You Should Take This Style Advice From A Nerd

Thursday, October 22, 2009
Trust Is The New Black
Excerpted from OnlineSpin article by Dave Morgan

Trust is the new black. I wish that I could claim credit for coining that phrase, but it was Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist. Earlier this week, Craig penned an opinion piece in The Huffington Post titled " A Nerd's Take on the Future of News Media."

Craig makes the point that news media has lost its way, having squandered the trust of its consumers and having done a poor job "curating" news. With respect to trust, here is what he said and how he used his new phrase: "Trust is the new black, as I like to say. The great opportunity for news organizations is to constructively demonstrate trustworthy reporting, and to visibly do so."

With the rise of social media, the possibilities for more relationships are growing fast and exponentially. This phenomenon is turning marketers' and advertisers' worlds absolutely upside-down.

When consumers have so many different kinds of relationships with so many different people and companies and products and services and ideas, how can any, or many, of them stand out? There is only one answer now: trust.

Trust is the new black. It is too hard for most people to truly distinguish the complex and too-subtle differences of so many tangible and intangible products and services. Consumers need something else. That something else is trust. Trust is finite. Trust is generally based on experience and time. Trust is quite personal. (emphasis mine) A person's trust is something that he or she controls. While it can be won and lost, it cannot be forced or taken or imposed by recipients.

Craig might call himself an amateur when it comes to news media punditry (he does), but he's certainly not. He's right. Trust is the new black.

My Take

"Word of mouth" is all about trust. Period. That's why it's always been the ultimate form of advertising.

Social media can cut through ad clutter by harnessing this trust. As consumers adopt social media based networks to find trusted businesses, other forms of media will rapidly become obsolete.

Tip from GasPedal to Increase Your Referral Leads

Excerpted from our favorite Word-of-Mouth, best selling author Andy Sernovitz's site GasPedal

Create word of mouth by giving your customers the tools for talking

One of the best ways to get a customer talking about you is to send them off with something great that they can share. It’s all about putting the tools for talking directly in the hands of your fans.

You can try some simple stuff, like extra coupons, lots of free samples, stickers, or treats. Or, you can do what wedding photographer Lindsey Turner does and go all out by sending potential clients off with a bag full of helpful goodies

The Lesson: Think about what your talkers could use in a kit that would help them tell their family, friends, and other businesses about you — and find a way to do it like Lindsey: Relevant, helpful, and inexpensive.

(Read entire article.)

My Take

"The right tool for the right job" helps you finish your work efficiently - and with the best results.

When giving your clients a tool for word-of-mouth referrals, what better than a direct connection between their "real-life", off-line relationships and your online social Web page?

Word of Mouth Tops All Other Media

Excerpted from World Advertising Research Center's 7/9/2009 article
"Word-of-Mouth Works for Consumers"

Based on a survey of 25,000 adults in 50 countries, Nielsen research finds online and offline word-of-mouth are regarded as being the "most trusted forms of advertising."

• 90% of consumers around the world trust recommendations from people they know when discussing brands

• 70% accord the same status to online consumer reviews

According to Jonathan Carson, international online president of The Nielsen Company, the "explosion in consumer-generated media" means the importance of word-of-mouth "has increased significantly."

My Take

With the growth of social networking sites and the dominance of social media usage, the Web-inization of local word-of-mouth is inevitable. If consumers begin sharing trusted word-of-mouth referrals it at a rate similar to their adoption of social media, it will tip the $100 billion US local ad market.



About YouGottaCall.com

YouGottaCall.com is a local and Web-based (Web 2.0) social network that provides businesses with a means for connecting with their customers and neighbors encouraging more word-of-mouth sales leads rewarding their network of referrers

The purpose of YouGottaCall.com is three-fold:
1. to facilitate “word-of-mouth” referrals among consumers for the local businesses they trust
2. to increase sales revenues for trustworthy businesses
3. to benefit the not-for-profit organizations that are supported by the network members

Membership in the YouGottaCall.com network is free.

The mission of YouGottaCall.com is “Rewarding the community by empowering trusted relationships.”

The goal of the YouGottaCall.com is to “turn local advertising upside down and inside out”. “Upside down” because businesses only pay for advertising after it has been effective – not before. “Inside out” because businesses pay the advertising fee to their neighbors and satisfied customers who brought them the qualified sales lead – not to a third party publisher.

