The 36 Reasons Why We Word of Mouth

TheThe 3636 Reasons Why PeopleReasons Why People

Word of MouthWord of Mouth

© Agent Wildfire Inc. - 2007

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=bzzagent-20&path=tg/detail/-/0316316962/qid=1038774779/sr=8-1

Les 36 raisons pourquoi – WOM – The 36 Reasons Why

Word of Mouth - A Higher Form of Marketing ValueWord of Mouth - A Higher Form of Marketing Value


DifferentBrandStories

DifferentApproachTo Market

DifferentAudience

DifferentTactics

DifferentCommun--ication

DifferentOutputs/Measures

Setting WOM Wildfires - A Distinct Marketing ApproachSetting WOM Wildfires - A Distinct Marketing Approach


To Survive

To Connect

To Make Sense of the World

To Reduce Risk & Uncertainty

To Benefit Economically

To Relieve Tension

Six Core Human Instincts on Why We TalkSix Core Human Instincts on Why We Talk


Word of mouth is the most persuasive influence on sales

Word of mouth is the fastest growing marketing vehicle

Word of mouth is the most trusted of 15 influences

One influencer has 182 word of mouth conversations weekly

Still Need Convincing?Still Need Convincing?


The Need to Engage/Affilia

te

The Need to Create

The Need to Share

Agent Wildfire - Tapping The Customer’s Three RolesAgent Wildfire - Tapping The Customer’s Three Roles


Word Of

Mouth

Category&

BrandAttributes

WOMStory & Idea

WOMExperienc

e & Engage-

ment

WOMTools

To Spread

Influential Audience

= CB X SI EE T ICIIX X X

Agent Wildfire’s Word of Mouth Success FormulaAgent Wildfire’s Word of Mouth Success Formula


New Stuff- Brands/Products/Initiatives/Services

- Audiences/Unmet Needs/Benefits

Interesting Stuff - Compelling Org./Brand/Product Story - Edgy, Intimate, Authentic,

Remarkable

Complex/Expensive Stuff - Benefit(s) Requiring Credibility - Benefit Needs Experience/

Explanation

Everyday Stuff - Things We Frequently

Buy/Use/Consume - Simple Pleasures/Problem Solvers

Passion-Based or Connoisseur Stuff

- A Natural Influencer Audience - Hobby/Leisure/Taste-Driven Pursuit

Category and Brand Situational SweetspotsCategory and Brand Situational Sweetspots


Online - Passalong EffectsOnline - Passalong Effects

Frequency:- 89% share content via email- 65% weekly- 25% daily

Scope:- 75% more than 6 people at a time- Influencers – 13 people at a time

Source: Sharpe Partners/Burston Martsteller

*Reminder:- more than 80% of word of mouth is in person


What We Buzz AboutWhat We Buzz About

Reasons to Forward an Email:

Humour: 78%A Recommendation 50%

Involve in a Competition 49%Earn yourself Benefits 15%

Raise money for a charity 15%Sex 11%

Make you feel appreciated 10%Join a Petition 10%

Embarrass them 10%

Source: Sharpe Partners/Burston Martsteller


Which Flavour of Word of Mouth Would You Choose?…Which Flavour of Word of Mouth Would You Choose?…


Word of Mouth FlavoursWord of Mouth Flavours

• Product seeding/intervention• Influencer/ambassador programs• User generated content/media• Viral Advertising/Marketing• Advergaming/virtual worlds• Experiential marketing• Buzz/guerrilla marketing• Grassroots/Cause marketing• Social media (blogs, podcasts)• Social Networks• Brand Communities


Why We Word of Mouth?Why We Word of Mouth?


