mes- Giving customers a voice sage isn’t backed up by reality. Once • Providing something worth talking you give people a voice, they will tell the about true story of your company, good or bad.

• Providing tools that make it easier Word of mouth marketing is self-polic- for them to share their opinions ing and pushes marketers to create better products and provide genuine satisfaction. Listening to consumers • Engaging them in open, unfiltered conversation • Promptly and honestly responding to their concerns • Valuing customer opinion, whether it is positive, negative, or neutral

Engaging the community • Finding the right people and connecting them to each other • Helping new communities to form • Participating in and supporting existing communities and conversations

Word of Mouth 101 Organic vs. Amplified Word of Mouth

The following terms attempt to explain the differences between word of mouth that results from day-to-day interaction with customers and the kind that occurs as a re- sult of a specific campaign to create or encourage it.

By no means are these terms commonly accepted. Some marketers feel that word of mouth is always there, and that a campaign can amplify it, but that word of mouth is the same regardless of its origin. Other marketers don’t use campaigns specifically to promote word of mouth, and feel that there is an important distinction.

Organic WOM Amplified WOM . . . occurs naturally when people be- . . . occurs when marketers launch come advocates because they are happy campaigns designed to encourage or with a product and have a natural desire accelerate WOM in existing or new com- to share their support and enthusiasm. munities. Practices that amplify word of Practices that enhance organic word of mouth activity include: mouth activity include: • Creating communities • Focusing on customer satisfaction • Developing tools that enable people • Improving product quality and to share their opinions usability • Motivating advocates and evange- • Responding to customer concerns lists to actively promote a product and criticism • Giving advocates information that • Opening a dialog and listening to they can share people • Using advertising or publicity de- • Earning customer loyalty signed to create buzz or start a conversation • Identifying and reaching out to influential individuals and communities • Researching and tracking online conversations

Word of Mouth 101 Positive Word of Mouth Strategies Good word of mouth marketing strategies involve finding ways to support satisfied customers and making it easier for them to talk to their friends.

1. Encouraging communications 5. Creating evangelist or advocate programs • Developing tools to make telling a friend easier • Providing recognition and tools to • Creating forums and feedback tools active advocates • Working with social networks • Recruiting new advocates, teach- ing them about the benefits of your products, and encouraging them to 2. Giving people something to talk about them talk about • Information that can be shared or 6. Researching and listening to forwarded customer feedback • Advertising, stunts, and other pub- • Tracking online and offline conversa- licity that encourages conversation tions by supporters, detractors, and • Building WOM-worthy elements into neutrals products • Listening and responding to both positive and negative conversations 3. Creating communities and connecting people 7. Engaging in transparent • Creating user groups and fan clubs conversation • Supporting independent groups • Encouraging two-way conversations that form around your product with interested parties • Hosting discussions and message • Creating blogs and other tools to boards about your products share information • Enabling grassroots organization • Participating openly on online blogs such as local meetings and other and discussions real-world participation

8. Co-creation and information 4. Working with influential sharing communities • Involving consumers in marketing • Finding people who are likely to re- and creative (feedback on creative spond to your message campaigns, allowing them to create • Identifying people who are able to commercials, etc.) influence your target customers • Letting customers “behind the cur- • Informing these individuals about tain” to have first access to informa- what you do and encouraging them tion and content to spread the word • Good-faith efforts to support issues and causes that are important to these individuals

Word of Mouth 101 Unethical Word of Mouth Tactics

Any practice intended to deceive people is unethical and should not be used.

WOMMA is absolutely Word of mouth marketing opposed to the following cannot be faked unethical word of mouth Artificial word of mouth marketing is dis- marketing tactics: honest and ineffective. Word-of-mouth marketing must be based on the honest 1. Stealth Marketing: Any practice opinions of real people. We strongly op- designed to deceive people about pose any practice that tries to fake word the involvement of marketers in a of mouth. communication. 2. Shilling: Paying people to talk Ethical and responsible word of mouth about (or promote) a product with- marketers do not . . . out disclosing that they are working • Impersonate people, shill, or hide for the company; impersonating a their identities customer. • Manipulate or corrupt honest 3. Infiltration: Using fake identities in opinions an online discussion to promote a • Infiltrate, invade, or violate online or product; taking over a web site, con- offline venues versation, or live event against the wishes or rules set by the proprietor. Dishonest word of mouth marketing will always be exposed and deplored. 4. Comment Spam: Using automated software (‘bots”) to post unrelated or inappropriate comments to blogs Marketers must work to or other online communities. oppose and eliminate 5. Defacement: Vandalizing or damag- unethical practices ing property to promote a product. All marketers should be aware that un- 6. Spam: Sending bulk or unsolicited ethical practices are currently used by email or other messages without unscrupulous or uninformed companies. clear, voluntary permission. The standards of ethics and consumer 7. Falsification: Knowingly disseminat- protection are evolving rapidly, and ing false or misleading information. many marketers have not yet learned about the current standards (or choose to ignore them). Regardless of intent, such unethical practices jeopardize consumer trust and ultimately harm both consumers and honest marketers.

We strongly recommend that marketers aggressively review the practices of their agencies, vendors, and internal departments. Insist on the highest level of ethics, and insist that all of your campaigns comply with the WOMMA Code of Conduct and the Honesty ROI.

Word of Mouth 101