Related Web-based Services:
No other services offer the combination of social, local, affiliate, not-for-profit features which comprise YouGottaCall.com's process. (see chart)

A Look into "The Entrepreneurial Mind" of Prof. Jeff Cornwall

Using Referrals for Word of Mouth

Excerpted from Jeff Cornwall's June 18, 2009 blog

Word of mouth never just happens. Although it is a great way to bootstrap your marketing efforts, it does take, well, some effort.

1. Ask! Don't be afraid to be direct about asking for referrals. A great technique is to view every client you work with as though your sole purpose is to get a referral.
2. Create a referral program -- Offer service credits as an incentive to your clients who send you new business.
3. Spread the word by sending a description of your referral program to all of your satisfied clients.
4. A few other dos and don'ts:

• Don't ask for a referral when presenting a bill.
• When asking for a referral, also ask for a testimonial from the client. It's great for websites!
• Ask people who perform complementary services to you for referrals. (i.e. If you are a contractor, why not ask an electrician or plumber who may be on the same site?)
• Have some type of printed marketing material handy to provide clients with that describes everything you do-- and give them a few copies to spread around

My Take

Prof. Cornwall provides some refreshingly practical WOM tips. Business owners and sales representatives need constant reminders about these, because, while appearing simple they are constantly overlooked.

With growing usage of Web-based social networks it seems natural that businesses will use them as a medium to engage customers, ask for referrals and provide word-of-mouth tools - and even rewards - for their clients use.

My Take on "Trust Word-of-Mouth" by eMarketer Digital Intelligence

From June 8, 2009 article in eMarketer Digital Intelligence

Look who’s talking

In a poll of chief marketing officers from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association (AMA), the top overall customer priority named was service excellence, followed by building a trusting relationship.

Unfortunately, building trust can be difficult.

A 2007 Myers Publishing study found only 17% of people trusted advertisers. And things got worse in 2008, when respondents to a Gallup poll said that only 10% of ad practitioners were trustworthy.

According to BIGresearch, however, word-of-mouth recommendations have different effects depending on the type of purchase.

Over one-half of consumers believed that word-of-mouth influenced the restaurants they went to. Slightly more than one-third felt word-of-mouth had some impact on home improvement purchases.

Leveraging word-of-mouth marketing initiatives might matter more to some retailers and product sellers than to others—but whether to a greater or lesser extent, word-of-mouth matters, always.

My Take

"Unfortunately, building trust can be difficult." That's the power of word-of-mouth - the trust is already there.

WOM is a powerful and growing consumer force. Social media is an effective facilitator of WOM because it uses the Web to help consumers cut through advertising clutter and connect with trusted businesses.

BIGResearch's findings re: the percentage of consumers who use WOM looks off. It's difficult to compare the purchase of groceries to the hiring of a home repair contractor - the costs and the frequency of use are on completely different scales.

I doubt grocery shoppers vary supermarkets each week based on what their friends say. It'd be a stretch to accept that 40.7% of the items they place in their carts is due to a word-of-mouth referral.

Whereas our members tells us they hire 8 out of 10 of their home repair contractors based on recommendation of friends and neighbors. Most contractors rely on WOM for their business's survival and 80% of their revenues.

Placing dissimilar categories next to each other in such a summarized table merits a note on the survey methodology.

The Crowd Knows - Good article on "A List Apart"

The Wisdom of Community

by Derek Powazek

Excerpts:

The web, with its low barrier to entry and permeable social boundaries, is the ultimate medium through which to explore the finer points of the wisdom of crowds.

You need a few things to enable online crowds to be wise.

Simplicity

Systems based on the Wisdom of Crowds can tackle surprisingly complicated projects, but each project must first be broken down to its simplest possible components.

Aggregation

One of the reasons discussions do not lead to wise results is that there’s no aggregation—the conversation just happens. But WOC systems are there to produce a result. This requires an aggregator (like you) and an algorithm.

Participation

A defining element of any WOC system is that the more participants it has, the better it gets. Discussion systems and chat rooms fall apart when too many voices get involved. If your community feature gets worse the more people use it, it’s not a WOC system.