Three Basic Reasons Why Ideas SpreadThree Basic Reasons Why Ideas Spread

“It’s Who They Are” “It’s What You Do” “It’s Who You Are”

10 Audience Attributes 15 Buzz Firestarters 11 Inescapable Traits


The 36 Reasons Why People Word of MouthThe 36 Reasons Why People Word of Mouth

It’s because

of them

It’s because of

what you provide

It’s because of

who you are

#1 - Passionate about the topic

#2 - Logo Lovers

#3 – Knowledge Seekers

#4 - Social Brokers

#5 – Altruism

#6 – Involved/Committed

#7 – Feedback Seekers

#8 – Ego-driven

#9 – Reciprocity Dealers

#10 – Self-Expression

#11 – Social Currency

#12 – Brand Experience(s)

#13 – Fame

#14 – VIP Treatment/Customization

#15 – Scarcity

#16 – Influence

#17 – Intimacy

#18 – Visibility

#19 – Tight Boundaries

#20 – Rallying Cause

#21 – Rewards

#22 – Expertise

#23 – Bite-Sized Participation

#24 – Network Effects

#25 – Memes

#26 - Innovative

#27 –Remarkable/ Outrageous

#28 – The Best at What You Do

#29 – Authentic

#30 – Liberating/ Problem Solving

#31 - Edgy

#32 – Trustworthy

#33 – Likable

#34 – Easy to Talk About

#35 – Ritualistic

#36 - Sensory


“A small percentage of your audience is responsible

for a majority of your word of

mouth” The 20-10-1 Influencer RuleIn most markets, your audience comprises of:

20% - Referrers, 10% - Advocates, 1% - Zealots

I. It’s Who They Are – The 20-10-1 RuleI. It’s Who They Are – The 20-10-1 Rule


The Law of The Few: “The answer is that the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with

a particular and rare set of social gifts.” Malcolm Gladwell, the Tipping Malcolm Gladwell, the Tipping PointPoint

The Influencers – Word of Mouth PowerbrokersThe Influencers – Word of Mouth Powerbrokers


The Influencers – 6 ArchetypesThe Influencers – 6 Archetypes

16% of Influencers“Message Starters”

6% of Influencers“Message Radar”

16% of Influencers“Message Sellers”

36% of Influencers“Message Credibility”

6% of Influencers“Message Magnets”

19% of Influencers“Message Spreaders”


The Who

It’s because

of them


#2 - Logo Lovers


#4 - Social Brokers

#5 – Altruistic



#8 – Ego-driven


#10 – Self-Expressives


#1 - Passionate About The Topic#1 - Passionate About The Topic

• Insider’s Guide to Style -daily email service providing the scoop to what's hot, new, and undiscovered

• Trend-savvy Audience

• Spread - started from 700 initial members, now counts 1.2 million subscribers across 12 major cities

• Takeaway – “Know Thyself & Find Your Clique” – distinctive voice– same friendly character– focus on the reader experience– consistent flow of content


#2 - Logo Lovers#2 - Logo Lovers

• Tattoo-worthy – David vs. Goliath

– Pop Culture Participant

- Grassroots Philosophy & Practice - “Put yourself in the mind set of the person on the street and what's important to them." - Provide variety- Find out what their customers think

about proposed new products - Involve their customers with social

causes.

• Takeaway – “Embrace your customers – make your brand a lifestyle statement”



• The Marketplace Authority - expert, independent non-profit with the mission to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace

• “Test, Inform, Protect” Mission - to empower all consumers to protect themselves, influencing millions of experts and purchases

• Valuable Information – 4 million members and the largest website with paying subscribers in the U.S. (+1 million)

• Takeaway – “Be the Authority” - maintained lofty and strict standards


#4 - Social Brokers#4 - Social Brokers

• Like Attracts Like - a private community where you grow a network of mutual friends, show off your personality and popularity

• Social Media Juggernaut - now has 100+ million users

• Be in My Black Book – started with well-connected Hollywood types 4 years ago to become the 2nd most trafficked website and the place to

• Takeaway – “Wire Up for Sharability” make it easy for others to join and catch up


#5 - Altruism – Helping/Educating Peers#5 - Altruism – Helping/Educating Peers

• Altruistic Philosophy - the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit

• The Powerful Few - Started in 2001, now has over 1,300,000 articles, a majority of the articles developed by less than 1% of its readers

• Community Camaraderie – “We've got to respect each other, because we are each other's editors”

• Takeaway - “Establish a Shared Goal” - to create a huge, high-quality free encyclopedia


#6 - Involved & Committed#6 - Involved & Committed

• Politically Concerned Audience - makes it possible for people to fight against the infuriating things that they see either destroying or about to destroy their country

• Internet Efficiency + Face to Face Volunteerism

• The Opinion Leading 1% of the Population - counts 3.3 million U.S. citizens as members, 69% of members are considered Influentials

• Takeaway – “Become a Two Way Media/Get Commitment Upfront” – amplify involvement by using a “Strong Vision/Big Ears” approach


#7 - Feedback Seekers #7 - Feedback Seekers

• Self-discovery and social network - tapping scientific research into many areas of human behavior –career, relationships, intelligence, finances, sexuality, health

• Expert Validation - provide access to insights hidden within academic institutions to the average person.

