Information about Word Of Mouth Marketing

Word of mouth, is a reference to the passing of information by verbal means, especially recommendations, but also general information, in an informal, person-to-person manner. Word of mouth is typically considered a face-to-face spoken communication, although phone conversations, text messages sent via SMS and web dialogue, such as online profile pages, blog posts, message board threads, instant messages and emails are often now included in the definition of word of mouth.''' There is some overlap in meaning between word of mouth and the following: rumour, gossip, innuendo, and hearsay; however word of mouth is more commonly used to describe positive information being spread rather than negative, although this is not always the case.

Comparison to word of mouth marketing (WOMM)

Word-of-mouth promotion, also known as buzz marketing and viral advertising, is highly valued by advertisers. It is believed that this form of communication has valuable source credibility. Research points to individuals being more inclined to believe WOMM than more formal forms of promotion methods; the receiver of word-of-mouth referrals tends to believe that the communicator is speaking honestly and is unlikely to have an ulterior motive (i.e. they are not receiving an incentive for their referrals).^[1] In order to promote and manage word-of-mouth communications, marketers use publicity techniques as well as viral marketing methods to achieve desired behavioral response. Influencer marketing is increasingly used to seed WOMM by targeting key individuals that have authority and a high number of personal connections.

While any marketers places extreme value on word-of-mouth, this has historically been achieved by creating products or services that generate such "buzz" naturally. The relatively new method of WOMM bypasses the need to create satisfied customers, and instead attempts to inject positive "buzz" into conversations directly. While marketers have always hoped to achieve word-of-mouth, many suggest there are serious ethical concerns in trying to generate word of mouth directly.

Word-of-mouth effects in the life cycle of cultural goods have been mathematically modelled.^[2] For evidence as to the conditions under which word-of-mouth communication is effective, see Grewal et al. 2003.

With the increasing use of the Internet as a research and communications platform, word of mouth has become an even more powerful and useful resource for consumers and marketers. Tracking this online 'buzz' has led to the rise of a range of services and tools known as Buzz monitoring within the sphere of Online Public Relations.

Successful examples

• Gmail - Google did no marketing, they spent no money. They created scarcity by giving out Gmail accounts only to a handful of "power users." Other users who aspired to be like these power users "lusted" for a Gmail account and this manifested itself in their bidding for Gmail invites on eBay. Demand was created by limited supply; the cachet of having a Gmail account caused the word of mouth, rather than any marketing activities by Google.
• Chain e-mail about certain product/service can be considered as word of mouth marketing.World famous examples of Viral Marketing
• Microsoft’s Origami Project campaign
• Tupperware popularization
• Popularization of text messaging
• Popularization of chat
• BMW’s Mini Cooper campaign
• Ford Motor’s Evil Twin campaign
• Jamie Kane game (BBC sponsored)
• Homestar Runner
• The Best Page in the Universe

Unsuccessful examples

• Hotmail - Hotmail "piggybacked" on personal emails from one person to another to publicize their free email service. At a time when few people had email, the first and only free email service in the marketplace was appealing and novel -- hence their rapid adoption and spread. However, the same "piggybacking" technique currently employed by all free email providers (except gmail) no longer works. Furthermore, the Hotmail users did not voluntarily pass it on; they had no choice about Hotmail adding the "sign up" link at the end of their personal emails.
• Burger King's Subservient Chicken - Burger King's marketing program called Subservient Chicken did indeed generate a lot of word of mouth, but the word of mouth was about the marketing campaign instead of the product that was being marketed. Also, those marketing efforts which rely on being edgy or on some kind of stunt often fade quickly when the novelty or edge wears off. Finally, this type of marketing is not reproducible or sustainable since it won't be edgy the second time around.
• McDonald's LincolnFry - a fake blog was discovered, and it generated lots of negative word of mouth and little participation.
• American Express' billboard - a fake blog poster who told readers to check out a great Amex billboard was found to be an Ogilvy employee; this violation of trust resulted in massive negative word of mouth which spread around the world.

See also

• Communication
• Customer engagement
• Language
• Advertising
• Propaganda
• New Media Marketing
• Evangelism marketing
• Stealth marketing
• Astroturfing
• Publicity
• Business Marketing
• Online marketing
• Reputation management
• New Media Marketing
• Evangelism marketing

References

• Renée Dye, 'The Buzz on Buzz,' Harvard Business Review, November-December, 2000.
• Rajdeep Grewal, Thomas W. Cline, and Antony Davies, 'Early-Entrant Advantage, Word-of-Mouth Communication, Brand Similarity, and the Consumer Decision-Making Process,' Journal of Consumer Psychology, October, 2003.
• Frederick F. Reichheld, 'The One Number You Need to Grow,' Harvard Business Review, December, 2003.
• Yubo Chen and Jinhong Xie, 'Online Consumer Review: A New Element of Marketing Communications Mix,' http://ssrn.com/abstract=618782, July, 2004.
• Florian v Wangenheim and Tomás Bayón, 'The effect of word of mouth on services switching: Measurement and moderating variables,' European Journal of Marketing, September, 2004.
• Paul Marsden, Alain Samson, and Neville Upton, 'Advocacy Drives Growth,' Brand Strategy, December, 2005.
• BoldMouth and Osterman Research, 'Perceptions, Practices and Ethics in Word of Mouth Marketing,' Website, May, 2006.
• Buzzmarketing: Get People To Talk About Your Stuff, Mark Hughes (Penguin/Portfolio) Website
• Andy Sernovitz, Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, Kaplan 2006 Website

