Observations from WOMM-U in Miami
May 12th, 2008
The thing that I like about the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s (of which we are a governing member) events is that I always hear some nice, juicy tidbits here and there. For example:
“We have the opportunity to put the social back in media.” – Joe Jaffe
“Safe advertising is the worst advertising of all.” –Joe Jaffe
“In B2B, people typically want knowledge rather than stuff.” – Geoff Nelson
On keeping control of content: “If you’ve already created something, set it free.” – Geoff Nelson
But the thing I liked the most about Miami’s event was what it reminded me of. And that’s the fact that word of mouth is about people. Not customers. Not consumers. Not members. Not fans. Not ambassadors. It’s people powered and people centered. Seems like a simple concept, eh?
But I listened to case study after case study and example after example. And I heard about how people used their email lists to send out “influencer identifying surveys” with questions like “Do you have a blog?” and “Do others come to you when they are trying to decide about a purchasing decision?” And from there, they would choose their members or create contests online or whatever. But there was no basic, human interaction. No going to where those people live, play and shop to look them in the eye, tell them what the company was trying to accomplish and ask them, “how do we do it?” The humanness is being stripped out of WOMM.
I think as marketers that a lot of the time we think we know everything (guilty). We know our customers. We know what they want. And we know better than them.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Maybe we should assume that we should assume nothing. That we know nothing. But the one thing I do know is you can’t create word of mouth marketing or videos or buzz or any other of those tactics and terms FOR your customers. You have to make it WITH people.
Like I said, it’s a simple concept. But obviously it’s an overlooked one.
Other posts by Spike.
Cara Keithley says:
Spike,
It is all well and good to talk about WOMM, but we still have to cross that uncomfortable barrier which is actually seeing and dealing with real people. Can you imagine how successful a candidate for President would be if they just sent out direct mail and email blasts and never went to the towns and shook hands? At the end of the day, we still have to take that step. It can feel weird at first and it can be scary, but it can be the most rewarding thing (I know I am preaching to the choir.)
Last year we did photo shoots with some of our customers that were first-time homeowners. We wanted to make sure that all of our materials showcased real people helped by our programs. I was never as connected to our mission as when these people showed me around their homes. The fact that we helped them achieve something so important was amazing. I have to stay connected to that when I am thinking about where we want to go with our programs and initiatives.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:52 amSuzanne Obermire says:
Spike–I couldn’t agree with you more. How arrogant can marketers be to think that we know best? Simply continuing to test and push messages, concepts, surveys, whatever to our customers, isn’t enough today, I don’t think.
It IS important to remember that our customers are people. People with brains. I think it comes down to respect. If we treat our customers and prospects with respect, we’ll probably design better programs–and sleep better at night, too.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:45 pm