Following some commonly accepted steps can help guide in the development of successful word-of-mouth marketing programs, but the devil’s in the details.  Subtleties and nuances make the difference between programs that create engaged consumers versus indifferent consumers.

Who’s talking? 

Someone needs to spread the message.  Called connectors, accelerators, and influencers, they have deep and wide social networks and pass along information they care about to others.  There are three types of ‘go to’ people:  enthusiasts (the stereotypical brand advocate who serves as a passionate brand ambassador), local experts (know all about a specific category – car or gadget nut, knows about new restaurants or TV shows) and the jack-of-all-interests (an interesting know-a-lot vs. an annoying-know-it-all).  The key is tapping into the right people for a specific product or service.

What are they talking about?

This is the most critical and nuanced step.  First of all, forget everything you learned about traditional brand management.  If this process starts by trying to convert a well-crafted brand statement into a word-of-mouth campaign, it won’t be successful.  The product or service must be looked at through a different lens.  It’s not what you want to say about your product or service, but what consumers find talkable about it.  Finding the relevance in a product or service is crucial.  If it’s relevant, the more likely it will be deemed worth sharing.  Once something is worth sharing, it has value. High involvement categories tend to increase information value.  The collision of talkability and relevancy becomes the social currency in the message. 

Dig deep to understand the consumer.  Think about what people like to talk about, why they like to talk, and how an actual conversation might transpire.  

Remember the book ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus?’  It’s quite appropriate when creating word-of-mouth messages.  When developing word-of-mouth messages directed toward men, think in terms of Guysmanship.  Male word-of-mouth triggers tend to be competitive, fact-based and opinionated.  Men talk to ‘show that they know’ or ‘be first.’  Look at ESPN or read the sports page – facts and opinions are expressed in sound bites.  For women, it’s all about Fempathy.  Female triggers are more empathetic or deal with community building and emotional outreach.  They talk ‘to help’ and ‘to be heard.’  And far from sound bites, their conversations are centered on shared experiences and expressed as complete stories.  It’s Oprah and Lifetime and their stories of women facing their challenges, from life changing to the day-to-day.        

How are they sharing?

Tactical tools are used to seed or spark conversation about the topic and enable consumers to keep it moving to others.  Thinking about the appropriate tool must move beyond the traditional thoughts of push and pull tactics, to pass tactics.

Sometimes the concept is strong enough to simply spread on its own via person-to-person talking, but in today’s ultra-connected society, technology offers an opportunity to really amplify conversations.  Many things need to be considered when selecting the tool.  The most important being it’s appropriateness to the topic.  For instance, if you’re trying to get people talking about a new movie, sending a direct mail piece with still shots of the movie isn’t very engaging.  However, sending a DVD or a link to a webpage with behind the scenes clips of that movie or seeding a script of certain movie scenes is very engaging. 

Next, consider if it’s passable.  Emails, blogs and tell-a-friends are strong online, but sometimes off line tactics are even better.  For example, you might think that sending a teen something online is the way to go for word-of-mouth because they spend so much time surfing.  But, will it really break through considering the amount of information they receive online? Conversely, teens don’t receive a lot of regular mail, so an offline tactic such as a physical direct mail piece with multiple samples to pass out to their friends gives them an experience they can share.  Or maybe the topic needs to be experienced through a live event.  There is no set tactic here, the sky’s the limit.

How are you participating?

The real power of word-of-mouth is when consumers are engaged enough to talk to their friends and associates about a product or service.  However, sometimes consumers actually want the manufacturer or provider to be part of that conversation.  If they do, the manufacturer or provider should be a willing participant and think about the appropriate way to interact.  This could be participating in a discussion board, responding to emails or returning actual phone calls. 

How are you tracking?

Be prepared to measure.  Tracking word-of-mouth is under a lot of scrutiny these days, but there are great new tools that can assist.  The key is not to fall into the trap of ideating only around what can be measured.  It will stifle creativity.  Remember, ideation around the topic and the tool is where the magic happens. 

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Brian Kristofek is the President of Upshot, a Chicago-based marketing agency. Upshot works with clients that want to challenge indifference to engage consumers. They challenge accepted rules and norms to fuel innovation, providing client partners with brand and shopper marketing based on consumer insights, system understanding and retail realities. Brian plays a key role in Upshot’s direction and continued growth.  By focusing on the expansion and refinement of Upshot’s services, Brian has grown the integrated marketing capabilities of the agency to include what is offered today.  Contact Brian at brian.kristofek@emak.com.