It’s All About W-O-M
According to the study State of the Brand Report by the American Marketing Association and Luth Research and MiresBall, Word-of-Mouth is the most important marketing tactic for brand communication. In Brand Week’s January 22, 2007 issue, Kenneth Hein’s article “Study: Freshen It Up To Keep Sales Hot” reports:
As for marketing tactics, Web and interactive initiatives were deemed the most valuable for brand communication behind only word-of-mouth. Still, despite ranking 13th in terms of importance, broadcast advertising ranked No. 1 in terms of spend, largely because it’s considered one of the best media for driving awareness.
The Most Important Brand Communication Vehicles
Below is the list of most important brand communication vehicles, ranked in order (Source: State of the Brand Report)
- Word-of-mouth
- Web and interactive
- Customer service
- Public relations
- Print advertising
- Internal communications
- Corporate communications
- Promotional events
- Co-marketing
- Community and affinity groups
- Direct mail
- Sponsorships
- Broadcast advertising
- Packaging and POP
- Outdoor advertising
Recommended W-O-M Business Books
I guess it’s time for all front line marketing knowledge workers, middle managers, and C-Levels to take a deep dive into word-of-mouth so you can add this to your marketing tactics toolkit. Entrepreneurs should also take W-O-M to heart.
Useful business books for your deep dive are: Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking by Andy Sernovitz, Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff by Mark Hughes, or The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing by Emanuel Rosen.
P.S. Check out the Brand Week article. The main focus is on “brand revitalization,” which was very interesting. Apparently, brand revitalization should be done every three to five years, according the State of the Brand report.
