So as it turns out, WOM (word-of-mouth) is at least twice as effective at influencing purchasing decisions as most forms of marketing (from PR to advertising). (Source: Nielsen)
And the beauty of Social(ized) Media platforms like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Seesmic, is that – as connection and conversation engines, they enable, accelarate and amplify WOM.
So a) WOM is important, and b) WOM is also at the core of the crucial lateral action (peer to peer engagement) we discussed a few weeks ago. (Go here to get a recap. It’s worth the five minutes.) So even though it hasn’t been a buzzword in a couple of years, let’s bring back some much needed (and deserved) focus on it now.
Okay, here’s roughly how you create WOM out of thin air:
Step 1: Create or do something great. Not good. GREAT. (Seth Godin would call it remarkable. My kids would call it awesome. Some of my triathlon buddies would call it sick. Fred would call it rad… but he’s… well, Fred. Or Barney. Or something.)
It could be a widget. It could be a dish. It could be a work of art. It could be an act of rebellion or courage… or both. It could be a book or a song or a speech. It could be the way your customer service reps answer the phone, or how quickly your technicians can fix a problem for your customers. It could be new packaging for ketchup or a new all-natural zero-calorie sweetener. It could be a smart and edgy TV show. It could be a completely selfless act. It could be nothing more than a simple, subtle, five second memorable experience at a drive-through or at the checkout or when you walk into a public restroom. It could be a new flavor, or an old, forgotten one. It could be a social program. It could be that extra smile or one percent effort. It could be simply acknowledging customers and conversation participants on Twitter. It could be anything… as long as it is remarkable. Awesome. Sick. Rad.
As long as it is better than anything else that remotely comes close to its category – assuming there is one yet.
As long as anyone who gets to experience it is so amazed, pleasantly surprised, or otherwise affected by what it did for them that they’ll get excited about telling their friends all about it… and the cycle will repeat itself over and over and over again.
The more unique it is, the better. The more iconic, the better. The more revolutionary… um, okay. You get the idea.
People don’t get excited about boring and mundane and same-as-always.
Safe, good enough, okay and not bad don’t live in WOM’s zip code.
Step 2: Oh… wait. That’s it. Never mind. There is no step 2.
Technorati Tags: word of mouth, WOMMA, WOMBAT2, marketing, WOM
For far too many companies today, there is a firm belief that there is safety in mediocrity.
I can’t count the number of companies I’ve worked with that create their annual forecasts with the goal to achieve 7% or 8% growth instead of asking what it would take to achieve 40% growth. They know that single digit growth simply requires them to do more of the same, while exponential growth would require them to rethink entirely their product/service/delivery/value proposition.
They pursue incrementalism at the expense of discovering true WOW! moments that could transform their business and perhaps their industry.
Going to a trade show? Let’s use the same tired booth, show the same boring parts and products, print the same brochures, wear the same khakis and polo shirts, host the same cocktail party and generate the same mediocre results. Pretty inspiring stuff.
But when faced with creative ideas to redesign their booth with blazing colors and brilliant lights, to create displays that engage their visitors, to forego brochures entirely, to liveblog from the show, to create a Twitter-based contest that engages participants throughout the show, to rethink the booth uniform and to produce show specific follow-up packets that are sent each night so that they are on the desk of each visitor by the time they return to work, well even that’s pushing the envelope a bit too much? Perhaps they can just do one of the items? Maybe two?
And then their executives wonder why they didn’t garner any trade show press attention or realize significant sales gains from their show attendance.
The example of a trade show simply illustrates the all too typical approach of most businesses to the execution of their business. They think in terms of good enough, not in terms of fabulous.
The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo
AWESOME!!!!!!!!! One of the best comments ever left here. (And that’s a tall order.)
Agreed – it’s your actual post said another way!
I had a perfect opportunity for WOM today. Pitching to our City Council and was bold enough to say – “if you want to do what everyone is else is doing, then don’t retain our services”.
Personal victory. They liked it.
Thanks Olivier!
Sweet!!!
