January 28, 2006

clk, Tell me about the Top Shop. I'm intrigued!

Psst, Pass it on!

Inevitably, surveys shows that people make the buying decisions they make because of "word-of-mouth."

Many marketers ignore that information and continue to sell their products and services the old-fashioned way. They figure that if they can convince customers to buy, those customers will automatically sell other customers.

There's some truth to that. But it's kind of like simply putting products on the shelves. They may look good and will sell to those who see them. However, they'll sell a whole lot better with some marketing muscle behind them.

'Word-of-mouth' (or 'buzz marketing', etc.) has been getting increasing attention. The Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association even had its own conference last week in Orlando. More than 440 participants packed into sessions on subjects like "Turning Customers into Evangelists" and "How to Create Brand Converts."

Turning customers into fans increasingly involves either more regular communications with them (using a variety of media such as podcasts) or encouraging more interactive communication with them.

The point is that it's a structured, strategic, pro-active effort...rather than the passive hope-they-like-us-and-will-tell-their-friends attitude of the past.

One interesting aspect of buzz marketing, in my opinion, has been the determination that it's best to be straight with consumers. That is, the good buzz marketers who pay individuals to spread the word about products or services tell their reps to identify themselves as being paid to endorse and proselytize. Full disclosure, transparency...call it what you will. Seems like a good idea and reportedly doesn't impede the reps' results.

I don't suppose James Fry will be applying for one of those jobs.