Lexicon Essay-Word of Mouth Marketing
Susanna Brown
Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) can be one of the most powerful
forms of marketing for any organization and it can take many forms.
I have chosen to focus on this marketing strategy for my non-profit
arts organization, Rome Little Theatre, because of their location,
staff size, budget, and history. WOMMA, The Word of Mouth Marketing
Association defines WOMM simply in a video on their homepage as,
“any business action that earns a costumer recommendation” (Word of
Mouth Marketing Association, 2011, 0:51). How often does a friend,
family member, or stranger’s customer review effect our overall
likelihood to purchase a product? Nielsen, a global information and
measurement company, writes in their analysis of the customer’s
trust in advertising in 2013, “Word-of-mouth recommendations from
friends and family, often referred to as earned advertising, are
still the most influential, as 84 percent of global respondents
across 58 countries to the Nielsen online survey said this source
was the most trustworthy” (Nielsen, 2013).
History and Evolution of Word of Mouth Marketing
A psychologist named George Silverman is most commonly
attributed as the pioneer in the field of WOMM, creating
what he called “teleconferenced peer influence groups” in the early
1970s. The groups were designed to engage physicians in dialogue
about new pharmaceutical products, but Silverman noticed an
interesting phenomenon where skeptics’ opinions on a drug were
swayed with the positive endorsement from one or two of their
peers. The phenomenon was so powerful that even ex-prescribers, who
had negative experiences with a drug, were noted to change their
minds following a positive review of the same drug from their peers
(Brysha, 2013). Silverman (2001) writes in his book, The Secrets to
Word of Mouth Marketing, “As I mastered more and more sophisticated
magic tricks, I realized that people saw what they wanted to see,
no matter what the evidence said” (p.2).
After the publication of Silverman’s book, the WOMMA (Word of
Mouth Marketing Association) was created in 2004 with the vision of
growing appreciation for the practice of word of mouth marketing
and its value while remaining the leading industry resource. They
achieve this through 5 key areas: education, member engagement,
global reach, public advocacy of WOMM, and demonstration of value
(Word of Mouth Marketing Association, 2004).
Since Silverman coined the term WOMM and WOMMA was created, the
entire marketing “game” has changed. Organizations and companies
must take advantage of WOMM and develop strategic plans to
implement this marketing strategy. In 2010 Silverman published a
second edition of his book The Secrets to Word of Mouth Marketing
with new goals and a take on New Media since his last publication.
Silverman (2011) created a table of new media since 2001 that fills
two full pages of his new edition (pp. 12-14). Silverman (2011)
wrote, “Notice that the new arrivals almost all increase our
interactivity and connectedness, and, thereby, our overload” (p.
15). The evolution of the Internet and social media has changed the
world of WOMM forever. Consumers have access to networks online
that were impossible to connect with face to face and those
networks are constantly providing personal opinions on products and
experiences.
In the most recent years WOM marketing research has shifted from
the effectiveness of WOMM to what drives people to talk about a
product and where they do it. When organizations can answer those
questions pertaining to their specific audience, they can better
harness the effectiveness of WOMM.
Elements and Uses of Word of Mouth Marketing
Now that we know WOMM is extremely effective, organizations must
find the best ways to initiate and lead the conversation of their
consumers. Silverman (2001) wrote about the 6 best ways to harness
WOMM (pp. 189-207):
Step 1- Figure out why your consumer should adopt your
product
Step 2- Identify adopter types
Step 3- Identify the crucial decision steps
Step 4- Identify the actual words they would need to hear
Step 5- Identify the most motivating WOM sources
Step 6- Create and implement WOM campaign
Silverman outlines a great way for organizations to implement a
WOMM plan but that’s only the beginning. With social media and each
person’s online presence growing, organizations must continually
adapt their strategies to effectively use WOMM.
WOMMA created principals for the most effective WOMM which are
credible, respectful, social, measureable and repeatable (2004).
WOMMA believes that WOMM must have honest and authentic marketing
messages, transparent and trustworthy behavior, must listen,
participate and respond to conversations, must define and monitor a
programs success, and must be able to do it over and over so that
it can become a talkable brand. These key elements can help an
organization use their consumers to boost their ratings and
visibility. Customers never have to buy another product without
looking at ratings, reviews, opinions, etc. from online sources and
it is now every organization’s job to take advantage of that free
advertisement.
In a Forbes Magazine online article, Why Word Of Mouth Marketing
Is The Most Important Social Media, author Kimberly Whitler
describes what she calls the ‘3 E’s of Word of Mouth Marketing:
Engage, Equip, Empower’ (2014). When a company decides to use WOMM,
they are putting their product in the hands of their consumer. They
must engage their customers in a strategic way to drive the
conversation and create an environment that consumers trust. Once
consumers are equipped with all of the information they need to
make an assessment of a product they can provide a well informed
and education referral. Case Studies of Word of Mouth Marketing
Zappos
Zappos CEO Tony Heish has committed the company to shift it’s
focus from becoming the largest seller of shoes or the highest
grossing shoe company to striving to deliver happiness to their
customers, employees and vendors (Doughtery, 2015). Zappos does
this by focusing on the culture of the organization and achieving
the highest level of customer service. Zappos set an initiative to
concentrate on the customer experience and WOMM instead of a
traditional marketing plan. By focusing their efforts of the
customer, they in return grew from the WOMM from each satisfied
customer. $1 billion in sales and an army of loyal fans — and it’s
all thanks to each and every Zappos employee committed to earning
the love and recommendation of their customers.
