| | |  | Scott White | Home » » Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking | | | | | | | Description: | | Who Is Talking About You? Master the art of word of mouth marketing with this fun, practical, hands-on guide. With straightforward advice and humor, marketing expert Andy Sernovitz will show you how the world’s most respected and profitable companies get their best customers for free through the power of word of mouth. Learn the five essential steps that make word of mouth work and everything you need to get started using them. Understand the real purpose of blogs, communities, viral email, evangelists, and buzz—when to use them and how simple it is to make them work. Learn what sparks the irrepressible enthusiasm of Apple and TiVo fans. Understand why everyone is talking about a certain restaurant, car, band, or dry cleaner—and why other businesses and products are ignored. Discover why some products become huge successes without a penny of promotion—and why some multi-million-dollar advertising campaigns fail to get noticed. Open your eyes to a new way of doing business—that honest marketing makes more money, because customers who trust you will talk about you. Learn how to be the remarkable company that people want to share with their friends. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Andy Sernovitz | | Hardcover:
| 216 pages | | Publisher:
| Kaplan Business | | Publication Date:
| November 01, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1419593331 | | Package Length:
| 9.1 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.9 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.85 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 133 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Starting conversations ...Jan 09, 2010
In our world of short attention spans, Tivos, and social networks, "advertising is the price you pay for being boring." Senovitz makes a compelling claim that the best marketing is buzz-worthy, unpaid conversations, or what he calls "word of mouth marketing."
If one buys the above premise, this is THE book to read. I found it entertaining, well-written and, most importantly, practical. It's been a while since I scribbled so much in the margins of a book (basically ideas sparked by Sernovitz's writing).
I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs to get the word out about their products ... be they soap, movies or charitable causes. While it is geared towards corporate-types, I think most people will find the tips helpful in getting the buzz going. The content is not "new", and there is no revolutionary idea in the book, no huge a-ha moment, but if you act on his recommendations, people will start talking about your "product."
So, start conversations. Tell someone about this review. :)
 Great resource for new business ownersDec 31, 2009
As a new small business owner (massage therapist) I really had no idea how to start a basic marketing plan. I was on a limited budget and found 20 ideas right away that I could implement quickly, and free! This book made me focus on my own business plan first before I could start the word of mouth in action. Each time I read it I get another fresh idea for inexpensive promotion. A great resource and very easy to read.
Marketing in the Age of TwitterOct 26, 2009
Word of mouth advertising is by far, the most effective way to spread any marketing message; provide a quality product or service, then cleverly engage the public in the discussion; it sounds simple, but making it happen usually isn't so easy.
Andy Sernovitz (with a little help from Seth Godin & Guy Kawasaki) delivers a powerful message that seems obvious; however, the simple ideas are usually the best ones, while the complex concepts frequently fall by the wayside. People don't like to be confused, so keeping it simple makes perfect sense.
Nowadays, thanks to social media outlets like Twitter, engaging people on a global basis is so easy; that's why so many businesses have signed up, trying to be as charming & informative as possible to the massses. Some fail (spammers) while others thrive; it really boils down to that catch phrase we've been hearing about ad nauseum, since the last presidential election---transparency.
Sernovitz has captured the essence of marketing in a free-market economy; the consumer's voice is powerful. Either deliver a quality product or service, or suffer the consequences. It's as simple as that.
Great Book For Anyone Looking to Improve His or Her Business!Oct 03, 2009
I am a personal trainer. While I am building-up my client base so that I may open up my own LLC, I find it important to remember that great service follows me wherever I may go. This book serves as a sound reminder about what's important for making new business for yourself. As a future business owner, you need to know how to get "talkers," as the author discusses in-depth. Even though I don't have a personal training studio yet, there is a lot of great advice for me as a future business owner (creating websites, creating topics for your "talkers" to talk about you on online social communities, etc). One more thing, I did not buy this book. I happen to work at a library as a pt library assisant. I have come across marketing books all the time, but this one book piqued my interest. I borrowed it and i'm glad I did so. It's a great book! Give it a read.
What Gossip Can Do For Your Company!!Sep 22, 2009
Andy Sernovitz who has a very polished background in marketing gives us all a great insight of what Word of Mouth Marketing can do for your company. He explains that you do not need the biggest marketing budget to be successful. If you don't know what word of mouth marketing is Andy defines it as "Giving people a reason to talk about your stuff, and making it easier for that conversation to take place." He makes it very clear in this book it is not just about the marketing or the techniques you use, it is about the people and what they think about you.
The Word of Mouth Marketing Manifesto:
1. Happy customers are your best advertising. Make people happy.
2. Marketing is easy. Earn the respect and recommendation of your customers. They will do your marketing for you for free.
3. Ethics and good service come first.
4. UR the UE: You are the user experience (not what your ads say you are).
5. Negative word of mouth is an opportunity. Listen and learn.
6. People are already talking. Your only option is to join the conversation.
7. Be interesting or be invisible.
8. If it's not worth talking about, it's not worth doing.
9. Make the story of your company a good one.
10. It is more fun to work at a company that people want to talk about.
11. Use the power of word of mouth to make business treat people better.
12. Honest marketing makes more money.
I think that this is a very good summary of the book and is a very helpful tool. If companies focus on these twelve points I believe that they can improve their business a lot! It may seem like petty stuff, but I think if you are not already doing all of these it can only enhance your company image. Your consumers have a huge impact on your business and before this book I did not believe that people had this big of an impact on your company.
I thought that this book was good and a pretty easy read. He talked in a simple language that I believe will make it easy for anyone to read and understand. As a marketing major I found this book to be very interesting. It made me look at marketing in a whole new way. I would say that this book is targeted more at smaller companies but it can be helpful for any business venture. I think that this book can help all companies succeed not just in business but in their customer relationship management. Andy talks a lot about what it really means to take care of your customers, and in return it will all pay off.
One thing I did not like about this book is I think it was a little drug out and repetitive. When reading some of the repetitive material it sort of lost my attention span and my interest. I also believe there could have been a bit more research in this book, like he said himself people are more apt to listen to people with credibility. You definitely can tell he knows a lot about word of mouth marketing and is very knowledgeable in the subject.
I gave this book four stars out of five. It takes marketing to a whole never level, because I believe that some marketers get caught up in what they are trying to market and forget about their consumers! I suggest that not just marketers read this but all companies. I think that customers and their opinions get overlooked sometimes. Marketers often get caught up in numbers, but if they listen to their consumers and show they care then the numbers will be taken care of.
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