The Washington Post reported Tuesday about the FTC's ruling to "Unmask Word-of-Mouth Marketing." The FTC is on target in my opinion. But the implication that the scams mentioned in the article are somehow representative of word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is misleading. The very premise and power behind WOMM is that it's unbiased and credible. We all know that the traditional advertising spin is often quite the opposite.

As the FTC's ruling highlights, we're still going to deal with a segment of society that tries to beat the system. Old marketing habits may die hard, but they won't last long in this new era of open consumer communication that's been enabled largely from technology like blogs. Sony Ericsson, for example, may fool a few people with their shills but they will never build a significant customer-led marketing campaign with such gimmicks. The average consumer can communicate too well now.

Idaho businesses should by no means shy away from WOMM because of this misconstrued portrayal. Like the other WOMM advocates in the Treasure Valley, RisingLine promotes marketing strategies for organizations that have proven themselves by already developing a contingency of legitimate client advocates. We prefer to use the term customer evangelist to describe WOMM because it emphasizes the element of unsolicited motivation to share a good experience with a friend or acquaintance. A completely different concept than the shenanigans the FTC has associated with WOMM.

The important thing to understand is that true WOMM is simply encouraging honest referrals from friend to friend and it remains the most credible and cost effective means of promotion for any business or product.

Labels: Customer-Evangelism

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Posted by Douglas Case @ 12/14/2006 02:29:00 PM | 0 comments

Despite all the negative publicity from some pundits on the effectiveness of blogging, the current trend of corporate blogging is gaining momentum. For instance, there are twice as many Fortune 500 companies blogging today as there was a year ago, and I would estimate that number to grow substantially as the need for dynamic Web applications grows.

So why is it that corporations are starting to buy into the blogging trend? I would narrow it down to these basic factors:

- The necessity to edit and update information on the Web instantaneously

- The need to reach out to and engage customers rather than passively addressing them through advertising

- The reality that consumers are more savvy today than a few years ago; and they demand relevant and up-to-date content via the Web

As the blogging phenomenon continues to evolve and progress, the realization that a blog is far more than a rant platform or a personal Web page will bring more companies into the fold. A blog is not simply a tool in which to share personal opinions, but rather a communications device that allows businesses like to reach out to and communicate with targeted audiences.

Articles of Reference:

CEO's Blogging

Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki

Blogging Myths

Labels: Blogging, New-Media-Marketing

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Posted by Erik Jon Warila @ 12/08/2006 01:38:00 PM | 0 comments