WOMBAT #1.23 Word of Mouth Marketing Basic Training

1> Special Announcement:
      Announcing WOMBAT 2 -- June 20-21, San Francisco
2> How-To: Using Consumers to Increase Product Relevance
      5 Tips from Electric Artists' Marc Schiller
3> How-To: Turning on Customer Advocacy
      5 Tips from ComBlu's Steve Hershberger

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1> Special Announcement:
     Announcing WOMBAT 2 -- June 20-21, San Francisco

You read the WOMBAT newsletter -- now attend the event!

Learn to master the art of word of mouth, viral, buzz and blog marketing

    * 60+ experts      * 16 real case studies
    * 16 how-to's      * Amazing networking

NEW KEYNOTE JUST ADDED:
* Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, co-authors of "Naked Conversations"

NEW AUTHOR WORKSHOP ADDED:
* Jackie Huba, co-author of "Creating Customer Evangelists"

OTHER AMAZING SPEAKERS INCLUDE EXPERTS FROM:
Ammo Marketing, BIGresearch, Biz360, Brains on Fire, DuPont, Ice.com, Informative, Intuit, Keller Fay Group, Ketchum, MotiveQuest, Voodoo Vox, and more!

>> REGISTER AT: http://womma.org/wombat2

This is the one event to attend to get the skills you need
to succeed with word of mouth.

* Learn from real case studies and how-to lessons
* Meet the world's leading word of mouth experts
* Master the core skills to succeed with WOM
* Discover how to implement WOM at your company
* Network like crazy at the biggest word of mouth
   event ever
* Understand critical issues around ethics and honesty
* Measure and track the ROI of word of mouth
* Enjoy an official event from WOMMA, the association
   that brings together the amazing people who are
   building this fantastic industry.

LEARN TO GET PEOPLE TALKING!
http://womma.org/wombat2

2> How-To: Using Consumers to Increase Product Relevance
      5 Tips from Electric Artists' Marc Schiller

"Effective WOM marketing is about ensuring that your product is relevant to whom you are marketing. There's nobody better in the world at doing this than somebody you admire or respect," says Marc Schiller, CEO and founder of Electric Artists. "Marketers are no longer credible in making things relevant. But consumers are. The best campaigns are ones where consumers are active participants."

That's why viral marketing can be so effective: "Relevance is created, impact goes up, and the results are much stronger than any other form of media."

Here are Marc's tips for working with consumers to increase product relevance:

Tip #1. Allow the consumer's voice to be loudest
A simple "send to a friend" button is not viral marketing. While it can potentially increase the audience, it doesn't allow for consumers to imprint their own passion and relevance onto the message. When you allow the consumer to add something to the creative they're inserting themselves into the mix, making the voice of the message, and of the brand itself, authentic.

Tip #2. Get the details right
Authenticity is critical to success. You should understand your audience better than anyone in the world, so that when you develop the creative, it has all of the nuances and quirks that give identity to sub-groups. Resist homogenization: the audience will know that you don't understand them, and the brand will lose credibility.

Tip #3. Develop your own point of view
Every marketer needs his own point of view when it comes to marketing on new technology platforms. The companies that will succeed using blogs, for instance, are those that create their own points of view and draw lines in the sand based on their own positions.

Tip #4. Forget about chat rooms and message boards
They are no longer relevant. Rather, understand the importance of blogs, social networks, and tagging. Update your view of what community means on the Web to accommodate new ways that people interact online.

Tip #5. Get out of the way
When word of mouth takes off, don't always attempt to stoke the flames. Watch from the sidelines, and enjoy it, but don't try to insert yourselves artificially.

Join the discussion and learn about Marc

3> How-To: Turning on Customer Advocacy
      5 Tips from ComBlu's Steve Hershberger

"Buzz is perishable. Once you build a campaign and reap the benefits, it dies away," says Steve Hershberger, Principal at ComBlu. "To extend it, you have to start from scratch."

Here, Steve offers his insights on turning on consumer advocacy and keeping it from dying.

Tip #1. Buzz doesn't create advocates
Buzz may create awareness, with people saying, "Wow, I want to talk about this." But they may or may not act on it. That costs brands time and money, because the effort that's put into a buzz campaign the second time is the same as the first. It doesn't have its own inertia.

Tip #2. Advocates create buzz
Creating advocates keep buzz alive. Advocates are the concentrated perfect customers. They understand the relevance of the product, and when people spread relevance -- when they passionately recommend it with the force of their personality -- that's engagement and it spreads buzz.

Tip #3. Shut up and listen
Advocates will communicate with you via the avenues you give them. Sometimes those aren't the best ways. Ask yourself if you're creating natural pathways to communication or roadblocks.

Better yet, ask them. Many brands don't distinguish between what they want, what their customers want, and what their prospects want. It only matters what the customer wants: they own the brand. They'll tell you what drove them to choose you and stay with you.

Tip #4. Repeat what was said
If somebody tells you there was a problem, find out why. Too expensive? Couldn't get through to customer service people? Hear them, then repeat the problem back to prove you understand their situation.

Tip #5. Act on it
You've heard what was said. You've repeated it back. Now, fix the problem.

It's okay to say, "We can't do that right now," as long as they know you understand. For example, if they say, "I love your product but I can't afford it," you might respond that you only get a 15 percent margin on that particular product and can't afford to reduce the price. Of course, it's better to fix the problem if you can.

"Be consistent," Steve concludes. "Once is nothing more than a one-hit wonder."

Join the discussion and learn about Steve