Red Bull
Red Bull is the market leader in the worldwide energy drink
market, and they continue to grow awareness through WOMM focused
activities. Red Bull has initiated countless WOMM strategies, a few
include: (1)Red Bull Wings Team, a group of Red Bull employees that
drive around in Red Bull branded vehicles distributing samples,
(2)Student Brand Manager Program, Red Bull sponsors student
advocates to discuss Red Bull at events around their respective
schools, (3)Red Bull Bedroom Jam, a talent show event focused on
their targeted student demographic, (4)Red Bull Reporter, a program
where Red Bull sponsors journalism and film students to create news
stories around the Red Bull brand (Doughtery, 2015). Through these
strategic plans Red Bull initiates the conversation between
customers and provides a platform for their name and product to be
shared.
Chipotle
Chipotle is a prime example of a company who successfully used
WOMM to engage their customer and build their brand. Chipotle ran a
contest in 2015 offering a dinner for 2 to the top 20 burrito
themed Haikus. The winners were decided by the amount of shares,
likes and comments on Twitter and Facebook. This is a prime example
of how companies can use social media to market their product and
put the control in the costumers’ hands. People are proud of their
creativity and want to share it with their friends, family and
strangers; at the same time they are promoting the Chipotle brand.
Another way Chipotle is using WOMM is through promoting the
sustainable foods, an important subject to people all over the
world, not just lovers of Chipotle. The company created an animated
short and mobile game that shed light on the problems with
sustainable food to the masses. The game and animated short
provided people a chance to talk about the sustainable food
platform and associated controversies. The video over 6 million
views and the campaign brought over 614 million PR impressions
(Doughtery, 2015).
Lexicon Terms
When reviewing the Lexicon terms from last quarter I quickly saw
many relevant words that are factors and elements of Word of Mouth
Marketing. The 5 words I think are most relevant are audience,
accessibility, resources, virtual environments and third space.
First and foremost WOMM focuses on the customer, consumer, or in
the arts administration world, audience. Last quarter I defined
audience as a group of people who attend or observe a performance
of any kind; Audience members are key members of each art world,
helping to provide standards and spectators of each art. WOMM is an
opportunity to engage an audience while spreading the brand of an
organization. Organizations must focus on the interests and needs
of its’ audience to successfully implement a WOMM strategy. People
will talk about great experiences in their lives and things that
are relevant to them personally. For WOMM to work successfully,
audiences must feel that that the product they are talking about is
accessible. I defined accessible as how easily a person has access
to something; how easily a thing or space can be obtained by a
person or group of people. Organizations must focus on making their
product accessible to the audiences they are targeting. That can be
achieved through giving the audience a voice, making them feel
empowered, connecting to a topic that is important to your
audience, etc. There are many resources that organizations can
implement a WOMM strategy to engage and empower their audiences. I
defined resources as any material that benefit a person or a group
of people; this could be natural resources, resources for research,
money, etc. Many organizations have chosen to focus their resources
on enhancing the customer experience and heightening customer
service, with the goal of boosting their WOMM campaign. Some
examples are freebies or incentives for customers who are willing
to talk/write about a specific product, customer service training
for employees, technology that can help monitor customer input and
reviews. Organizations can take advantage of both online and
offline resources to reach their audience. Most of the buzz around
WOMM is about how to take advantage of opportunities in virtual
environments. Virtual environments that live on internet and social
media platforms are filled with WOMM for products and
organizations, whether initiated naturally or through a WOMM
strategic plan. I defined a virtual environment as a space that has
no physicality, accessed through a computer or electronic device;
typically used for communication or interaction with other people.
This definition explains exactly why virtual environments are so
great for WOMM: communication and interaction between people. A
White Paper From The New Media Consortium defines a virtual
environment as a way to keep in touch with existing communities
that users belong to offline, such as social and professional
groups. They also make it possible for people who would not
normally communicate more than a few times a year to keep in
touch—colleagues met at conferences, for instance, or friends met
through the online community itself. Some people would call the
internet and social media their third space. I define a third space
as where most of a person’s communication or interaction with other
people happens, outside of work and home; I think it could be
either a virtual or physical space depending on the individual.
WOMM depends on the interaction of people, whether online, offline,
in a home, workspace, coffee shop or hair salon. Organizations must
find the “third spaces” of their audience and use that space to
determine specific WOMM strategies.
Resources
Brysha, B. (2013, January 7). A-to-Z WOM, part 1: a brief
history of word of mouth marketing [Web log post]. Retrieved
February 3, 2016, from
http://www.extole.com/blog/a-to-z-wom-part-1-a-brief-history-of-word-of-mouth-marketing/
Doughtery, J. (2015, March 23). 9 Word-of-Mouth Campaigns That
Rocked. Retrieved February 3, 2016, from
http://www.cision.com/us/2015/03/9-word-of-mouth-campaigns-that-rocked/
Nielsen. (2013, September 17). Under the influence: consumer
trust in advertising. Retrieved February 2, 2016, from
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2013/under-the-influence-consumer-trust-in-advertising.html
Silverman, G. (2001). The secrets of word-of-mouth marketing:
How to trigger exponential sales through runaway word of mouth. New
York: AMACOM.
Word of Mouth Marketing Association. (2004). About WOMMA.
Retrieved February 2, 2016, from http://womma.org/
Word of Mouth Marketing Association. (2011, November 15). Womma
defines WOMM [Video file]. Retrieved February 2, 2016, from
http://womma.org/
Whitler, K. (2014, July 17). Why Word Of Mouth Marketing Is The
Most Important Social Media. Forbes. Retrieved February 3, 2016,
from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/#59d4eef57a77