Selfishness

It’s counter-intuitive, but the wisest crowds are the ones made up of individuals who are thinking about their own needs, not the needs of the group.

Leaderboards

Leaderboards create a problem for Wisdom of Crowds systems. How you display the wisdom of your crowd can be as important as how you ask for it in the first place.

Explicit vs. implicit feedback

In working on your own WOC systems, pay attention to when you can glean implicit feedback without having to ask for it directly.

Wiser together than we would be alone

These aspects of the Wisdom of Crowds are just the start — there’s a lot more to learn. WOC systems must evolve: you’re never done. But done right, they can change the way we live online, and maybe make us all a little wiser.

About the Author

Named one of the top 40 "Industry Influencers" of 2007 by Folio Magazine, Derek Powazek has worked the web since 1995 at pioneering sites like HotWired, Blogger, and Technorati. He is the author of Design for Community: The Art of Connecting Real People in Virtual Places (New Riders, 2001). Derek now splits his time between working as a consultant for HP Labs on MagCloud and editing Fray, the quarterly book of true stories and original art. Derek lives in San Francisco with his wife, two nutty Chihuahuas, a grumpy cat, and a house full of plants named Fred.

My Take

These natural principles hold for all types of crowds. Social media can become more effective at harnessing crowd wisdom by being adept at observing nature and being humble enough to mimic it.

YouGottaCall Members at CT Home Show

Large crowd keeps YouGottaCall.com trusted businesses busy at the annual CT Home Show

Avi and Tahl Smith Rapaport of We Care Computers had a steady stream of prospects.

The booth for 1-800-Got-JUNK and Doody Calls was manned by Paul and Martha Stansel.

Alan Mardirosian of CT PhoneBook.com sponsored a give away Red Sox and Yankee gear - and does not hesitate to let you know which he supports.

These Trusted Service Providers are part of your Connection Engine. When you use their services or refer a friend you'll earn rewards for your favorite charity.

YouGottaCall.com Featured on Hartford's Fox 61 News

We were excited to be contacted by Rick Hancock of Hartford's Fox 61 News last week. He was interested in a story on YouGottaCall.com.

Rick interviewed Lisa Farren of the Good News Garage and me. Watch the story by clicking here.

We are excited about this press exposure and the growth of our community. But the key to becoming a vibrant, thriving community is the involvement by each Member. Consumer members stand to benefit as they can connect with their network's trustworthy local businesses. Businesses and worthy, local charities like the Good News Garage also benefit each time a referral results in new business.

Thanks to each of our Members for your active involvement, continued suggestions and enthusiastic use of the network for connecting with your neighbors, local businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

- - Tim

Tim Tracey, Founder
www.yougottacall.com
YouGottaCall Blog

Connect-gine (kĕ-nĕkt'jĭn) – n., an online network of real, off-line relationships consumers use to identify and contact local, trusted service providers.
A means for quality, local businesses to develop a self-sustaining source of new business that replaces local advertising.

"How To Sell Soap"

'Love this illustration of WOM.

A short movie about viral marketing produced
by vm-people, a company based in Berlin, Germany

http://www.vm-people.de

How word of mouth really works

Word-of-mouth. It is a natural, unstoppable phenomenon.

Many talk about creating it and improving it. Maybe they'll succeed and all the best to them!

But how about facilitating it and getting out of the way? Better yet, a way to give back to the community by harnessing its incredible power.

That's what YouGottaCall.com is all about.

We'd love your suggestions for continuing to make it better. And we look forward to your involvement as it becomes available in your locale.

- - Tim

Rapid Growth of WOM for National Brands

Word-of-Mouth Marketing On The Upswing

by Mark Walsh, Friday, Nov 16, 2007 7:00 AM ET

WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING IS EXPECTED TO surpass $1 billion in 2007, making it one of the fastest-growing alternative media formats. In a new research report, PQ Media also predicts that spending on word-of-mouth marketing will grow at an annual rate of 30.4%, and will hit $3.7 billion by 2011.

Helping drive the growth of WoM marketing are Web 2.0 technologies such as social networks, blogs that allow consumers to share information, and opinions about brands and products. While 90% of WoM activity is estimated to take place offline, marketers are shifting more spending to online vehicles that can provide more measurable results. Findings of the PQ Media study were presented Thursday at the Word-of Mouth Marketing Summit 2007 in Las Vegas.

