Johnnie Moore

Some Gradgrindian hard facts on word-of-mouth..

Johnnie Moore

Johnnie Moore

I’m Johnnie Moore, and I help people work better together

I pointed to this discussion thread [corrected link see comments below] about Word of Mouth the other day. I wanted to share Paul Marsden‘s contribution here.

Skeptic says – “‘WOM’ IS just a buzz phrase just keeps consultants in employment. Clients like me need real facts and need to use proper, paid for communications.”

Hello Skeptic person – so you’ve obviously read the Deutsche Bank study that shows that only 14% of ‘proper paid for communications’ (mass marketing) show a positive return on investment.

And you’ve no doubt read that in the UK – word of mouth recommendation rates actually predict revenue growth (validated in the banking, supermarkets, phone network and car manufacturing sectors) – whereas the amount you spend on ‘proper paid for communications’ don’t.

And you know, of course, that because positive WOM is the consequence of delivering an experience above expectations – it means its the ultimate acid test in marketing. You can’t hype and spin your way out of mediocrity when it comes to WOM – you have to deliver a superior product or service experience.

Tough medicine for marketers who reduce their discipline to doing ads.

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