External links

• Word-of-Mouth Research at Yale School of Management
• Word of Mouth Marketing Association
• Multilingual Word of Mouth Industry Index

Information is the result of processing, gathering, manipulating and organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the receiver. In other words, it is the context in which data is taken.
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SMS or sms may refer to:

Computers and technology

• Short message service, a form of text messaging on mobile phones
• Scalable Modeling System, a directive-based parallel programming tool developed by the NOAA to solve problems defined on

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A rumor or rumour (see spelling differences), is "an unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in public concern" (33)^[1]

Psychology of Rumor (1947)

In the 1947 study,
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Gossip consists of casual or idle talk between friends. While ostensibly value neutral, the term often specifically refers to talk of scandal, slander, or schadenfreude relating to known associates of the participants, and discussed in an underhand or clandestine manner. Compare .
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A sexual innuendo is a remark or question, typically disparaging, that works obliquely by allusion. The intention is often to insult or accuse someone in such a way that one's words, taken literally, are innocent.
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Hearsay may refer to:

• Hearsay in English law and Hearsay in United States law, a legal principle concerning the admission of evidence through repetition of out-of-court statements
• Hear'Say, a British pop group

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Promotion is one of the four key aspects of the marketing mix. The other three elements are product management, pricing, and distribution. Promotion involves disseminating information about a product, product line, brand, or company.
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Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people (for example, politicians and performing artists), goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.
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worldwide view.

Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness, through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer
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Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that has emerged from a variety of recent practices and studies, in which focus is placed on specific key individuals (or types of individual) rather than the target market as a whole.
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Ethics (via Latin ethica from the Ancient Greek ἠθική [φιλοσοφία]
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Buzz monitoring is a phrase used in Online Public Relations and social media marketing to track relevant conversations on the Internet.

External Links:

MyBuzzMonitor is a free widget to monitor website online marketing success and demonstrate how much buzz a site,
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Topics in journalism
Professional issues
Ethics & objectivity
Sources & attribution
News & news values
Reporting & writing
Fourth estate • Libel law
Education & books
Other topics

Fields
Advocacy journalism
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Gmail, officially Google Mail in Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom, is a free Web-based email (Webmail) and POP3 e-mail service provided by Google. It was released on April 1, 2004 as a private beta release by invitation only and was opened to all as a public beta on
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Google Inc.

Public (NASDAQ:  GOOG ), (LSE:  GGEA )
Founded Menlo Park, California (September 7 1998^[1])
Headquarters Mountain View, California, USA

Key people Eric E.
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A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to induce the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to one or more new recipients. A chain letter can be considered a type of meme.
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Microsoft Corporation

Public (NASDAQ:  MSFT )
Founded Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (April 4 1975)^[1]
Headquarters Redmond, Washington, United States

Key people Bill Gates, Co-founder and Executive Chairman ;
Paul Allen, Co-founder ;
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Origami (折り紙, origami)
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Tupperware is the brand name of a home products line that includes preparation, storage, and serving products for the kitchen and home. The brand debuted in 1946. Products are developed, manufactured, and internationally distributed by its parent company Tupperware Brands
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Chat may refer to:

Conversation

• Casual conversation.
• Online chat (synchronous conferencing) in an internet chat room or instant messaging system
• Bluechat and Wifichat.
• SMS chat.

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Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

Aktiengesellschaft
Founded 1916
Headquarters Munich, Germany

Key people Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman and CEO
Industry Automotive
Products Automobiles
Motorcycles
Revenue €49 billion (2006)
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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Type Broadcast radio and television
Country  United Kingdom
Availability    National
International 
Founder John Reith
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Homestar Runner
Devised by Mike Chapman
Craig Zobel
Written by The Brothers Chaps
Animated by The Brothers Chaps
Voiced by The Brothers Chaps
Missy Palmer
Launch date New Year's Day 2000
Website [1]
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Windows Live Hotmail (formerly MSN Hotmail), commonly known as Hotmail, is a free webmail service by Microsoft, part of the Windows Live range of services.

The current version was announced on November 1, 2005 as an update to Microsoft's existing MSN Hotmail service.
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Communication is a process that allows organisms to exchange information by several methods. Communication requires that all parties understand a common language that is exchanged with each other.
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Customer Engagement (CE) refers to the engagement of customers with one another, with a company or a brand. The initiative for engagement can be either consumer- or company-led and the medium of engagement can be on or offline.
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See Language (journal) for the linguistics journal.

A language is a system of symbols and the rules used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon.
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Advertising is paid, one-way communication through a medium in which the sponsor is identified and the message is controlled by the sponsor. Variations include publicity, public relations, etc..
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Propaganda [from modern Latin: 'propagare', literally "extending forth"] is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviour of large numbers of people.
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