From Mayhem to Marketing: Why Word-of-Mouth Should Be Back on Your Agenda
by Joel Cere
Consumer–to-consumer recommendations carry a higher trust factor than virtually all other forms of advertising, including TV, radio and print. This isn't exactly news to many long-established businesses. In fact, one of them always understood the value of consumer recommendations; its entire sales strategy relies on turning customers into brand ambassadors and capitalizing on their social networks to influence others to purchase. That company is Tupperware, and it made a fortune by understanding word-of-mouth's power 50 years ago. Since then, word-of-mouth (or WOM) has been reengineered as "Consumer Generated Marketing." And thanks to blogging, its persuasion power is making business media headlines again through a series of high-profile customer relations disasters. Here are the forces at work behind WOM as well as a checklist of how marketers can reclaim it to engage into productive conversations with consumers.... cont'd
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