How do you capture a rainbow?

There's a lot of buzz on how best to get buzz (and it's only going to get louder). In true marketing fashion of controlling, containing and claiming, the conversation has moved to manufacturing positive WOM. Sigh.

Are there practices that better our chances of generating word of mouth among our markets? Sure. Listening + listening more + being transparent + creating solid products + providing superior customer service = really safe bets. But an iron-clad, lab-manufactured, 4-out-of-5-marketers-approve viral formula? Doubtful. That's the bane, and the beauty, of buzz.

Gladwell taught us that little things make a BIG difference. That they do. But try as we might we can't force the tipping point--we can only encourage it. Where I fear we get into murky waters is when we start proclaiming buzz is a 1-2-3 step process. You can produce a terrific viral campaign with all the right moves but move nobody. There are unforeseen circumstances, like:

• Clutter: There may be 5 viral programs meriting attention, and successful in their own right, but drown in the din of a zillion YouTube videos.
• Cool Factor: A moving target if ever there was one. Even if your campaign is an award-winner, the buck may stop there. You may engage them, but not their pocketbooks.

As for this marketer, instead of forcing a formula (trying to capture rainbows), I'm encouraging more organic creativity, less clinical processes and the safe bets I proposed above. Less forcing the information cascade, more flow. That said, the viral stampede ain't even started yet -- can you feel the ground rumbling? Get ready for a wild ride.

Psst: A great way to facilitate WOM and get close to your markets is to give them the brand. Mack at The Viral Garden details a prime example of this here (a worthy and moving read). Amazing how many rainbows your customers will create for you...when you empower them.

Comments

[nvineberg]

Another great post, CK. Inspires me to recall Webshots, who played on WOM before it was popular. Webshots let you download free screensavers to make your computer screen look pretty. The WOM and virality started when my friend or office mate passed my pretty screen, and asked where I got the image. Answer: Webshots, and it was free. They joined. Then at Webshots, we could also store personal images online and share them (they invented the photo sharing site), and send free e-cards. And every time an image was shared or an e-card sent, there was a link inviting the recipient to open a free Webshots account. All viral. All WOM. And the company sold twice for $85 million.

Webshots spent zero dollars on advertising. Yet, they had 500,000 downloads a week of their free applicationn. My point is that CK is correct: there is no standard way to achieve WOM or virality. You need a great product, service of widgit. Then you need a creative, organic elements. In the end, however, it is the consumers who execute the campaign for you. You provide the tools. They become your advocoates.

[vaspers the grate]

I am opposed to paid enthusiast buzz agent artificial WOM marketing gimmicks.

As you said, positive WOM must be cultivated by both having a good product and saying intelligent things about it.

Get the ball rolling, CEO, by saying something provocative. True, easy to prove, but not being said yet, or at least not loudly enough.

WOM is spawned by positive user experience and then you can set up environments, like forums and blogs, where these free product evangelists spontaneously, without incentive or coaching, defend and promote you.

And spread the word to other shores.