Word-of-mouth is storytelling—real customer experiences related by the real people that have them—and it influences up to 50% of purchase decisions today. Word-of-mouth becomes marketing (WOMM) when you harness the power of this inherent behavior, infuse it with intention, measure it, and use it to empower your brand. And in today’s social environment, doing so strategically is more important than ever.

1. How Customer Communities
Power Word-of-Mouth Marketing

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contents
1
Word-of-Mouth is Storytelling
2
Enter Social—WOMM on Steroids
4
Trust—The Essential WOMM Power Driver
5
Doing WOMM Right: Who, What and Where
7
Developing a WOMM Playbook
9
Measuring WOMM
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Word-of-Mouth
is Storytelling
The tendency to tell others about brand experiences that
Word-of-mouth is storytelling—real customer experiences
impress or enrage us is as old as human nature. “Word-of-
related by the real people that have them—and it influences up
mouth” is simply one person telling another a story—on or
to 50% of purchase decisions today. Word-of-mouth becomes
offline—about the experience they’ve had with your brand.
marketing (WOMM) when you harness the power of this
But not just any experience. They don’t talk about you when
inherent behavior, infuse it with intention, measure it, and use
you simply meet expectations. They talk about you when you
it to empower your brand. And in today’s social environment,
fail miserably or when you do something so spectacular it’s
doing so strategically is more important than ever.
unbelievable. Word-of-mouth is a double-edge sword for
brands—but when it’s positive, the results are exponential.
In our age of technology, it’s easy to forget that at the heart
of our smartphones, texting, liking, sharing, and social
What’s at stake? Brand perception, reputation, and customer
loyalty. All of which drive competitive advantage and are
crucial differentiators in today’s global marketplace.
conversations is the passion we have for communicating.
Simply, we need to tell our stories.
It’s important not to confuse WOMM with “viral marketing”—
strategically placed, corporate-produced videos, for example,
designed to generate massive brand exposure. While such
viral campaigns might be catchy or memorable to the
consumer, that they are corporate-produced messages
makes them very different from WOMM messages.
he story of
t
WOMM
the story
of
WOMM
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Enter Social—
WOMM on Steroids
ia.org
ped
ma
m
92% of consumers worldwide
trust recommendations
sour
ce:
from friends and family
wo
more than
any other form
of advertising –
66% of
up from 74% in 2007.
brand
mentions
are positive.
Gone are the days when a disgruntled customer’s influence
was confined to her immediate friends, family, and coworkers.
A letter to the editor of the local paper was the most
influential she could get. Today, one Tweet in the heat of
anger can reach millions across multiple social networks and
But while social media empowers customers like never
easily end up as a headline on Yahoo!News. This is the horror
before, it also causes consumers to be less trusting.
story brands fear most. Every customer is now a single force
Ironically, because so much information and opinion is
of global media who can spur countless conversations across
readily available, there are fewer fully trusted sources.
social media.
So what do consumers do in response? Turn to their own
trusted social networks.
The power paradigm has definitely shifted, but it’s not all
bad. Elated customers also Tweet and their messages across
This rise in distrust of advertising has seriously degraded its
social media are just as powerful and in fact more prevalent.
effectiveness, which by contrast, makes WOMM more valuable
Indeed, statistics show that most WOMM over social media
than ever. Brands with thoughtfully planned and executed
benefits brands.
WOMM strategies and campaigns win big.
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The Canon Forum accumulated over
5,100 registered users and 2.8MM
page views in its first 6 months.
BSkyB Community thread views are in
excess of 1.5 million per week.
Worse yet, the full extent of social initiatives for many brands
is a to put up a Facebook page and grab a Twitter handle
and hope for the best. And while the laggards continue to
struggle, savvy 21st century brands realize that the newly
empowered customers of today want more of them and from
them, and they’re becoming more adaptive.
How? By creating and owning their own social customer
So why don’t more brands move advertising dollars over to
WOMM initiatives? The truth is, brands stumble because
they believe that WOMM is too abstract and illusive to
control, measure, and manage. The inclination to avoid
“criticism” also plays in, as many brands prefer to turn a
blind eye rather than face what customers may be saying.
