A word-of-mouth marketer provides a peek behind the efforts of a fledgling industry association.

Word-of-mouth marketing and consumer-generated media are blazing hot topics right now -- no doubt about it! Despite all the enthusiasm, the reality is that word of mouth remains a complicated concept: it is a marketing practice, a media channel and a desired result. But because word of mouth is such a powerful force on virtually all brands, we’re all witnessing its rapid transition from a fuzzy marketing concept to an established discipline. 

My confidence in this market grows by the day, but sustained growth will depend on credible practitioners collectively tackling several fundamental issues as this “alternative discipline” grows into a full-fledged industry. BuzzMetrics believes a united front is the best approach.

BuzzMetrics came together with BzzAgent and Intelliseek last year to create the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) to tackle these very issues. Each of our businesses was doing nicely individually, but we firmly believed that the bigger opportunity that the word-of-mouth space holds is almost completely untapped. That opportunity will be realized best with the help of a strong trade association to foster and guide it on a solid trajectory.

WOMMA’s three-prong mission is to improve word-of-mouth marketing by:

• Setting standards to encourage its use
• Promoting word of mouth as an effective marketing tool
• Protecting consumers with strong ethical guidelines

Among WOMMA’s initial progress is the recent release of a draft of the first word-of-mouth ethics code for public comment. We also are conducting the first word-of-mouth marketing conference March 29 and 30 in Chicago to promote the industry. I also am thrilled to be part of an amazing task force -- comprised of the world’s best word-of-mouth researchers -- that has come together to build the standards by which this industry will be measured.

Why is setting standards so important? Industry-sanctioned standards and metrics are the lifeblood of any marketing channel or medium. We need to talk one common language.

Specifically, we believe that standards are crucial in tackling three major issues:

1. Earning Marketing Budget Allocations

If word-of-mouth marketing is to gain a significant share of the marketing budget, marketers need the tools and metrics for accountable planning of word-of-mouth campaigns -- just as they do for any other marketing investment.

Marketing executives of the most esteemed brands have mandated the adoption of non-traditional strategies, but few people know where to begin in the planning of these spends. If significant budgets are going to be allocated to word of mouth, the programs have to go far beyond stereotypical PR street stunts and shady undercover marketing. Marketers demand upfront strategies grounded in an empirical framework that allows integration with the overall campaign.

2. Benchmarking and Measuring Campaign Performance

Standards must be created to benchmark and measure the success of campaigns. When marketers currently run word-of-mouth campaigns, they are often left with a sense that something positive happened, but no real way of demonstrating the degree of success. Such obscure results will not suffice in the long term, so our industry must produce the metrics needed to evaluate campaign effectiveness.

Further, the nature of word of mouth necessitates not only traditional pre- and post-campaign measurements, but also extensive tracking while the campaign is running. The actual marketing doesn’t start in the word-of-mouth discipline until people get a hold of the message and start passing it along. Smart marketers realize this means that message and campaign tracking becomes a major component of their job. If word-of-mouth campaigns are not closely watched and constantly fine-tuned, they can spin badly out of control.

3. Developing Word-of-Mouth Currency

Finally, industry standards are needed to establish a framework through which word-of-mouth currency can develop. While WOMMA would never take on any responsibilities for influencing pricing -- that would be unethical -- it is crucial that we build the infrastructure. It will serve as a foundation upon which industry players can build an efficient marketplace where word-of-mouth services can be bought and sold. Moreover, traditional media concepts like reach, frequency and gross rating points can absolutely be applied to the word-of-mouth space. Once this has been accomplished, then full cross-media integration will be possible.

Words to Action: The WOMMA Standards Council

WOMMA is tackling these huge issues through the Standards & Metrics Council. I am co-chairing the Council with two authorities in market research: Ed Keller, CEO of NOP Consumer and author of The Influentials; and Professor David Godes of Harvard Business School, who has authored several of the most important academic papers on word-of-mouth marketing. We are also joined by representatives from a variety of the leading companies in this space, including Burson-Marsteller, DEI Worldwide, Friendster, Intelliseek, Intuit and Soapbox Marketing. With so many word-of-mouth platforms, this smart group is establishing the common blocks for everyone to innovate and build more sophisticated models.

Conclusion

I view the marketer as the conductor of an orchestra, in which word of mouth is an important contemporary musical instrument. WOMMA’s role is to develop and refine that instrument as well as teach the conductor how to direct it. Sometimes word of mouth will play in harmony with the other instruments, and sometimes it will play solo. Regardless, the conductor must know how to leverage it in all situations -- when to hold it back, and when to let it lead. But it should always play an important role.

Additional resources:

View the WOMMA site
Learn more about the WOMMA Summit

Jonathan Carson is President and CEO, BuzzMetrics.