When Andy Sernovitz initiated me into the Secret and Mysterious Order of Word of Mouth, I was surprised by the bacon bits that came along with the book. Far from leaving a bad taste in my mouth, the revised version of Word of Mouth Marketing
Andy kicks off the book explaining the four rules of word of mouth marketing:
- Be interesting
- Make it easy
- Make people happy
- Earn trust and respect
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Sure, there is a lot here that most marketers will know and understand. But word of mouth is not a campaign. It’s a transformation in the way that brands go about their business. It means, for me at least, placing storytelling and experience at the heart of your interactions with your business stakeholders (from customers to employees and partners to suppliers).
For marketers, the hard work of systematising and operationalising your word of mouth efforts is the challenge. What are the tasks (and resources) required to turn the idea of a “story” into something tangible for your agency or your team? What are the additional line items required to support and amplify word of mouth across your business? For at least some of these questions, Andy provides a range of templates and thought-starter charts. You will love, for example, the Creating Your Action Plan checklist.
Check also Drew McLellan’s review of the book – and take advantage of the discount code for Andy’s upcoming Word of Mouth Supergenius workshops being held in Chicago next week.