Further, when they do engage in social media conversations,
they typically do so to advance customer relationship
objectives, not marketing objectives.
communities organized around a common interest in the
brand and products. Unlike public social networks which are
organized around pre-existing interpersonal relationships,
customer communities serve as a hub of common interest
where customers share information, ask questions, and
problem-solve. Unlike communities on Facebook, Google+,
Twitter, and LinkedIn, owned social properties allow brands
to control, measure, and harness the full power of what their
customers are saying and sharing.
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Trust—The
Essential WOMM
Power Driver
Lack of consumer trust spells bad news for brands and the
tapping and leveraging all that trusted social content to
news today just keeps going from bad to worse. Consumer
influence purchase intent works very well—especially in the
trust, in fact, seems to be falling off the cliff—a paltry 10% say
early part of the buying cycle.
they trust brands today, down from 17% just last year. All this
lack of trust has enormous consequences for brands—53% of
consumers say they won’t buy from a company they don’t trust,
56% will openly criticize companies they don’t trust, and 30%
say they would share negative opinions online.1
Increasing lack of trust in brand messages drives consumers
to the people in their lives they trust most: friends and family.
This used to be referred to as “kitchen table talk”—meaning the
people you’d invite to your kitchen table tend to be the people
89%
of consumers say customer
testimonials are the most
effective content
81%
of consumers are influenced
by friends’ social media
posts
you trust the most. The concept still holds true today. Online
forums, discussion groups and social networks are chalk full
of kitchen-table talk, and those digital conversations have
enormous value for brands—because they’re trusted.
92% of consumers trust earned media—social media,
WOMM, recommendations from friends—above all
forms of advertising. source: Nielsen
By making UGC easier to push and more accessible than ever,
social media is already the most widely used content marketing
tool around.
25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest
brands are links to UGC. source: Socialnomics
Consumers share and seek opinions from their trusted circle
when they want recommendations for products and services
and when they fear making a purchasing mistake. Fueling,
70%
of consumers view online
customer reviews first when
considering a brand
sources: wommapedia.org, SocialTimes.com
And while there’s still no silver bullet when it comes to
WOMM, fanning the flames of trusted user-generated
content (UGC) comes awfully close. Organizations that put
trusted UGC at the heart of their online marketing efforts
reap enormous WOMM benefit.
75% of all new subscriptions for community-driven
UK-based CSP giffgaff are driven by WOMM.
The American Diabetes Association boosted organic
web traffic by 8x with trusted user-generated
community content.
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Doing WOMM
Right: Who, What
and Where
The most impactful WOMM comes from brand “influentials”or
superfans—highly trusted and highly credible consumers
with deep expertise around a product or service. These
highly active customers account for 10% of WOMM, but they
generate 3 to 5 times more WOM messages than their less
influential counterparts, and their messages have 4 times the
impact on purchasing decisions.2
Influentials or brand superfans are essential to a successful
WOMM strategy, and savvy brands often have serious
strategies for cultivating and nurturing them. The great news
is that in social communities, influential superfans are easy to
identify and cultivate.
WOMM and social communities are a match made in heaven
because both are all about engaging in conversations. They
can be noisy and crowded, but that’s what makes them also
relevant to more than just those who actively participate. Like
any community, online social communities are full of people
who listen and observe without saying a word. These silent
observers read reviews, view conversation threads, and form
opinions based on what they encounter.
What is said is just as important as who says it. The type of
content that consumers get excited about must provide true
value—it can be tangible or intangible, but it must deliver.
The most successful brands typically leverage three forms of
WOMM:
1. Experiential – the most powerful type, this results from
consumer’s direct experience with a product, service,
and brand. Up to 80% of WOMM is triggered by this
form.
2. Consequential – consumers are exposed to traditional
marketing campaigns and share the messaging with
others. (i.e., you run a commercial on TV for an earlybird sale; a consumer sees it and tells a friend.)
3. Intentional – you pay celebrities to endorse your brand
with the hope that it will trigger positive WOM. This form
can be tricky to measure because both the campaign
and the celebrity figure influence the level of WOM.3
The environment where WOMM occurs also matters greatly.
