Chitter-Chatter: Using Your Mouth to Spread the Word

Steve Barton

President
WOM UK

Steve Barton advocates the use of word of mouth marketing in an ever-changing consumer environment and discusses the benefits WOM UK offers in developing the industry.

Each of us receives more than 3,000 messages a day. There is as much information in a weekday issue of the New York Times as a 17th century man in England would have come across in his entire lifetime. From the moment we wake up, to the moment we sleep, we are constantly being bombarded with messages trying to convince us of the best ways to spend our time and money. This has led to a feeling of information anxiety, with many of us now unsure of who to trust and what to believe. So what do we do? We turn to our friends and ask simply, “I don’t know what to do. What do you recommend?” This is what we call word of mouth (WOM). And we are turning to WOM to help us make purchase decisions more often – 92% of the time versus 67% of the time in 1977.
 
What’s new? 

It’s always existed! We have all practised word of mouth all our lives. The difference now is that brands are using marketing investment to generate more WOM, faster and better. Many agencies and brands now deliver campaigns that are specifically designed to generate advocacy, which has led to the emergence of a practise we call word of mouth marketing (WOMM). It’s growing quickly too. US WOMM spend reached $981 million in 2006 (a jump of 36%) and surpassed $1 billion in 2007, with an annual growth rate of 30%+ forecast through to 2010. 

Changing consumers 

What is behind all of this? Several things have changed in the last five years to create an environment within which WOMM has grown exponentially: media fragmentation, a greater need for measurable return for brands and, perhaps the most important, the development of technology and the social media. It’s no secret that the environment we live and work in is changing at a tremendous pace. Whether it is MySpace, Twitter, SMS or Facebook’ing, new products and services with more functions and applications are being offered to consumers faster and harder than ever before, but now the consumer is evolving too. 

Success in today’s marketplace means being prepared for people to be talking openly about a product, service or even just an experience. Two-way dialogue, consumers talking to consumers, has always occurred in the pub, the post office queue and around the water cooler in the office. But now blogs, chat forums and social networking sites allow the consumer to express their negative or positive opinion faster, easier and wider than ever. Many companies have already adapted their communications strategy to embrace WOM and have developed methodologies that can measure its effects on brand awareness and sales. 

Number’s talk 

It wouldn’t be growing the way it is if it wasn’t working. WOMM campaigns are reaching as many as 63 times the number of people initially contacted, something that most traditional media are simply not structured to achieve. In addition, a study by the LSE that looked at a range of industries across the UK showed that a 7% increase in word of mouth advocacy unlocks 1% additional company growth. It pays to have people saying good things about you. 

A new study released by Weber Shandwick across four European markets reveals that, “across Europe, consumers are on average five times more likely to be prompted to purchase a particular brand as a result of Brand Advocacy than they are by advertising,” (Richard Moss, EVP Europe). This European Advocacy Study was conducted with Paul Marsden, previously of Enterprise LSE. The research identified that, on average, one-third of brand users were acquired through WOM with it being as important in high-priced categories such as cars, as it was for lower-priced categories such as alcoholic spirits. 

Case Study: Dubit 

Dubit, a youth research and communications agency, widely uses WOM marketing and understands its benefits in achieving results. Dubit was tasked to help position Fanta as a fun youth-orientated brand amongst 16 year olds online. To communicate with such a niche audience Dubit had to be very specific with where it positioned the communication. “Peer to peer would allow us to seed messages amongst a core of the target market who would then be incentivised to communicate this to their peers,” explained Dubit director Robin Hilton. 

“The results were very positive. The team pushed 20,473 unique users to the micro-site. More than 8,000 MySpace bulletins were sent and 150,000 young people were reached over the period of the campaign. This campaign highlights how WOM marketing can really work,” said Hilton. 

Case Study: BuzzAgent 

Further evidence for the importance of WOM marketing comes from BuzzAgent, one of the first companies entirely dedicated to WOM. It helps companies to accelerate and measure honest, real-world conversations amongst consumers. BuzzAgent volunteers act as WOM evangelists for products they believe in. “Since 2006 BuzzAgent volunteers have generated more than 60 million conversations focused on the 150+ brands and services they’ve experienced in that time,” commented Commercial Director Lyndon Gasking. 

Ethical standards 

This does, however, beg a question. In this world where everyone can become an ‘influencer’, how do we know that we are receiving the right information? What happens when people recommend things because they are being paid rather than because they believe in the product? How do we know if it isn’t someone from the agency or brand pretending to be something they’re not in user generated content? Without integrity and without protection, WOM can be misused by unscrupulous brands and marketers. This is where WOM UK, the word of mouth association for the UK, and its members play a role. Every member of WOM UK agrees to uphold ethical standards in the work they produce when they become a member. We see it as our role to bring in standards, maintain integrity, encourage best practice, and develop the WOM skill base so that the business flourishes in the UK. 

WOM UK 

WOM UK is here to guide, steer and oversee the industry via manageable guidelines, to try and make sure that people get genuine opportunities to exchange communication and to share ideas on products or services. If we do this well, then we all win. Brands. Marketers. Consumers. 

As proof of our ambition, WOM UK is now in alliance with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry, founded in the US. This alliance will promote the furthering of best practices, research and measurement, and ethics in both Europe and the United States, while respecting the unique relationships that exist between marketers and consumers in both arenas. The three key areas of focus for the association are ethics, skills development and growing of the industry by ensuring best practice. If you would like to play a role in this please visit www.womuk.org.