Word of Mouth

I was just about to shut down the old laptop when I read this post from Paul Holmes about word of mouth marketing.  Is it just one of those new fangled names for an old fangled strategy?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Paul takes marketing guru Jack Trout to task for saying its nothing new and asking why anyone would want to give up control of their marketing to the consumer.

Paul is right on two counts.  None of us really fully understand word of mouth yet or more precisely, how to make it work.  If someone tells you they do, get the evidence.  He is also right about giving up control:

"Well here’s a newsflash, Jack… you have to give up control and let consumers take over your campaign. They’ve been doing it for ever, anyway. Your brand is not what you say about your products; it’s what everyone else says about your products, based on your advertising, and your PR, and your promotions, but based much more on their experience with the product, in the dealership, in the store, on the Internet, and conversations with their friends."

We have a lot of pieces to the word of mouth puzzle at our company and we are trying to figure out how to put the pieces together in a way that might make sense.  I will keep you posted on our progress.