|
|
| About Guy Kawasaki |
| Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Forbes.com. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. where he was one of the individuals responsible for the success of the Macintosh computer. Guy is the author of eight books including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College. |
Recent Article:
The Inside Word on Word-of-Mouth Marketing
- For more on Guy Kawasaki visit www.guykawasaki.com
In this interview Dave Balter explains word-of-mouth marketing. Balter founded BzzAgent in 2002. His company has provided word-of-mouth media services for dozens of Fortune 500 companies and has been featured in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and on National Public Radio. He is also co-founder and current board member of The Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Balter earned a B.A. in Psychology from Skidmore College. He recently published a book called The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II. You can download a full (and free!) copy of the book here.
1.
Question: How often do companies successfully engineer word-of-mouth marketing?
Answer: The phrasing, "engineer word-of-mouth" is very interesting. Inasmuch as it suggests "force" or "manipulate," I'd say that no company has ever successfully engineered word of mouth. However, for those companies that guide or inspire word of mouth by empowering consumers, respecting their opinions, thanking them for sharing their input, and making changes based on consumer counsel ... in those cases, word of mouth marketing is successful all the time, every day.
2.
Question: Can a large company do it—or is word-of-mouth marketing only for small companies?
Answer: Word of mouth happens for companies of all sizes. The iPod and the iPhone were massive word-of-mouth phenomena. So was the Swiffer. Smaller companies, like Webkinz, may need to rely on word of mouth more due to smaller marketing budgets, but the impact is equally valuable.
3.
Question: What are the components of an effective word-of-mouth marketing program?
Answer: The most important thing is that companies tap into consumer advocacy without destroying what makes it so powerful: trust. Effective programs should ensure participants are:
1.
Unpaid. Cash messes with our opinions!
2.
Unscripted. People should say what they really feel, no matter how good or how bad
3.
Open. If someone is involved in an organized word of mouth program, the people they talk to should be aware of that.
A simple test is to ask yourself: would I feel ok if my eighty-year old grandma knew about this program? That will help guide you.
4.
Question: What is the difference between viral and word-of-mouth marketing?
Answer: Viral marketing is typically reserved for programs where the advertising is talked about as opposed to the product itself. A good example are viral videos, where the humor trumps the brand, ala Cadbury Schweppes drumming gorilla video—humorous partly due to the Phil Collins soundtrack, of course—and the parodies which followed). Word of mouth is the actual sharing of an opinion about a product or service between consumers. Your viral marketing only works if it gets people talking about the product itself. If it doesn’t, you might create some laughter and awareness, but there won’t be a change in sales.
5.
Question: How long does an episode of word-of-mouth communication last?
Answer: At this stage BzzAgents have generated north of 100 million conversations. From the data we’ve collected, each conversation lasts more than six minutes. But this isn’t like traditional marketing—it’s not a one way advertisement. Typically word of mouth dialogues includes discussions about other competitive products, personal experiences, pros and cons. It’s all of the things that help us really understand a product’s value.
6.
Question: What does a person do after purchasing a product—using word-of-mouth juice?
Answer: “Word-of-mouth juice”— do you mind if I borrow that term for the title of my next book? To answer your question, this “juice” is what made the iPhone so amazingly successful. People felt obligated to show someone else. Partly out of excitement, but also to be ‘validated’ for making the decision to wait in line, plunk down the cash, and take the leap to get one. We call this the “pass along effect.” Shortly after purchase, many people generate the most word of mouth about a product—often to see how others react and to make ourselves feel good about the purchase.
7.
Question: What is the best way to reward—indeed, if you should reward—people who do word-of-mouth marketing for a company?
Answer: The best reward is a sincere "thank you." Companies are always surprised at how much advocacy and word of mouth is generated when they listen to, acknowledge, and show appreciation to those consumers who take the time to share their opinions. Products, samples, prizes ... these things all help, but nothing inspires more than listening and thanking
8.
Question: What makes a new product like the iPhone become “urgent”?
Answer: Steve Jobs has figured out a word-of-mouth blueprint that’s pretty incredible. When they launch a product, information is scarce and supply is limited. Before anyone even sees one, they’re talking about how they want to buy it. Of course Apple can pull this off because it makes great products that blow away expectations. Also, Apple develops tremendous advertising, which is worth talking about in itself. Word of mouth doesn’t replace great advertising, it just helps great advertising perform better.
9.
Question: How can a company make a sample of its product the most powerful?
Answer: Every company wants to get their product into people’s hands. Trial is clearly an incredible way to create buyers, but a tremendous amount of sampling is wasted. Imagine you went to a ballgame and there were people outside the park handing out little packs of Tums. The company may give away hundreds of thousands of trials, but how many of the recipients needed heartburn medicine? How many of them were thrown out? Most importantly, how does the company know if people liked them or used them or thought they were a headache remedy?
So rather than the random shotgun sample approach, companies should start online by inviting people to request a sample and then giving them a way to report back their opinion and, most importantly, how they shared that with others. The result: 100% engagement and data you can actually use!
10.
Question: Do you believe in the theory of top-down, elite influencers?
Answer: I believe in Influentials, Trendsetters, Trendspreaders, Sneezers, Alphas, Bees, Hubs, Mavens. These "special people" do exist—but companies should be careful on their reliance on tremendously influential people to help spread their opinions. Often there’s a mismatch between someone’s enormous network of friends and their interest in trying a specific product and to share it with others.
Companies should focus on finding people who really want to be involved with their product. They should focus on helping these individuals learn about what makes their product unique and special to share with their networks. However, it all starts with a great product. Few will care if a product doesn’t meet expectations.
11.
Question: What exactly does your company do?
Answer: BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth media company. We have nearly 450,000 volunteers who learn about products and services through our network and share them with their friends in an open, natural way. We do our best to provide something for everyone. For example, people who dig websites and other digital initiatives can hang out in our Frogpond to find out about what’s cool. Do you like tasty food or cool cleaning products? Sign up for our network and you may get into a campaign for Back to Nature Nuts or a new plug-in air freshener, and we’ll send you out some samples to try, and then you share your opinion however you’d like! [You can see how bzzagents review websites here.]
12.
Question: What’s your assessment of Alltop’s word-of-mouth potential?
Answer: When I first saw Alltop [please come back later if the site is slow or down because it's getting crushed by traffic], I was blown away by the simplicity and usefulness of the site. The web is getting harder and harder to navigate and a place you can go to find the best of the best just makes life easier. A few things that make it work so well:
1.
Alltop is worth talking about (it’s made it so easy for me to find great food sites!).
2.
The sites that get listed want to tell their own networks, so it’s naturally viral.
3.
The semi-transparent navigation bar is unique; whether you like it or not, everyone has a perspective they want to share.
Plain and simple: It’s worth yapping about.
The Inside Word on WordofMouth Marketing - To learn more about this author, visit Guy Kawasaki's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
|
More Guy Kawasaki
|
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
|
||
 | ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 JV Considerations Mirror Marketing Fitness Sales Success 4 QuickBooks Blunders Networking Royally |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009 | |
 |
Top 50 Business Plans
Top Business Plan Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||