As mentioned, a Facebook page and a Twitter handle don’t
automatically lead to successful WOMM. Here’s why:
Public social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn are held
together by pre-established interpersonal relationships
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between individuals, like family, friends, classmates
members. Further, brands that build and own their own social
and colleagues. Those interpersonal relationships
communities have a direct influence over the level of WOMM
also mean there’s more initial trust in social networks
that transpires. With access to their brand’s top influencers,
than in communities.
and the ability to develop trust with consumers, they lay the
Unlike social networks, however, branded customer
key foundations for a successful WOMM strategy.
communities are held together by a common interest
While an owned social hub is a key part of a solid WOMM
around the brand, its products and services. The common
strategy, it’s important to remember that customer
element—the glue that keeps their community together—is
conversations around your brand and products will never
that they all care about the same thing: the shared interest
be limited to that social hub. Consumers will talk about
of their community. That communities are formed around
their experiences with your brand anywhere they choose,
common interest means there’s more initial relevance
which is why a WOMM strategy must include methods and
inside a community than in a social network—and that
technologies for monitoring, responding, and tracking off-
makes all the difference.
domain social communication as well as the ability to direct
the flow of traffic to your domain where you can have more
control and influence. There is a push-pull concept at play
here. On one hand, you want to push out content that will
positively get people talking, rippling out among many social
channels. On the other hand, you want to draw in negative
conversation to your own site, so that people come to you
directly with complaints and problems. Communities do both.
Why? Because it’s vastly easier to build trust than to create
relevance. Specifically, it’s easier to build trust within a
community that already has relevance, than it is to create
relevance within a social network that already has trust. One
of the biggest advantages of an owned customer community,
is that it naturally builds a sense of close-knit trust among
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Developing a
WOMM Playbook
WOMM messages must be trustworthy, credible, transparent
3. A strategy for engaging superfans. What matters
and valuable to influence consumer behavior. But before positive
to brand influentials, or superfans? Being seen as
WOMM can happen, brands have to get some major things
important in their own social network. Visibility. Getting
right. Word-of-mouth is based on the foundation of your existing
in early on beta testing. Being allowed to be an early
brand, customer service philosophy, and culture. Thoughtful,
adopter. Rewards. A social strategy that rewards
proactive planning is essential to avoid reactionary strategies.
achievements (discounts/perks for referrals, badges
Here are some must-haves for WOMM success:
1. A culture and training that generates a spectacular
customer experience. You have to be exceptional to
generate word-of-mouth (and remember, exceptionally
bad also generates it). To generate positive WOMM, you
need to make customers feel so valued and cared for
that they can’t help but share their story with others.
Remember, they won’t feel like
sharing when you just live up to your
brand promises or their expectations
for quality. Not only does customer
experience excellence help drive
WOMM, it benefits the business
enormously on the whole.
2. A social community and presence that engages,
for levels of sharing, etc.) allows people who value their
own influence to strive for higher levels of it on their
own. When you provide it—they deliver huge value to
your WOMM efforts by creating sharable content.
BSkyB community superfan Annie+UK has read ~90% of
community posts, responded to over 2,750 customers,
and spent 13,584 hours working on community
inquiries—equal to 7 full-time staff members.
Spotify community member HAMMEH-UK has created
over 6,100 posts in 6 months and spent 115,000 minutes
in the community helping other members.
You also want to remember to engage superfans
voluntarily to ward off the appearance of “buying them
off” (a hint of that will shatter trust instantly). A focus
respects, and provides value. Customers expect you
on intrinsic rewards—things like autonomy, mastery,
to be online. They want real-time responses and they
relatedness and purpose—works better than a focus
are counting the minutes it takes you to respond to
on extrinsic rewards. Take the time to figure out which
an inquiry or comment. You need a social team that
rewards matter to influential superfans and create
is trained to represent the brand and empowered to
avenues for them to attain those rewards.
deliver high-quality interactions before you can leverage
a WOMM campaign.
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4. High value, helpful content. It’s not enough just to
announce a sale and expect everyone to shout it from
the rooftops. Social community members want trusted,
high value, helpful content. Remember, they’re seeking
out those rare places they can find trust these days,
and your social community needs to be one of them.
This means you do your homework and learn (hint: ask)
what matters most to your customers. The features/
benefits/rewards that you think should matter may not
to them. Social communities are known for their ability
to innovate and drive product development—so tap into
your members for their insight. Then provide them
content that they cherish.
As you develop content for WOMM, remember that the
full standard of consumer behavior still applies. People
still love a bargain, they talk about features and benefits,
and they react to content that sparks strong emotion.
