Bazaarvoice Summit Cliffnotes #3: Andy Sernovitz: Advertising is the Cost of Being Boring
July 18th, 2008 by Sam Decker | Chief Marketing Officer
This is the third in our series of key takeaways from some of the presentations and panel discussions offered at the Social Commerce Summit in May 2008.
Andy Sernovitz, founder of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and author of the book Word of Mouth Marketing, keynoted at our Social Commerce Summit, encouraging brands to give customers a reason to talk about your stuff. As Andy highlighted, marketing is what you do, not what you say.
To jump-start those word of mouth conversations on your site and beyond, Andy recommends the following 5 steps:
- Talkers – find the people who will talk
For each brand and product, your talkers will be different people. For the launch of the renowned Wynn in Las Vegas, the hotel invited the city’s cab drivers to stay free of charge for a weekend in order to spur conversations amongst Vegas’ most evangelical workforce. - Topics – give people a reason to talk
Ask yourself: “Would anybody tell a friend?” It is your job to make customers happy, and remember that happy customers are the best ads. - Tools – allow your talkers to share
Whether you deploy Ratings & Reviews, Ask & Answer, Stories, or some other social media tool, be sure to equip your customers with an easy way to share ideas and collaborate. - Taking Part – join the conversation
Reach out to your community, and participate and respond when necessary. - Tracking
No word of mouth campaign is worthwhile unless it can be measured and improved. Understand to what extent you are engaging your customers, and critically evaluate how you can continue to amplify those conversations.
