Brand Autopsy

Bake it or Make it. (Just Don't Fake it.)

2009-07-09T07:16:00-05:00

Jay Ehret (@TheMarketingGuy) and I recently talked Word-of-Mouth Marketing on his Power to the Small Business podcast. I had on my WOM Enthusiast hat and talked about how there are two ways to generate word of mouth … You can bake it. Or you can make it. (You just don’t want to fake it.)

A little explanation is needed.

BAKING IT
Word of Mouth is baked inside how a company does business every day. Baking it follows the thinking that a company’s personality is its best form of advertising.

Baking It examples include: [1] remarkable product (iPod); [2] over-the-top customer service (Zappos); [3] awesome customer experiences (Kimpton hotels).

MAKING IT
Word of Mouth is a program that is layered on and is part of the marketing mix. Making it is about doing interesting things to get customer’s attention.

Making It examples include: [1] interesting advertising (Subway “$5 Foot Long” jingle) ; [2] interesting activities (Southwest Airlines “Porch” pop-up lounge concept) ; enabling interesting conversations (HP’s 31 Days of the Dragon).

Full explanation can be learned by listening to the podcast.

Don't Tell. Do Ask.

2009-07-07T22:01:31-05:00

More chatter is happening regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s forthcoming guidelines on endorsements and testimonials in online marketing. It’s not an easy topic for us marketers to understand. However, it is something we will need to understand if physical word-of-mouth and digital word-of-mouth are to remain the most credible form of advertising.

No matter what the FTC dictates, I believe if we marketers follow a DON’T TELL. DO ASK. policy … all will be fine.

“Don’t Tell? Do Ask?,” you ask.

Click below for a 3:20 minute video ditty explaining why “Don’t Tell. Do Ask.” is a basic policy all marketers should follow when designing and delivering their next word of mouth marketing program.

RSS Readers … click here to watch the video.

Notes:
(1) Cross-posted on the ALL THINGS WOM blog
(2) I work with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association

SEDONA | The Moore Boys (home video)

2009-07-03T14:51:00-05:00

NOTE: OFF-TOPIC blog post Since the Fourth of July weekend is usually when families gather together, I'm sharing a recent gathering of the Moore Family.

Technology makes home movies and old-school slide shows so much better. Super 8 home movies and Kodak Kodachrome slides on the projector screen were great back-in-the-day. However, these days, we have iMovie to make our home movies of vacations more enjoyable and sharable.

Recently I spent a few days in Sedona, AZ with my father (age 74), brother (44), nephew (13), and of course me (39). We called it our “3 Generations” trip and the Moore Boys had fun seeing the natural beauty of Sedona.

I compiled some photos and videos from the trip and whipped up a home movie using iMovie. It’s over 10-minutes long so posting it to YouTube was a no-go. Instead, it’s posted on Vimeo.

Have a look-see, if ya like. (Note: the helicopter video is really cool. It begins at the 11:20 mark.) Enjoy the video and enjoy spending time with your family this weekend.

SEDONA | 2009 ... The Moore Boys from john moore on Vimeo.

Refresher Course: BROKEN WINDOWS

2009-07-01T17:32:19-05:00

Seeing this hideously dirty ceiling tile at my dentist’s office today reminded me of the Broken Windows theory and how it relates to businesses.

The Broken Windows theory hypothesizes higher crime rates occur in cities when broken windows are left unrepaired because people will conclude no one cares enough to fix them. More windows will become broken and attitudes of lawlessness will spread, resulting in higher crime rates. Michael Levine applied this theory to business in his book, BROKEN WINDOWS BROKEN BUSINESS.

According to Levine, broken windows are telltale signs to customers that a business doesn’t care, that it is poorly managed, and or it has become too big and arrogant to adequately deal with little details.

He warns businesses that customers draw wide-ranging conclusions based upon their perceptions of the broken windows they find. These negative perceptions will undermine a business as they can turn once highly-satisfied customers into very-dissatisfied customers who choose take their business elsewhere.

I’m not saying my Dentist poorly manages his business. I am saying his patients could draw wide-ranging conclusions based upon the fact he hasn’t replaced the severely water damaged ceiling tile.

Every business has broken windows. The easiest way to tell if your business has a broken window is when you find yourself saying, “A customer will never notice that.” Because chances are, they will … just as I did with the way too soiled ceiling tile at my Dentist’s office.

Learn more in this vintage Brand Autopsy post (Dec. 2005).

Visiting Devil's Bridge (again)

2009-06-24T21:23:04-05:00

Something funky happened with my last vacation to Sedona, AZ. Canceled flights wrecked havoc on the plans to have the Moore Boys (from Grandfather to Sons to Grandson) spend time trekking the trails in Sedona, AZ. Only I made it to Sedona to experience the unbelievable views. (The others were caught up in a canceled flight after canceled flight nightmare scenario.)

So we are trying it again. Off to Sedona. All of us. (We're hoping weather cooperates this time and our flights aren't canceled.)