People want to feel good, and your messaging can do
just that. Add value to their daily lives, to their dreams
and aspirations, to their faith in humanity, and at the
same time, you’ll increase loyalty and sharing.
These are just a few of the essentials for a smart WOMM
strategy. As with any strategy, there are also pitfalls to avoid.
1. Keep it Above Board. Brands need to be mindful that in
WOMM there is no room for gimmicks or the slightest
hint of manipulation. Social communities expect brands
to be honest and genuine in every representation and
communication. Regulated industries, such as financial
services and healthcare, are under legal obligation to
keep things visibly above board.
2. Transparency is key. Be clear, open, and honest. If you
engage with bloggers, for instance, make sure that you
obviously disclose any relationship that blogger has
with your brand. People know that a brand’s ultimate
intention is to sell products and services, they get
that. But they will not tolerate being tricked, lied to, or
misled. They’re suspicious and constantly looking for
ways to decrease their vulnerability, so transparency is
extremely important for maintaining trust. Consumers
expect to be treated with respect, to be heard, and to
engage with real humans, not feel as if they’re engaging
with a corporate entity, or worse yet, a technology.
5. Use the lure of virtual items to spark WOMM. With
gamification, you can create virtual items that keep
people engaged, playing, and interacting with your
brand messages. We’ve all seen the popularity of games
like Candy Crush – think of the market exposure this
game would have it were owned and driven by a brand.
Gamification can use virtual to drive sharing and the
sense of reward that social community members crave.
What about negative WOM Messages?
People are willing to forgive brands for mistakes IF the brand
responds to public complaints or criticisms with honesty, authenticity and transparency. It’s crucial to have a game plan in
place before negative WOM messages make it into the marketplace—because they will. Careful, thoughtful, respectful,
humble responses are just as visible to the watching public as
complaints. By responding well, you have the opportunity to
take a negative situation and actually create positive WOMM
for your brand.
As you mindfully plan your WOMM strategy, incorporate
tactics and messaging that position you as genuine, trusted,
and credible.
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Measuring WOMM
The bane of word-of-mouth marketing has been the
have variables that create greater or lesser WOMM impact. By
perception that you can’t measure it. Up against traditional,
utilizing equity metrics to gauge the effect WOMM has on brand
proven marketing methods, marketers have shied away from
and product performance, marketers can determine what’s
quantifying WOMM’s impact on the bottom line. No longer.
driving or impairing word-of-mouth among their consumers.
WOMM is measurable. Some brands have discovered that
Brands are able to measure the value of excitement and not
by seeing WOMM as a form of media, it becomes a form of
just sales. They are also able to predict who will generate
content, and they apply proven content management and
more sales. For example, one retailer’s WOMM metrics
metrics to it. As technology evolves, WOMM-specific metrics
revealed that Ipad users were a small percentage of their
have also evolved.
customer base, but that they would spend twice as much as
3
McKinsey has developed “WOM Equity Metrics” – a process
of indexing a brand’s power to generate messages that
other customers. Metrics allowed them to hone in and target
this group as Influentials.
influence the consumer’s decision to purchase. The goal is to
As social communities transform how brands do business,
understand how and why messages work so that marketers
engaging and driving measurable WOMM is becoming
can create a coordinated, consistent response that reaches
increasingly important, and an inherent part of how social
the right people with the right content in the right setting.4
communities work. Word-of-mouth is happening all the
Word-of-mouth equity represents the average sales impact of
time—your job is to get in the game.
a brand message multiplied by the number of word-of-mouth
messages. By looking at the impact and volume of messages,
resources
marketers can test their effect on sales for brands, individual
1.
campaigns, and across the enterprise. This equity consists
Trust in Business Falling as Consumers Demand Greater Regulation,
MarketingWeek
2.
A New Way to Measure Word of Mouth Marketing, McKinsey & Co.
3.
ibid
4.
Unlocking the Elusive Potential of Social Networks, McKinsey & Co.
of what’s said, who says it, and where it’s said. All of which
About Lithium Technologies: Lithium social software helps companies unlock the passion of their customers. Lithium powers amazing social customer experiences
for more than 300 iconic brands including AT&T, BT, BestBuy, Indosat, Sephora, Skype and Telstra. The 100% SaaS-based Lithium Social Customer Experience™
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