• My Heritage – family network promoting through visual recognition celeb. look alike tool

• Takeaway: “Provide expert or fun validation of opinions”


#8 - Ego Driven#8 - Ego Driven

• Community-Driven - digg is a user-driven social content website, everything on digg is submitted by the digg user community

• Peer Voted Fame - other digg users read your submission and digg what they like best. If your story rocks and receives enough diggs, it is promoted to the front page for the millions of digg visitors to see

• Star Power - the top 100 Digg users control 56% of Digg's frontpage content

• Rising Social Media Star - launched in late 2004, now has 400,000 registered Digg users

• Takeaway - “Feed and Profile Your Front Row”


#9 – Reciprocity Dealers#9 – Reciprocity Dealers

• Clear Deal - in return for driving their web traffic, Amazon immediately pays out in either gift vouchers (to be spent in the store), cheque or direct deposit

• Only as Good as The Company You Keep - owns one of the largest and most successful online affiliate programs, with over 1,000,000 members worldwide.

• Incentive-driven traffic - you can earn more than 10 percent in referral fees.

• Takeaway: “You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours”


#10 – Self-Expressives#10 – Self-Expressives

• Users (illustrators and amateurs) may submit t-shirt designs online, which are then put to a public vote.

• A small percentage of submissions are selected to be printed and sold through the online store. Creators of the winning designs receive cash.

• Takeaway:

“Give Your Creatives a Stage”


It’s because of

what you provide



#13 – Fame


#15 – Scarcity

#16 – Influence

#17 – Intimacy

#18 – Visibility


#20 – Rallying Cry

#21 – Rewards

#22 – Expertise



#25 – Memes

The WhatThe What


#11-Social Currency – The Inside Scoop#11-Social Currency – The Inside Scoop

• An Insider Destination - “…the national go-to spot for keeping up with the rich and scandalous, the media elite and the pop-culture trends of the moment." [New York Times]

• Don’t be Left Out - "Everyone who is anyone in chic Manhattan is reading gawker.com -- or should be." [New York Daily News]

• Juicy Content - a must-read for the inside scoop on celebrity trash, and bitchy gossip, introduced Gawker Stalker – a map of celebrity sitings in New York

• Takeaway – “Dish Up and Share What’s Under the Hood”


#11 - Social Currency – Ahead of The Mainstream#11 - Social Currency – Ahead of The Mainstream

• Trendy - Europe’s leading fashion retailer - reflect the very latest international trends.

• Tough to Imitate - fashion panache and selection at unbeatable prices. Move onto the next trend before you can be copied at a lower price.

• Pent Up Demand -selected H&M stores offered an exclusive collection by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, it sold out within an hour; repeated with a sell-out collection by Stella McCartney in 2005

• Takeaway:“Stay ahead of the curve”


#12 - Brand Experience#12 - Brand Experience

• Masters of Coffee - 1,000 baristas file through a 10 seminar series Illy University of Coffee – 14 master baristas graduated last year

• Quality Fanaticism - 114 quality control checks with an intensive culture of innovation into coffee – “an espresso requires 50 coffee beans and only one bad one can ruin the whole cup”

• A Mark of Excellence - “Every coffee shop in New York that proudly displays the 'illy' sign promises to offer not just a great cup of coffee, but an experience. It's a pride in coffee, in the flavor and the memories of a European excursion. It's the recognition that you could take it to go, but it just wouldn't be as fun.”