What exactly is WoM marketing? PQ Media defines it as an alternative marketing strategy that uses online and offline tactics involving peer "influencers," WoM communities and brand advocates to encourage consumer dialogue about products and services.

The category doesn't include what are considered unethical tactics such as spam, "sock puppeting," (assuming a false identity online to promote a product or company online), or paying someone to talk about a brand without disclosing that they work for the company.

Also not counted in WoM estimates were spending on activities like in-store product sampling, coupons and loyalty programs, and advertising on social networks and blogs. So Facebook's new social ads, which let marketers attach messages to the communications of members who have identified themselves as "fans" of a particular brand, would not be included.

Only marketing through fully disclosed brand advocates on blogs or other online outlets would be included. "The brand advocates or agents have to state that 'We are hired by this particular company,' or 'we were given a sample of a product,'" explained Leo Kivijarv, vice president of research for PQ Media.

Wal-Mart and Sony both ran into trouble last year when they used paid writers to create authentic-seeming blogs evangelizing their brands.

Kivijarv says 2006 was a turning point for WoM marketing, when it went from being an experimental media buy to becoming "increasingly included in fully integrated marketing campaigns." Marketers are no longer just monitoring WoM efforts, but expecting to see a return on investment in increased sales or buzz surrounding a product.

That trend is expected to continue in 2007, when WoM will grow an estimated 37.7% to $1.35 billion. Overall, however, WoM remains the smallest marketing segment, capturing less than 1% of industry dollars. Direct marketing, branded entertainment, and business-to-business promotions garner the lion's share of spending.

Kivijarv estimates that there are about 200 agencies and technology companies that either specialize in WoM marketing or have units dedicated to it.

While no specific data is yet available on WoM spending by product category, food and beverage, media and entertainment, and sports and recreation are among the most active in employing WoM strategies.

Mark Walsh can be reached at walsh@mediapost.com

My Take

Mr. Walsh's article covers data and projections for national brands.

But you as a local contractor or professional are part of the Word-of-Mouth Wave already. "Huh? How's that?" Well, you Feel your ears burning?

Your clients, customers, friends and neighbors are talking about you right now in the grocery store, on the sidelines of sporting events, walking their dog and at PTA meetings. They're
registering with more social networks daily to discuss carpooling, child raising, retirement planning - and guess who else they're talking about.

The Web will allow you to engage your satisfied clients using these same social networks to convert more of these discussions into qualified leads for you. And you in turn will be able to reward them and strengthen your relationship - while benefiting the community.

It's the new advertising. There are many benefits to your company including fully variable expenses and improved cash flow.

Stay tuned. The YouGottaCall.com "Connect-gine" is coming.

Is viral marketing the same as word of mouth?

Is viral marketing the same as word of mouth?

From the blog of Seth Godin: Marketing Wed, 10/17/2007 - 5:13am.

I got a note from a college student last week, explaining that his professor told him he couldn't use the term 'viral marketing' in a paper. It doesn't exist, apparently, it's just a new-fangled form of word of mouth.

I found the interaction fascinating ("I'm not certain what benefit is gained by arguing with an instructor" is my favorite quote from his teacher) but I got to thinking about whether the instructor had a point.

"Viral marketing" shows up 2,000,000 times in Google, "ideavirus" shows up 200,000 times. Of course, you could argue that just because millions of people are using a term doesn't make it legitimate (though you'd be wrong).

Anyway...



Viral marketing ≠ word of mouth. Here's why:

Word of mouth is a decaying function. A marketer does something and a consumer tells five or ten friends. And that's it. It amplifies the marketing action and then fades, usually quickly. A lousy flight on United Airlines is word of mouth. A great meal at Momofuku is word of mouth.

Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn't have to actually do anything else. (They can help by making it easier for the word to spread, but in the classic examples, the marketer is out of the loop.) The Mona Lisa is an ideavirus.

This distinction is vital.

For one thing, it means that constant harassment of the population doesn't increase the chances of something becoming viral. It means that most organizations should realize that they have a better chance with word of mouth (more likely to occur, more manageable, more flexible) and focus on that. And it means, most of all, that viral marketing is like winning the lottery, and if you've got a shot at an ideavirus, you might as well over-invest and do whatever it takes to create something virus-worthy.

