WOM: The Power of a Personal Recommendation 

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Published 10/11/2007 

Author

John Bigay 

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. How WOM Works
3. Ethics and Best Practices

Summary

Word-of-mouth marketing is all about marketers recognizing the power of a conversation and
seeking to participate in it—by activating it, organizing it, listening to it, and measuring its
impact.
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1. Introduction

At its core, word-of-mouth marketing is all about marketers recognizing the power of a
conversation and seeking to participate in it – by activating it, organizing it, listening to it, and
measuring its impact.

Word of mouth (WOM) is the sharing of an honest opinion between two or more people. While
there are a number of different techniques under the umbrella of WOM, they all share these
fundamental attributes: 

 Two-way communication: WOM is about marketing with consumers, not simply

broadcasting scripted messages at them.  
 Facilitating communication: helping consumers to share their honest opinions and
providing tools and encouragement
We have all heard repeatedly that traditional media is losing its impact as a result of a variety of
trends, including declining viewer ship, disruptive technologies like TiVo, Podcasting and video
on demand.  Simply, it is becoming more difficult than ever to connect with customers – at a
time in which connecting is essential. Customers have more choice, voice and control, more
ways to create, communicate and collaborate than ever before. So amidst this sea change of
consumer behavior and media consumption habits, marketers are increasingly looking to what
may be the oldest, and arguably the most effective, form of marketing there is – WOM.

While we’ve all experienced its power first-hand, the rise in interest in word-of-mouth marketing
has led to a body of research that has shown what has long been believed -- that it’s the most
effective medium to drive sales. In their simultaneous media usage study in 2005, BIGResearch
reports that WOM ranks highest in driving consumers’ purchase decisions – above TV, Internet,
print and radio.

Just how widespread is WOM? According to the Keller Fay Group, Americans engage in 3.5
billion brand-related conversations every day. We love to talk about products and brands. And
while the vast majority of those conversations still occur offline (92 percent says the Keller Fay
Group), new online tools and technologies are giving people more and more ways to stay
connected and share their opinions.

2. How WOM Works

When considering the spread of WOM, most insiders talk in terms of generations – I tell you
something, you tell a friend, they tell a friend, and so on. One useful visual to imagine when
discussing WOM spread, or reach, is ripples in a pond. A rock is thrown into the water and the
ripples begin. The catalyst, or “rock,” is referred to as generation zero (G-0). The person to
whom G-0 speaks is generation 1 (G-1), and so on.

Research shows that on average, a G-0 consumer will recommend a product or brand to 12 other
people, each of whom, in turn, will mention the item to another four people. So, by measuring
just two generations it’s easy to see the power of WOM.  One customer can generate more than
60 communications.

Types of WOM Marketing

We can divide WOM broadly into two categories – organic and accelerated.

Organic WOM

Brand-related conversations are happening in the marketplace without any marketing push
whatsoever. A colleague is surprised by the size of the slice of pizza at a nearby café; a friend
suggests a perfect beach read – products and services as part of our everyday lexicon. Whether
sharing recommendations or telling friends about a negative experience, these discussions result
from customers’ everyday interactions with brands. This type of WOM can be informed (and
triggered) by a number of factors that have nothing to do with an advertising campaign or special
promotion, but marketers can learn a great deal about brand perceptions by paying attention to
and actively participating in these organic conversations. 

Accelerated WOM  

Marketing programs can also be specifically designed to generate WOM. There are quite a few
terms and practices that are used, sometimes interchangeably, when speaking about these
practices. Let’s start by defining some of the more common ones.

Viral Marketing uses consumers as the distribution platform for a marketing message.
Remember Paris Hilton and her cheeseburger? (http://spicyparis.com/paris.html )  The
subservient chicken? (http://www.subservientchicken.com/ ) These are well-known examples of
viral campaigns. Viral programs often use entertainment value or controversy as the driver
behind the spread of the promotional content. They can be extremely effective, but it’s important
to find the right balance between entertainment and brand message. 

Buzz Marketing is an event or activity intended to generate excitement among consumers.

Perhaps the most famous example of buzz marketing occurred when Oprah Winfrey gave away
276 Pontiac G6 sedans to her entire studio audience
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_G6#Marketing). When well executed, buzz marketing can
create significant surge in product awareness, but since it is generally confined to a single event
(and often an outrageous event or PR stunt), it may not always result in ongoing advocacy. 

Consumer generated media (CGM) are brand-related messages that are created by everyday
people. They can range from the entertaining to the downright bizarre. Some notable examples of
consumer-generated media are the Diet Coke and Mentors experiment
(http://eepybird.com/exp144.html) and the McNuggets “song” (http://youtube.com/watch?
v=XSZ6k3QIsAk). Some brands are also engaging consumers and directly encouraging them to
create CGM as part of a campaign, such as Doritos 2007 Super Bowl ad
(http://promotions.yahoo.com/doritos/ ). In some cases, these attempts have met with mixed
results, such as the recent Chevy Tahoe campaign in which consumers used the brand-supplied
artwork to create unflattering ads.

WOM Media programs engage real consumers to experience products and services and share
their opinions with others. They can range from grassroots or “influencer” programs involving a
small number of individuals to large-scale WOM media communities where tens of thousands of
consumers are engaged with a brand.

This is by no means a complete list of all the programs and techniques available to generate
WOM. Other approaches include social media marketing, brand blogging, community
marketing, and more techniques are emerging quickly as interest in WOM continues to grow. 

3. WOM Ethics and Best Practices

The power of WOM is rooted in trust. So, while it’s important to adhere to honest and ethical
practices in all forms of marketing, it is critical to do so within WOM marketing, where the
credibility of the participant is paramount. Regardless of the WOM medium or technique,
disclosure is the cornerstone of any credible and legitimate program. The Word of Mouth
Marketing Association sums it up well in their “Honesty ROI,” which identifies three basic
building blocks for ethical WOM programs:

 Honesty of Relationship: You say who you're speaking for

 Honesty of Opinion: You say what you believe
 Honesty of Identity: You never obscure your identity

Recent research reinforces the value of disclosure. A 2006 study from Northeastern University
found that “none of the key outcome metrics (credibility, inquiry, use, purchase, and pass-
along/relay) were negatively affected by the agent disclosing their affiliation.” In fact, the study
determined that “pass-along/relay rate (the number of people a person told after speaking with a
word-of-mouth marketing agent) actually increased when the conversational partner was aware
they were talking with a participant in an organized word-of-mouth marketing program.” 

WOM Best Practices 

Help Tell Stories: People want to share personal experiences with your product, not pass along
scripted marketing messages. And stories are based in experience.   So provide people with
opportunities to have an experience with your brand and connect those experiences to their
personal stories to ignite WOM. 

Listen:  WOM is about conversation. Learning to listen effectively to your customers is critical,
whether through your existing customer service touch points, monitoring conversation online or
through managed WOM programs. Make sure your customers have a voice, and that you’re
listening and responding to what they are telling you. 

Polarize:  Consumers have opinions. Don’t be afraid to let your brand have one, too. Too often,
marketers try to smooth every rough edge in an attempt to be all things to all people, and in the
process leave nothing for real people to talk about.

Create Experiences:  By allowing people to experience a product first-hand and to organize

around their experience with a particular brand, marketers can create a fertile ground for
conversation and interaction.

In Closing

WOM is often referred to as the Holy Grail of marketing. It’s natural, honest and can’t be faked
or manufactured. Yet marketers have more tools than ever to listen to and collaborate with our
customers, and create programs to foster and ignite true advocacy in the marketplace.