Greenville Business Magazine 2010 April issue : Page 20What Is Word of Mouth? According to the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), word-of-mouth marketing is “harness- ing the voice of the customer for the good of the brand.” Tim Pecoraro, CEO and Idea Guy of Peculiar Productions, puts it this way, “It’s what sets you apart.” Companies have many tools at their disposal to generate those positive conversations: events, contests, sponsor- ships and, of course, social media, the latest and oft-perceived greatest tool in the word-of-mouth marketing world. “People are so curious about what (social media) is, how it works and how it can work for them,” says Mike Zeller, Vice President of Brand Marketing at Jackson Marketing Group. And some companies, as Full Circle PR President Liza Jones pointed out, are simply afraid of being left behind. Social media seems like a dream come true. Most of the tools are free, and many social media platforms offer companies the ability to see and track conversations as they’re happening — insights that marketers have struggled to pinpoint in offline conversations. But, as Kim Banks, Director of Client Services for Full Circle Public Relations points out, there’s no such thing as a free ride. “This is the voice of your company you’re talking about,” she says. Planning, strategy and a designation of appropriate resources are just as important, if not more so, with social media as they are with any other word-of-mouth campaign. Perhaps because of the allure of social media, spending on word- of-mouth marketing is on the rise. According to Zeller, recent research has shown that WOM spending is projected to hit $3 billion by 2013. While still a relatively small segment of overall communications spending, WOM is growing at a healthy pace. “It’s a pretty strong trend,” he says. How Do You Measure Word of Mouth? Many people, says Robbin Phillips, Courageous President at Brains on Fire, confuse the tools and tactics of online with WOM marketing. 20 GREENVILLEBUSINESSMAG.COM | APRIL 2010 UCgreenville.org Clemson • Furman • Lander • MUSC • SC State • USC • USC Upstate Steve Bronack Clemson University “We think it’s (WOM marketing) about people,” she says, citing studies that show as much as 90 percent of all word-of-mouth marketing happens offline. Measuring those offline conversations requires a bit more finesse. Phillips illustrated her point with the Park Angels project her company recently organized for the Charleston Parks Conservancy. Most of that conversation, Phillips says, is happening offline in 120 parks as volunteers literally dig in the dirt – which is why identifying goals at the beginning of a WOM campaign is critical to determining that campaign’s success. In addition to tracking awareness online, the Charleston Parks Conservancy will measure the success of its Park Angels campaign by fundraising growth — both the number of donors and the amount of donations. Other metrics include the number of ideas from the community and the growth of Park Angels (indi- viduals who were identified as having deep personal connections with area parks and who would help lead and implement the maintenance and improvement of those parks). Zeller cited similar metrics for a client promotion Jackson Marketing Group did in 2004, before social media became so prevalent. The company identified industry influencers and invited them to an event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. By conducting both pre- and post-event research, JMG was able to determine that the event had dramatically lifted the buying intentions of the industry influencers. Perhaps the trickiest part of developing a WOM campaign is choosing what tools to use. “There’s not one program that fits every company,” says Banks. Phillips calls it giving people “tools for talkability.” The Fiskateers commu- nity, brand evangelists for 350-year-old scissor-making company Fiskars, wasn’t talking about scissors. The conversation was about the things they did with those scissors. Or, as Pecoraro says, “It’s what makes a difference that will make people talk about it in a positive way.” So, what conversation are you having? ■ Building Success Stories My Job: Associate Professor of Human Resource Development My Story: “ At UCG, I’m able to use cutting-edge technologies like virtual worlds, to meet the needs of our adult students.” Publication List |
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