February 2006 Lawlor Focus

More on Word of Mouth

Word of mouth (WOM) is one of the fastest-growing, most effective and economical marketing tools available to companies today, according to leading consumer researchers like Harris Interactive, Nielsen and RoperASW. Regardless of the product or service being marketed, WOM relies on one key component for success: satisfied customers. And, not just an average satisfied customer, according to Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, co-authors of Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force (2003). In order for an organization to flourish, they say, it must have customer evangelists.

Satisfied customers come in three flavors, if you will: atheists, those who use a product out of habit but have no real allegiance to the brand; agnostics, people who use and like the product but tend to keep their opinions to themselves; and evangelists—those customers who are so loyal to your brand that they not only spread the word about your product or service but they also willingly make investments or personal sacrifice to ensure the brand's continued success.

Sound too good to be true? Consider Southwest Airlines: During the airline industry's toughest time after 9/11, loyal customers did all they could, including contributing money, to keep "their" airline afloat. A letter from one customer read, "We are encouraging our clients to fly Southwest Airlines. We are buying more stock … and we stand ready to do anything else to help. Count on our continuing support."

Even with brands that are synonymous with customer evangelism—Macintosh, Starbucks and Firefox—McConnell and Huba believe an organization is lucky to have 20 to 25 percent of its customers as evangelists. They offer six tips for attracting these citizen marketers:

1. Customer plus-delta. Continuously seek feedback from customers.
2. "Napsterize" your knowledge. Make it a point to share knowledge freely, even if it's considered proprietary. "The value of an idea increases in value as it reaches more people," says McConnell.
3. Build the buzz. Evangelism is a long-term strategy—buzz is the fodder that builds word-of-mouth networks and keeps the evangelists talking.
4. Create community. Don't think of customers as transactions. Think of them as a community of like-minded people; encourage them to meet and share information about your brand.
5. Make bite-size chunks. Don't overload customers with everything about your brand. Segment information and focus on what each customer is most likely interested in.
6. Create a cause. Think about what your organization stands for. Focus on making the world better, and the evangelists will follow your lead.

Consulting giant McKinsey & Company reports that word of mouth already influences about two-thirds of all economic activity in the U.S. Clearly, having a "sales force" of citizen marketers that generate positive word of mouth for your brand is helpful. But in the end, these most loyal customers are fundamental to an organization's success because they do so much more: Customer evangelists are über customers who support you, defend you, help improve your brand, recruit new customers, and spread the word.

Read more about McConnell and Huba's citizen marketers and customer evangelism on their Church of the Customer Blog.

Lawlor Recommends

When considering customer evangelists or brand missionaries in higher education, it's easy to think about high-profile campus champions—the trustee who recommends her alma mater to every niece, nephew and neighbor, or the faculty member who eagerly volunteers for every campus visit program. While their enthusiasm is undeniably valuable, it's imperative that colleges and universities not overlook the opportunity to build new brand champions every day by focusing on their front-line customers: current students and their parents.

Current students represent the single greatest potential source of word of mouth for a college or university, and by focusing on them—and making sure their experience is a great one—you can effectively and immediately impact the WOM about your institution.

How can you evaluate current students' experiences? Just ask them.

• Survey first-year students during their second term. Analyze their responses to understand how the institution is meeting their expectations and where it is falling short.
• Respond to surveys, letters to campus newspapers, or formal complaints with personal phone calls or e-mails to the students. Ask the hard question: What can we do better?
• Create a culture of dialogue by inviting students to share their input on everything from academic advising to plans for new construction to the choices in the dining hall.

Follow up with students who show a high degree of satisfaction. Build on their enthusiasm and find opportunities to connect them with external prospects who share similar affinities, from hometown geography to fields of study to athletic interests. Good WOM is bound to happen.

The value of current students' word of mouth goes beyond their ability to reach prospective students, too. In fact, one of the most frequent points of contact in their WOM network is likely to also be another important institutional brand gatekeeper: their parents. When students are satisfied, their parents are satisfied—and that's the message they'll deliver to their networks.

When an institution focuses on the student experience and retention, it is good for the students—and even better for the word-of-mouth network.

In the news

E-Postage for E-Mail

Sending an e-mail to customers may soon require the electronic equivalent of a postage stamp to ensure delivery. America Online and Yahoo, two of the world's largest providers of e-mail accounts, are considering using a system that gives preferential treatment to messages from companies that pay from one-quarter of a cent to a penny to have each message delivered. The senders must promise to contact only people who have agreed to receive their messages, or risk being blocked entirely. In the case of AOL, unpaid messages will be subject to AOL's spam-filtering process, which diverts suspicious messages to a special spam folder. Most of these messages also will not be displayed with their original images or links.

From "Postage is Due for Companies Sending E-mail"—The New York Times, February 5, 2006

Blog Watch

Customer evangelists no longer have to shout it from the rooftops to get their message heard. They simply have to get their message on the Internet—a feat easily accomplished by almost anyone today. These blogs are maintained by customer evangelists whose interests and knowledge of technology vary greatly. But, they have one thing in common: a passion for a brand and a desire to share their passion with others.

• Spread Firefox allows fans from Minneapolis to Minsk to create and post their own "Firefox Flicks" testimonials online.
• Hacking Netflix is one customer's attempt to help other Netflix members maximize their use of the by-mail DVD rental service.
• Starbucks Everywhere chronicles the adventures of one loyal customer who is trying to visit every Starbucks store in the world.
• Vespaway is inspired by a love of Vespas and celebrates the urban mobile lifestyle.

If you have a favorite blog about marketing issues, higher education, or a college or university, let us know and we will try to share it with other readers in a future Focus issue.

Did you know?

Internet access is the norm for most Americans, up to age 70, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

E-mail is almost universally used with all age cohorts of Internet users (ages 12 and older).

Net users ages 12 to 28 years old have embraced the online applications that enable communicative, creative and social uses. They are significantly more likely than older users to send and receive instant messages, play online games, create blogs, download music and search for school information.

Internet users ages 29 to 69 years old are more likely than Internet users in other age groups to engage in online activities that require some capital: travel reservations and online banking, for example. Buying a product online is equally popular with all Internet users except those at either end of the age scale: teens and Netizens who are 70 or older.

Follow-Up

New, relevant information and reports on previous Focus topics.

WOM

• Advertising is Obsolete. Everyone Says So.—The New York Times, January 23, 2006
• Word-of-Mouth Marketing in Five Easy Steps—MarketingProfs.com, January 17, 2006

Blogs

• Is Print Doomed?—Fast Company, December 2005