 Word of Mouth Marketing - An Essential Read! |
| Review Date: November 17, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Dana Vandenheuvel, Green Bay, WI USA |
I recently finished Andy Sernovitz's new book, "Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking". Actually, I finished it a while ago, but haven't had time to do a full blog review.
The book is a quick read - 4hrs total, give or take, and it's packed full not only of WOM theory and a bit of history, but also with some concrete ideas from real WOM marketers and a checklist or two to boot. I love checklists!
The really "shocking" thing about this book, is that it's not one of those "wow, wouldn't it be cool if our company could do that" like "Blue Ocean Strategy, but rather, a book about WHAT EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD ALREADY BE DOING WITH THEIR MARKETING. Seriously, let's look, at what the book tells me to do.
You need the Five Ts. Talkers, Topics, Tools, Taking Part and Tracking.
* Talkers: Find people who will talk about you
* Topics: Give people a reason to talk
* Tools: Help the message spread faster and farther
* Taking Part: Join the conversation
* Tracking: Measure and understand what people are saying
Andy has another tidbit that worth the price of the book (or a visit to his site). The Word of Mouth Marketing Manifesto:
1. Happy customers are your best advertising. Make people happy.
2. Marketing is easy: Earn the respect and recommendation of your customers. They will do your marketing for you, for free.
3. Ethics and good service come first.
4. UR the UE: You are the user experience (not what your ads say you are).
5. Negative word of mouth is an opportunity. Listen and learn.
6. People are already talking. Your only option is to join the conversation.
7. Be interesting or be invisible.
8. If it's not worth talking about, it's not worth doing.
9. Make the story of your company a good one.
10. It is more fun to work at a company that people want to talk about.
11. Use the power of word of mouth to make business treat people better.
12. Honest marketing makes more money.
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A brainstorming guide to becoming remarkable
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| Review Date: April 21, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Lindy Dreyer, Washington, DC USA |
This book is exactly what it promises to be...a fun, practical, hands-on guide to the art of word of mouth (WOM) marketing. This book is about getting back to the basics and fueling your desire to build a remarkable organization. The quick summary of what's in the book...
* 3 Reasons People Talk About You
* 4 Rules of Word of Mouth Marketing
* 5 Ts of Word of Mouth Marketing
* 6 Big Ideas: Deep Stuff That Changes Marketing Forever
The first 59 pages of the book give a thorough, yet concise, overview of the concepts of WOM marketing. For me, the really juicy stuff began on page 61--the HOW-TO section. (That's the pragmatist in me.) Page after page, I found myself writing down ideas, usually a spin-off of something Andy's seen or done...which is a considerable amount. Going back through my notes, many of these ideas are things we can do right away along with things we should have always been doing, but somehow got off track. This book is like a brainstorming guide...it helps you focus on the WOM concepts that matter most.
Word of warning...if you're looking for detailed, data-driven analysis of WOM, this is not your book. Most of the negative reviews on Amazon criticized the book for being too "obvious" or "simple." I'd argue that it's the simple and obvious ideas that make this book so powerful, not just for marketing and PR professionals, but for anyone in your organization who interacts with your customers and prospects.
BONUS: One of the 5 Ts of Word of Mouth is TOPIC. People often latch onto the most unexpected topics and we need to have the courage to run with it. Andy uses the example of RedEnvelope. Their unexpected topic? Beautiful gift packaging. I've personally ordered from RedEnvelope...it was a gift for my mom. The first thing I heard from her after she received the gift? "The package was just beautiful! It came in this great red box with a giant bow!" She told all her friends about her "gift in the big red box." Not only did I look like the world's greatest daughter, but RedEnvelope likely got a few new customers.
What's your big red box? |
Every business owner MUST read this!
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| Review Date: October 3, 2008 |
| Reviewer: James Kukral, Cleveland, OH United States |
| Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VGA7VAALDB3S I don't care what your business is, you can use the techniques of Word of Mouth Marketing easily if you understand how it works. It's not hard, and best of all, it's not expensive. The investment you make for this book is nothing compared to the value and ideas you'll get that could transform your business. Easy, fast read. Buy it today. |
Spread the word: Great book!
