• Be who you are, be as transparent as possible.
• Don't play in your own playground, be active in communities that might find what you offer attractive.
• It is imperative to be involved in the social networks on the Internet and the real world
• We live in a world where every person's word of mouth reaches a lot more people.
  

Lets look at some examples of these at work.

Being Transparent , Diverse, and Active in Social Networks.

Companies that are talking back to their customers are becoming more transparent at it. They are the ones who openly acknowledge mistakes and quickly respond to complaints A lot of startups today are more and more engaged in the conversations of their customers. They are monitoring and answering questions on Twitter, getsatisfaction and responding to negative blog posts and comments. Craig Newmark posted a responce on our own very blog, and many other companies are aknowledging social networks.

While being transparent is a proven tool to get more attention and buzz, it is not a must have. There are a lot of successful companies out there that do not talk back. After all, the bigger the business, the harder it is for it to innovate. They talk in glamorous product announcements, commercials and press releases, they drink brand juice and spend millions covering up or downright denying their mistakes.

A World of Word of Mouth Marketing.

Word of Mouth is nothing new, NewEgg, Netflix, Apple, In-N-Out Burgers all had very strong growth partly due to word of mouth, but instead of talking back, they gained popularity through high quality of service, ease of use, competitive prices, elegance and tasty food - that's what makes good idea into a successful business. However, and this might sound crazy to some, talking back, fixing your mistakes and accepting your screw ups could be what brings quality of service up, makes product easier to use, lowers prices or create that absolutely amazing taste. Do not be afraid to try it.

Google Reader recently added ability to include a note with your shared items, and mentioned in their blog post that they monitor "Google Reader" on Twitter. Zappos has a special Twitter page set up and over 300 of their employees are encouraged to use Twitter, they host free parties, do contests and respond to peoples comments all through Twitter. John Fisher of Sticker Giant also tracks his and even his competitions name. All of those I have discovered through one of social networks, social events or at parties and gatherings, or simply put, due to word of mouth marketing.

While the question of "How do I talk back to my customers" is a subject for a whole different blog post, I would love to hear how you currently or plan to implement world of mouth into your business marketing plan? And if not, why not? Talk back and you can contribute to that post!

Journalist and good PR professionals know that great stories have three elements:

1. Differentiation
2. Emotion
3. Simplicity

Well TOMS Shoes knocks it out of the park in all three areas.

Founder Blake Mycoskie, who appeared on CBS's The Amazing Race ended up in Argentina where the local footwear and poverty inspired him to launch a TOMS Shoes.

So here's the story from TOMS Shoes website. Pay special attention to the mission - it captures all three of key elements of a great story.

"Inspired by a traditional Argentine shoe and challenged by the continent's poverty and health issues, I created TOMS with a singular mission: To make life more comfortable. TOMS accomplishes this through its unique shoe and my commitment to match every pair purchased with a donated pair to a child in need...no complicated formulas, it's simple...you buy a pair of TOMS and I give a pair to a child on your behalf."

I bought two pair, and recently received the following email from Shannon Douglas at TOMS Shoes

Dear TOMS Customer,

disclaimer: you will not when the rat race wearing TOMS.

I was one of 391 people included in the email distribution list.

Oh and by the way, I read about TOMS in Outside Magazine

Take a look at the shoes - Blake's right - they're simple. It's the story that sold me.

This indicates a shift in the way the business travel industry is doing business. They are catching on to the fact that if they don't disclose surcharges in a transparent manner, change policies, or provide other instances of inadequate or frustrating service, the bloggers will quickly relay the information. This viral spread of information can of course have quite a negative impact, especially among the tech-savvy business traveler demographic.

The article goes on to state that some business, such as Mariott International, have embraced the blogosphere and reach out to the bloggers in a consistent, not just reactionary, manner. Marriot asks bloggers to speak to their teams, attend press meetings, and offers them advance press info.

In addition, the company is doing something that we've stressed the importance of in several of our previous blog posts--they follow the buzz. There is an employee in the company whose job it is to monitor the blogophere and report back on the buzz. Marriot has also utilized bloggers as a way to quickly disseminate new plans. As one might imagine, the word spread within minutes.

Business travel bloggers have still not reached their potential in terms of influence, but it seems only a matter of time. As of yet, many have simply not had the time to blog, or else have not seen the immediate benefit. As more and more companies make it apparent that they are heeding the words of the business travel blogger, I think we will see an increasing number of bloggers.

I think that's great news. I am one of those people who often consults the opinions of the blogosphere regarding companies and products, and with the increasing power of business travel blogs, the industry will most likely have to stay honest and at least a little transparent in order to continue to flourish.