I'm sure one of our treks will include Devil's Bridge, a walkable natural sandstone arch. This is a short, edited video of me walking across Devil's Bridge. An amazing experience. Truly amazing. Enjoy.

RSS Readers ... click here to view the video.

WOM at Work

2009-06-22T22:35:52-05:00

In 2005, Seth Godin wrote the FREE PRIZE INSIDE. It's essentially a guidebook for creating remarkable products and services. As marketers we know when remarkable things get remarked about ... word of mouth happens.

This 2-minute video ditty I posted on the All Things WOM blog shares two word-of-mouth worthy free prizes I experienced while staying at the Hotel Burnham in Chicago. (Yes, I mispronounce the hotel’s name in the video. My bad.) Enjoy.

RSS Readers … click here to watch the video.

Letters from Leaders

2009-06-21T16:01:40-05:00

Henry Dormann has compiled an interesting book of LETTERS FROM LEADERS including nobel laureates, CEOs, world leaders, and presidents. Each letter from a present-day leader was written to share advice for tomorrow's leaders. It's a provocative book with lots of money quotes.

(It's also interesting enough of a book to earn my money and earn a blog post as this was a book I purchased and didn't receive free from a publisher or publicity firm.)

Enjoy the money quotes and consider riffling through this book for more inspiration and guidance.

RSS Readers ... click here to read the Money Quotes/

An Ethical Question … Please Comment

2009-06-07T16:06:40-05:00

UPDATED (June 10): Thanks everyone for the thoughtful comments. To avoid any question ... going forward, I will disclose how I receive business books reviewed on the blog.

Lots of great conversation is happening about the ethics of compensating bloggers with cash, in-kind gifts, and special access privileges in exchange for writing a post about the product/service a business provides them.

This conversation has me thinking about how I’ve been compensated for some posts on this blog.

Because I frequently write business book reviews, publishers and publicity firms send me free business books. I’m under no obligation to write anything (be it positive, negative, or nothing at all) in exchange. While not cash, this in-kind gift has a monetary value of about $25 per book.

I’ve probably written over 100 business book reviews on this blog. Some reviews have slammed the book as worthless and others have praised the book as worthwhile. In every case, my authentic opinion has been expressed.

However, I’ve never disclosed when a review is from a business book I received as a gift or from a book I purchased. (By the way, the vast majority of my book reviews are from books I've purchased.)

I’m curious … Do you expect me to disclose whether or not I was gifted the book or paid for the book? Would you trust my review more with this type of disclosure?

Thanks for sharing your feedback.

WOMMA Opens a Can of Worms

2009-06-03T18:25:05-05:00

Long-time readers know I'm a big supporter of Word of Mouth Marketing. More recently, I've put my passion for WOM to good use helping the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) strengthen its marketing muscles.

Right now WOMMA is wrestling with questions of ethics. They've long stood against SHILLING. That is, a brand/agency paying cash to people to talk about, blog about, tweet about a product without disclosing they are being paid to do such.

However, the practice of Sponsored Conversations is gaining more acceptance from brands and agencies. (A "sponsored conversation" happens when a person is compensated with cash, in-kind gifts, and special access privileges in exchange for talking, blogging, tweeting about the product/service a business provided them.)

Some, like Joseph Jaffe, say if a person is transparent and discloses they are being compensated then a "Sponsored Conversation" is ethical and acceptable marketing behavior.

Others, like Andy Sernovitz, abhor the practice of compensating bloggers to post reviews, especially if the reviews are inauthentic.

In 2005, WOMMA established an ETHICS CODE for Word-of-Mouth Marketing. Since then, it has become a standard guide for companies of all sizes to use to help them design and deliver more ethical (and effective) WOM programs.

In the last formal review, WOMMA included this language in its ethics code: “We stand against marketing practices whereby the consumer is paid cash by the manufacturer, supplier or one of their representatives to make recommendations, reviews or endorsements.”

Recently, three WOMMA members have requested this language in the ethics code be revisited ... no doubt to support the practice of sponsored conversations.

Should WOMMA alter its ethics code to support marketing activity where a consumer is paid cash to make recommendations, reviews or endorsements?

WOMMA wants to hear your opinion because your opinion will help WOMMA make a stronger ethics code that is reflective of how honest marketers should behave. Consider adding your voice to this issue on the WOMMA Living Ethics blog.

PURPLE COW | act now!

2009-05-24T07:35:58-05:00

UPDATED: The submission deadline has passed.

Seth Godin is updating one of the most important marketing books ever published, PURPLE COW. It's a simple book about baking "remarkability" inside everything a business does. The book is chock-full of case study examples highlighting businesses that do things to earn opinions from customers.

~~With the updated edition, Seth is sharing new case study examples ... including examples submitted by us. (Yep, by us.) ACT NOW! Submissions are due by midnight, New York time, tonight.~~

~~(I submitted a ditty about Mighty-Fine Burgers.)~~