And yes, I happen to think that arguing with the instructor is a very good idea.

My Take

If you are a successful business owner who sells in your local area and are not generating substantial revenue from word-of-mouth leads, then your business is dying. Your failure to generate word-of-mouth referrals indicates a structural failure in your business model.

Yet, as Mr. Godin points out, word-of-mouth is itself a decaying function. What you need to achieve is viral growth.

What if - with no additional effort - you could tie your word-of-mouth leads to a virally spreading engine? A "Connect-gine^tm". What if you could give your friends, neighbors and clients a means for passing along the leads that they normally give you - along with an incentive and a means of benefiting the community?

Now that would be cool :-)

- - Tim

- .. --  - .. -- - .. --  - .. --  - .. --

Tags: wordofmouth, viralmarketing

Thursday October 18, 2007 - 12:58pm (EDT)

We're in business!

We are pleased to announce that YouGottaCall.com, LLC is now incorporated and is officially in business. Our corporate members are Wayne Feigenbaum, Bill Hoff and me (Tim Tracey).

The step of forming a corporation is the result of our combined research, planning and dreaming over the past two years. It is also an expression of our commitment to create an entirely new medium for local business advertising that benefits the consumer, the business owner and the community.

TEAM MEMBERS

Please meet our co-founders:

Wayne Feigenbaum

Wayne has been a business founder and owner for over 20 years. His Fortune 500 background was the foundation for his success in the commercial printing industry.

As President of Preferred Printing Services, Inc, he has in-depth knowledge of managing growth through aggressive sales, strategic planning and acquisitions. Preferred Printing was recognized by Inc Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing privately held companies in America. Strong client and vendor relationships have been the hallmark of Wayne’s businesses.

Wayne graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelors degree in Marketing.

Bill Hoff

Bill has over 20 years experience in operations management and business ownership. He has used his rare balance of entrepreneurship and analytical skills to grow consumer products ventures in the bottled water and beverage markets.

As Operations Director at Preferred Printing, Bill has overseen the logistical and financial aspects of the business in its growth and acquisition phase.

After earning his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Duke University Bill received his Masters in Business Administration concentrating in operations from Carnegie Mellon University.

Tim Tracey

Tim manages sales and marketing for the Pinnacle Network of Simsbury, CT. He has over 20 years experience in the sales and marketing of software and financial services.

His sales experience highlighted the value of referring relationships which resulted in highly qualified sales leads. Through his management of Internet based, lead generation and database marketing campaigns, Tim conceived of leveraging technological tools to facilitate and incentivize ‘word of mouth’, spurring the concept for a local business-to-consumer and B-to-B lead referral engine - YouGottaCall.com.

Tim earned his Bachelors in Marketing from Boston College, graduating from its School of Management (now the Carroll SOM) and its Honors Program.

Tags: localsearch, socialsearch, wordofmouth, affiliatemarketing, offline/online

Saturday September 8, 2007 - 06:29pm (EDT)

Local search gets profitable for local business

Entry for July 27, 2007

Now local search gets profitable for local business. Announcing Local Leap from Vertical Leap

Release Date: 26 July 2007

Vertical Leap, pioneer of managed search engine marketing, has launched Local Leap, a new search optimisation service specifically for businesses whose market is local, rather than global.

Local Leap gives high street shops, professionals such as solicitors, accountants plus service providers including plumbers, specialists in topiary through to catering the opportunity to realistically compete in the main search engines and to see a profitable return from their website due to increased sales leads.

My Take


This effort aims to place participating local vendors at the top of the search results heap.

If all SEO experts are attempting to win the same limited real estate, then any positive results they achieve can only be temporary. The next local competitor who comes along using the same tool - or a similar one - will knock them off.

Missing elements - social search; viral; economic incentive; differentiation based on consumer experience

Tags: socialsearch, localsearch, wordofmouth, angieslist, judysbook, yellowpages

Friday July 27, 2007 - 07:23am (EDT)

... and MORE Word of Mouth news

Press release me2umarketing.com:

Word of Mouth Marketing Service Opens in Portland, Oregon: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Friday January 13, 2006 - 03:59pm (EST)