You’re so right Olivier. People always want to know how to create good WOM – and I always use the example from my friend Saul Colt. He used to work at Freshbooks, and their office mantra was the 4 E’s – Execute on Extraordinary Experiences Everyday. That’s how I approach my role as a Community Manager – doing things that go above and beyond what people expect. It means being constantly creative, and I can’t say that I meet my goal every day. But at least striving for something above and beyond the expected and the ordinary means that you’re thinking outside the box – the surest way to get people talking about you and your brand.
Exactly. Button-pushing cultures don’t create great experiences. Engaged, passionate cultures do. Note how FreshBooks had an office mantra (1) that had been adopted by the employees (2).
Thanks for the comment.
I dig it Olivier. Step 1, do something awesome and new. Step 2, see step 1.
It’s the simple concepts that make things great. Different is great. Be different. Though it is usually a risk that most companies are not willing to take, to stray so far from the known path. And thank goodness or it would be that much harder to stand out.
Right. I cringe every time I hear ad agencies or marketing firms say “we do WOM.” Oh really? They do? How does that work? Create a message and pay bloggers to spread it?
(FAIL)
This kind of stuff can’t be faked anymore. People honestly share their views about every brand they interact with offline and online. Great experiences scale. Poor experiences also scale. That’s the reality. Either your company kicks ass at something or it doesn’t. PR firms can help to some degree, but there’s only so much marketing can do when the reality of the experience is… well, poor.
Thanks for the comment, brother.
Remember that Tweet from a few weeks ago?
Negroponte: “Incrementalism is innovation’s worst enemy.”
Have fun.
http://twitter.com/treypennington
Fear of failure, internal criticism, threats to job security, etc., make it almost impossible to pursue true WOW! strategies in most organizations. I can’t count the number of times I’ve suggested initiatives to clients or senior management in the organizations where I’ve worked and the response has been either nervous and underwhelming or a quick list of all the reasons why we couldn’t do that.
There’s so little understanding of brand as the total experience stakeholders have with your organization, so little understanding of how everyone plays a role in marketing. Many talk a good game, but when it comes to actually putting it into practice, well …
Sadly, I run into the same thing a lot. “Many talk a good game, but when it comes to actually putting it into practice, well …”
It’s sad how many opportunities are lost by companies because of their executives’ fear of… whatever. Failure, embarrassment, the unknown. I’ll never understand it.
Sadly, I run into the same thing a lot. “Many talk a good game, but when it comes to actually putting it into practice, well …”
It’s sad how many opportunities are lost by companies because of their executives’ fear of… whatever. Failure, embarrassment, the unknown. I’ll never understand it.
There’s a ridiculous trend out there — risk aversion — that keeps people from tapping into their creative side (especially for business). Why be risky or think outside the box when we can skate by with what we’re doing, right?
Wrong.
Thinking outside the box doesn’t have to mean thinking so far outside of it that you’ve thought yourself into a new dimension. Sometimes, great products/brands/services/experiences come from a small step outside the box.
Good stuff, as always.
Great insight as always, Olivier. Thanks for the reminder. I especially love Step 2!
I agree that an organization’s mediocrity is often fueled by fear. Usually, after some discussion, I also find that the fear itself is fueled by ignorance: the company knows they are mediocre but doesn’t know how to change. Paralysis by analysis, if you will.
The irony, of course, is that now more than ever the information they need to implement change and create excellence is freely or inexpensively available online. It is stunning how much people with expertise in a given field are willing to share. I dare say that no matter what an organization’s goals are for becoming Great, Remarkable or Awesome, the resources are almost endless. Yet, they are blown away by this fact when you mention it to them. LOL.
A few examples:
Before & After Magazine – How to design cool stuff.
http://www.bamagazine.com/
Human-Centered Design Toolkit – Stunning product design “how-to” from iconic design house IDEO.
http://www.ideo.com/work/item/human-centered-design-toolkit/
And there is so much more. (I’m not affiliated with either of these, I just like them.)
Perhaps one step toward excellence is education. It’s an Open Source world, explore it.
Speaking of which, thanks for sharing your knowledge, Olivier!
You’re absolutely right about the abundance of resources. Companies that are mediocre today choose to be.
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[...] I’ve just rememberd that my friend Olivier Blanchard actually wrote about word of mouth yesterday, so I’m not going to go on and on – just pop to his site and read up [...]
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