• Takeaway:“The Details Matter, Substance Triumphs Style”


#13 - Fame - Jones Soda#13 - Fame - Jones Soda

• Consumer driven to the max –– Labels are submitted by customers– Flavour choices are reviewed by customers– My Jones – personalized batch production– Product/format customer-driven innovation ideas

–Jones Map – a locator for their most zealous 3,000+ customers

• Cult following, from customers to employees

• Slave to the people - from Peter van Stolk “people don’t need our s---, people get fired up about Jones because it’s theirs.”

• Grassroots success - Innovation lab anointed Jones Soda the brand of the future

• Takeaway – “Shine the light on your customers”


#14 – VIP Treatment – Exclusive Access#14 – VIP Treatment – Exclusive Access

• Desirable Added Value - second most important cardholder benefit

• Fashion Example: American Express Holt Renfrew Platinum Card - receive priority access to limited- and special-edition Holt Renfrew items and members-only events

• Club Example - American Express provides "GET:IN for IN:NYC Cardmembers," providing Cardmembers and up to three guests immediate access to skip to the front of the line at some of New York's most popular clubs and lounges

• Takeaways: Establish “I Have It, You Don’t” Appeal


#14 – VIP Treatment - Customization#14 – VIP Treatment - Customization

• A Personalized Classic - order M&M's with your very own custom-printed messages on them

• Options, Options - Choose your color(s), compose your message, and indicate your quantity (a 1/2-pound bag is $11.25)

• An Emotional Lovemark - the most popular messages-to-date - "I love you Grandpa" and "Will you marry me?“

• Personalized Avatar

• Takeaway: “Tap a market of one”


#15 - Scarcity#15 - Scarcity

• By referral only

• Develop pent-up demand and enthusiasm

• Takeaway:

“Create a lineup, tighten supply”


#16 - Influence#16 - Influence

- Community Build - Customer Innovators and Lugnuts user group community

- User Collaboration - Collaborated and created demand for 40,000 high end units called Mindstorms at $199, built with no advertising

- Different Rungs - community has multiple levels of involvement and feedback to the company:

- Certified Professionals – experts who work directly with LEGO employees

- Ambassadors – a rotating set of 22 hardcore global fans

- Lego Leagues – a kids community- Local Fan Clubs/Auction Sites

- Takeaway “- “Crowdsource And Harness Skills of

Zealots”


#17 - Intimacy – Love/Transparency#17 - Intimacy – Love/Transparency

• More than a Doll - “An educational toy young girls love, providing empowerment and knowledge for pre-teen girls.”

• Daughter Loved/Mom Approved - moms feel good about dropping a lot of cash on low-tech, wholesome Americana

• The Anti-Barbie - American Girl doesn't push girls to act older,‘ they are the chosen talisman against unwanted precocity

• Takeaway: “Have a set of values, show them at all touchpoints”


#18 – Visibility – Halo 2 - I Love Bees - #18 – Visibility – Halo 2 - I Love Bees -

• Cross-media game that deliberately blurred the line between in-game and out-of-game experiences.

• Websites thought to be involved with the game

• Unexpected phone calls

• Seeded Plastic honey bear jars

• Halo 2 trailers at theatres flashed a link to ilovebees.com

• Takeaway: “Don’t Just Rely on the Web, Be Everywhere”


#19 – Tight Boundaries#19 – Tight Boundaries

• Dating/flirting site

• By invitation only

• Keep the tribe pure

• Takeaway:

“Let the castle door open slowly”


#20 Rallying Cry – Mozilla Firefox#20 Rallying Cry – Mozilla Firefox

• Firefox is an open source, peer-to-peer marketing pioneer with 10% of global net users

• Firefox CEO states “we want users to feel involved from the very beginning and not to be controlling.. When users get involved, something magical happens”

• A volunteer network of 175,000 community users have participated in a wide range of activities: – DefendFirefox.com– “For the Record’ SWAT team

• Takeaway:“Build cultish devotion”


#21 – Rewards - WebKinz#21 – Rewards - WebKinz

• My Space for Kids

• Real Toy, Virtual Experience

• Intrinsic & Extrinsic Rewards

• Positive and Negative Incentives

• Takeaway:

“Word of mouth is not a democracy - reward different levels of participation”


#22 Share Expertise – Intuit Quickbooks#22 Share Expertise – Intuit Quickbooks

• Set up a blog/forum to communicate with & learn from their 35,000 customers and full audience