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| Review Date: November 17, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Jeffrey Einstein, |
| This is a terrific little tome on word-of-mouth marketing from a guy who clearly knows the subject pretty well. His prose are clear and to the point, his tone strictly conversational. But what else would you expect from a book about WOM marketing? Especially a good one... |
How to Start Using The Big Ideas of Word of Mouth Marketing
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| Review Date: November 27, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Marianne Richmond, |
Business books seem to come in two flavors: Why you should and How to. Andy Sernovitz's "Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking" starts with the basic concepts of word of mouth, hits the high points of why you should, and then gets right down to building the plan; he ends with sixteen things to start doing right now....and that alone is worth the price of the book!
Andy Sernovitz delivers a quick start guide to word of mouth, with just enough background and concepts to keep you going. Highly recommended! |
The Final Word on Word of Mouth Marketing
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| Review Date: March 7, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Bud Bilanich, Denver, CO |
A while back, I was blogging about word of mouth marketing, and I mentioned Andy Sernovitz and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. A friend suggested that I pick up a copy of Andy's book -- Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking.
Word of mouth marketing is an important part of building strong customer relationships. And, as I point out in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations, strong customer relationships are critically important to the success of any business.
Back to Mr. Sernovitz' book. I love this book. It is filled with incredibly useful information. For example, before you even finish chapter one, you'll find The Four Rules of Word of Mouth Marketing:
1. Be Interesting
2. Make People Happy
3. Earn Trust and Respect
4. Make It Easy
Mr. Sernovitz does a great job of explaining each of these four rules - and illustrating them with personal examples.
You'll also find the Three Reasons People Talk About You in chapter one
1. They like you and your stuff
2. Talking makes them feel good
3. They feel connected to the group
As he discusses, each of these three reasons, Mr. Sernovitz does a great job of explaining, in layman's terms, the psychological ideas behind them.
This is great stuff, but Mr. Sernovitz isn't finished yet. In the middle of chapter one he discusses The five T's of Word of Mouth Marketing:
1. Talkers - Find people who will talk about you
2. Topics - Give people a reason to talk
3. Tools - Help the message spread faster and farther
4. Taking part - Join the conversation
5. Tracking - Measure and understand what people are saying.
Toward the end of chapter one, Mr. Sernovitz provides some great advice on the importance of honesty in word of mouth marketing.
1. Word of mouth isn't stealth. It's open, honest communication with customers and the community.
2. Fake word of mouth doesn't work. You will get busted. When you get busted, the backlash will destroy your reputation.
3. Oppose all deception. Protect the trust in genuine word of mouth - for yourself as a marketer and for your family as consumers.
4. Follow the Honesty ROI.
The rest of the book expands on these concepts and will help you learn how to put word of mouth marketing to work for your business.
Chapter 3 contains The Word of Mouth Marketing Manifesto - a great summary of what this is all about.
1. Happy customers are your best advertising. Make people happy.
2. Marketing is easy. Earn the respect and recommendation of your customers. They will do your marketing for you for free.
3. Ethics and good service come first.
4. UR the UE: You are the user experience (not what your ads say you are).
5. Negative word of mouth is an opportunity. Listen and learn.
6. People are already talking. Your only option is to join the conversation.
7. Be interesting or be invisible.
8. If it's not worth talking about, it's not worth doing.
9. Make the story of your company a good one.
10. It is more fun to work at a company that people want to talk about.
11. Use the power of word of mouth to make business treat people better.
12. Honest marketing makes more money.
Word of Mouth Marketing is an important, easy to read and use book. I urge anybody who runs a business to pick it up, study it and use the ideas in it.
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Word of Mouth Is the Most Powerful Form of Advertising
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| Review Date: April 28, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Maria Elena Duron, Midland, TX United States |
WOW! Andy did a great job capturing the heart and the "how to" of word of mouth marketing. There's lots of books out there and my two favorites are this one and Beyond Buzz. They really capture WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING as it is presently, how to engage it, utilize it and measure it.
Loved the chapter on testimonials, customer review sites and how to join a conversation.
A must read for anyone out there really wanting their networking to WORK and to really have meaningful marketing conversations!
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