Proactive Word of Mouth

I read a very good article over the weekend on Word of Mouth marketing. It was published in the April 15 edition of Marketing News (American Marketing Association). The article titled “Spread the Word” by Michael Krauss discusses Paul Rand the CEO of the Zocalo Group. Zocalo Group has put in place a series of proprietary templates and frameworks for clients to establish a strategic and tactical approach to word of mouth marketing.

The key principles are: (taken from the article)

1. Own a position: Articulate an ownable position for your company.
2. Map the story: Create a sharable story that puts your case forward
3. Identify influencers: Define and connect with the advocates, including customer evangelists, industry thought leaders, recommenders and determined detractors.
4. Engage: Engage with influencers online and offline.
5. Measure: Evaluate the program impacts.
6. Sustain: Invest only in sustainable word-of-mouth programs.

A key part of this is to make WOM measurable and methodical. Implement regional campaigns some with WOM and others without then measure your results. How much response are you getting and at what cost? There are a number of ways to perform the measurement. The key thing is to measure.

Also interesting that influencers include determined detractors. As the saying goes keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Good advice.

Until next time- all the best!

RolandB