• Operates a Team Beta to help launch new software with 1,000 customer testers

• 67 significant changes were made to Quickbooks 2006 based on customer feedback

• Takeaway:

“Let your users take your knowledge and then listen”


#23 – Bite-Sized Participation#23 – Bite-Sized Participation

• Small things lead to big things

• Give something free to get something back– Free preview– Limited Time/Use– Basic version


#24 – Network Effects#24 – Network Effects

• The more people involved, the better it is for everybody

• The value of the marketplace to a new user is proportional to the number of other users in the market

• Web marketplaces and social networks

• Takeaway:

“Deliver benefits with expansion”


#25 - Memes#25 - Memes

• Meme: “A unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.”

• People are talking about it in discussion groups and millions of people are caught up in the power of “Evolution”

• Takeaway:

“Have Something Important to Say, Make It Repeatable”


It’s because of

who you are

#26 - Innovative



#29 – Authentic


#31 - Edgy

#32 – Trustworthy

#33 – Likable


#35 – Ritualistic

#36 - Sensory


Something with which you personally associate 25.7%Innovative 22.5%

Exciting 13.1%

Solves problems 11.0%

Easy to talk about 9.9%New 8.0%

Newsworthy 2.9%Exclusive 2.7%

Other 2.7%

Fashionable 1.3%

Agent Wildfire Research

What Makes Stuff Word of Mouth-Able?What Makes Stuff Word of Mouth-Able?


#26 - Innovative/Novel#26 - Innovative/Novel

• Founder’s Story - James Dyson and his 5 year journey, rejection by all the big manufacturers and 5,127 prototype investment, to build the world's first cyclonic bagless vacuum

• Superior Vacuum Cleaner - uncompromising functionality, great design and aspirational purchase

• Clear Suction Benefit – strong enough to collect the finest particles of dust—even microscopic particles such as cigarette smoke—without clogging

• Runaway Success - Now a $1 billion company with prices at double the standard prices of a vacuum cleaner

• Takeaway:“Be different/look different”


#27 - Remarkable/Outrageous#27 - Remarkable/Outrageous

• Underdog brand built on the back of word of mouth, PR and internet, stylish stunts, outdoor advertising and interesting we promotions i.e. customizable bumper stickers with your own messages

• 19,000 members of the Mini2 fan club

• 3,300 participants in the Mini Takes The States Cross Country Rally – over 400 people will get their new Minis on the start or end of the 15 day, 19 state rally

• Over 800,000 cars sold in the last 5 years since its reintroduction; highest resale percentage value of any cars

• Takeaway:“Get noticed and talked about”


#28 - The Best At What It Does#28 - The Best At What It Does

• High End Velo Greatness - Canadian cycling success story in high performance bikes

• Competitive Focus - Started in 1995 in Toronto, with the mission “to help our customers win races”

• Radical Pushing of the Rules - engineering led-philosophy helped produce bikes with competitive edge, now the:

– Official bike of the top cycling team in the world (Team CSC) – pushed them form #14 in 2002 to #1 in 2006

– The winningest bike in Ironman Triathlon history– The best selling time trial bike in the world

• Rising Success - 34th fastest growing company in Canada with $11 million in sales, a 1276% five year growth rate

• Takeaway:“Push the Envelope on Performance”


#29 - Authentic#29 - Authentic

• Unique Product Ingredient - Performance wear product focus based on 100% merino, a marked advancement over traditional wool

• Leapfrog Benefit - “the most comfortable, warmest and certainly the coolest looking stuff to ever come off the back of a sheep”

• Provenance

• Authenticity - searches for the best technology, ethical manufacturing, and environmentally sound practices before it completes its product transformation into a hand-made Icebreaker

• Takeaway:“Be true to yourself”


#30 - Liberating/Solves Problems#30 - Liberating/Solves Problems

• Everyday Problem Solver - Canada’s Most Word of Mouthable Product (Dec’05)

• True Innovation - 2004 Grand Prix innovation of the Year

• Improves Lives - “I absolutely love the Magic Eraser and it's amazing ability to clean. Since it has made it's appearance in my home I've become a cleaning machine that spends a fraction of the time on cleaning, and with better results to boot!”