The important points taken away from the article are those that we have made all along to our corporate clients worried about entering online conversations, the most important being: transparency is not equal to full disclosure. There are certain corporate secrets, future-looking forcasts, and other sensitive data that should stay private. Many companies fear that having a blog and therefore a more personal voice means that they have to tell all.

In reality, transparency simply means taking an honest approach. It means not being afraid to monitor your reputation, or that of your competitor on your own, or through the use of services such as our Reputation Management system. It also means engaging in the online conversations BEFORE a crisis hits, so that your voice is more authentic, and the response from the online community more approving. As Todd notes, in an ideal world, "would see the blogger's post and draft a quick, apologetic, explanatory note that they could post on their own site; in the Comments section of this blogger's site; and that of any other online complainants."

Companies that embrace transparency will benefit tremendously in the long-run, as the blogosphere and other online communities are not to be discounted. These communities play a HUGE part in word of mouth transactions, and having a transparent online presence will go a long way in validating your actions.

1: Researching a Sector's Link-Worthiness
2: Discovery of 'Big' Players in Your Field -- do a search at Technorati with your keywords.
3: Targeting YDDS (Yahoo!, Digg, Del.icio.us/Popular, Slashdot)
4: Targeting Offline Media
5: Selecting a Content Focus
6: Melding Branding & Viral Elements
7: Targeting Keywords/Search Traffic
8: Look at Examples of 'Brilliants Ideas'
9: The Value of a 'Web 2.0' Look & Feel - "The look and feel oftentimes is critical."
10: Elements that Encourage Linking
11: Pre-Launch Public Relations
12: Managing Launch Traffic - "Be careful not to be suckered into a debate you don't really need to be part of."
13: Continuing to Get Value from Linkbait -"Update it with timely information."

Through viral marketing you can take advantage of the network effect of the internet and utilize online word-of-mouth in existing social networks (Digg.com, Del.icio.us). The goal of viral marketing is to increase brand awareness or generate buzz through online word-of-mouth (blogs) which is much cheaper and perceived as more credible than traditional advertising methods.

One recent example of how viral the blogosphere has become is the wildly popular, yet unreleased, movie Snakes on a Plane. In part due to the absurdly appealing title and ridiculous plot line, Snakes on a Plane has generated unprecedented internet buzz mainly through blogs. New Line Cinema even ordered a re-shoot to add scenes based on fan suggestions and an internet trailer spoof - user generated content has made its way to the big screen.

Check out our online video tutorials for more information on how to track your brand and the conversation surrounding it through resources such as Newsgator, Technorati and Del.icio.us.

Greg's 5 Tips from the WOMMA Blog are:
#1. Have a valid place in the conversation
#2. Use your voice and have an opinion
#3. Be relevant
#4. Be responsible
#5. Remember that it's a social phenomenon

But I would say there needs to be another tip (I know, WOMMA's format only allows for 5), and it should be the #1 Tip and that is Listening.

We often get too excited about talking and forget that the best conversationalists are the best listeners. Teaching someone to be a good listener is much harder than teaching them how to talk about what they know.

Listening takes patients, focus and attention. In the online world, listening also takes some technical skills too. One must set up an RSS reader, use scouts such as Technorati and Google Alters to find the conversation, understand blog comments and trackbacks to drive the conversation, analyze and interpret web analytics to understand behavior, and blog to capture the conversation.

The art of listening often overwhelms those trying to enter the conversation. This is why we work with our clients to customize the listening systems and analyze the conversation to ensure their online communications success.

For those interested in starting this on their own, we've created a set of DIY online video tutorials for Getting Started.

A sample of the study:
When asked how they make recommendations, 80% of consumers say they make them in-person, followed by 68% who say they make them over the telephone.

Why might this be? In my personal experience, the trusted relationships I have are with people I most frequently see in person, or regularly speak with on the phone. My local friend, family and loved ones. Yes we use email, but emotive discussions like a good restaurant often come up in face-to-face discussions or phone calls.

I just experienced the power of word of mouth. A new deli opened up in Boulder, Colo., and I went in to order a good bowl of matzo ball/chicken soup. Naturally I start talking to the owner, he says "This are going all right, once we get some more marketing and ads going we'll get more traffic and be able to survive." My first thought was to tell him to stop dumping money and get out now, because his deli will survive not on what ad he puts out there, but on what I'm going to tell my wife and the people I work with about how good the place is. So, I take the soup home, start eating it and it tastes like dirt. Absolutely terrible.

The next day I tell my wife, business partner and three other people that the food is marginal and soup is horrible. His problem is not marketing, it is his product. If he thinks marketing will sustain his bad product, he's wrong.

Yes marketing can drive traffic - direct mail offering a free sandwich, etc. But once people get there and have a bad, or uneventful experience, and tell someone they know about - it's game over. Conversely, if the experience is incredible, keep the marketing to get them there, and keep up the great service and word of mouth will be most valuable asset.