• Takeaway:Erase Consumer/User Pain Visibly


#31 - Edgy/Cool/Trendy#31 - Edgy/Cool/Trendy

• The Anti-Marketer – a scarce icon of the dissenting protest, shabby chic and fringe mentality

• Alt-Culture Adoption - bike messengers in pockets of different cities have turned the brand prospects around and acted as the grassroots brand vanguard

• Defending the Cause - Rebound originally started as a real or imagined rallying cry amongst its advocates that PBR might go out of business

• Takeaway:“Find an edge, let consumers hijack it”


#32 - Trusted#32 - Trusted

• A Canadian Icon - Tim Hortons, the best managed brand in Canada (52% ranking)

• The Leader - Tim's has 23% of the Canadian fast food market, 62% of the coffee market

• Ubiquitous - has 2,625 outlets in Canada (and one now in Afghanistan), has managed to double revenues per store over the last decade,

• Part of the culture - has coined "Double, Double" as a part of the Canadian lexicon

• Takeaway:“Consistently deliver”


#33 - Likable#33 - Likable

• Rabid Customer Evangelism - “Make the whole world a library! BookCrossing is something unique and revolutionary. Our world should know about it!”

• Humble Roots/A Great Cause - free online book club, the first and only of its kind - millions of book reviews and hundreds of thousands of passionate readers

• A Connection to Books - “A brand exercise in fate, karma, or whatever you want to call the chain of events that can occur between two or more lives and one piece of literature.”

• Takeaway: “Be a Brand Friend”


#34 - Easy to Talk About - Nike#34 - Easy to Talk About - Nike

• Joga/Touch of Gold/Join the Chain

• Easy - Catch a pass from the left, juggle the ball anyway you like, and them kick it off screen to the right.

• Engaging - connects countries, generates buzz and allows consumers to build something remarkable

• Takeaway:“Create and Seed a Simple Idea/Let Consumer Own It”


#35 – Ritualistic – Rock, Paper & Scissors#35 – Ritualistic – Rock, Paper & Scissors

• Created a cult population of Rock, Paper, Scissors

• Player profiler, Strategy Guide, Museum, Advanced RPS– summary of the most common abstract

meanings of the throws:Rock - Power, Strength,

Aggression, NaturePaper - Passivity, Stealth, Wisdom (money sometimes as well),

LiteracyScissors - Deviousness, Ingenuity, Evil, Technology

• Takeaway:“Create your own code, behavior and talk points shared by your members”


#36 – Sensory – Daily Dose of Imagery#36 – Sensory – Daily Dose of Imagery

• Visually arresting photo posted each day

• One of the most powerful photoblogs in the world

• Takeaway:“Make It Look, Smell, Feel

Good”


The 36 Reasons Why People Word of MouthThe 36 Reasons Why People Word of Mouth

It’s because

of them

It’s because of

what you provide

It’s because of

who you are


#2 - Logo Lovers


#4 - Social Brokers

#5 – Altruism



#8 – Ego-driven


#10 – Self-Expression



#13 – Fame


#15 – Scarcity

#16 – Influence

#17 – Intimacy

#18 – Visibility


#20 – Rallying Cause

#21 – Rewards

#22 – Expertise



#25 – Memes

#26 - Innovative



#29 – Authentic


#31 - Edgy

#32 – Trustworthy

#33 – Likable


#35 – Ritualistic

#36 - Sensory


Word of Mouth WatchoutsWord of Mouth Watchouts

• Be transparent and honest

• Be conversational

• Have a story to tell

• Don’t make it a cattle call

• Invite the right people to the dance

• Provide an experience

• Know who you are

• Treat your word of mouth referees like valued insiders

• Establish a dialogue

• Give your influencers the tools to have spread

• Don’t try and control it

• Get feedback

• Start soon


Let’s Put your Word of Mouth on an Accelerator Let’s Put your Word of Mouth on an Accelerator Pedal!Pedal!

Who: Sean Moffitt, President/Chief EvangelistPhone: 647-436-6802 URL: www.AgentWildfire.com

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Blog: http://BuzzCanuck.typepad.com/

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The 36 Reasons Why We Word of Mouth

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