Why Word-of-Mouth Still Dominates Post-Pandemic

What is happening with good ol’ word-of-mouth? This question is vitally important for the growth of nearly any business. Word-of-mouth (WOM) tends to drive your reputation and consumers’ choices far more than do other communication channels. But because mouths have often been behind masks during the past twelve months, it makes sense to examine whether the nature of WOM itself has been altered. A couple of years ago, when I began updating research for my book, I found multiple credible sources revealing that more than 90 percent of word-of-mouth (WOM) happens offline. The research generally defined “offline” to include face-to-face conversations as well as phone, email, texts, and video chat (in other words, communication channels other than social media posts). And within that large category, face-to-face dominated. For an update, I turned to a 15-year review from the firm Engagement Labs. (I have no connection to them, but their data seems reliable and it is consistent with what I see in practice.) Their review, released in January 2021, has several important takeaways for your business: Face to Face (remarkably) still dominates. A few years ago, nearly three-quarters (74%) of all offline WOM was happening face-to-face. Today—yes, through a pandemic—a strong 66% of WOM is still face-to-face. The proportion by phone is holding steady at 17%, Texts and IMs have risen to 8 percent, with the remainder spread across video chats and real-time social media communications. One side often feeds the other. You might reasonably ask, “Isn’t there overlap between the things people post and see in social media, and the things they talk about in real time?” You would be right. These days nearly a quarter of offline WOM includes people talking about things they see in digital media. The implications I see for business growth include (1) making sure your team knows what is being posted in social media, and (2) equipping your team to extend the conversation. Most industry categories are up. By industry—as Engagement Labs defines them—the top categories for WOM have more or less held steady since 2007. Their top industry categories, in order, are: Media/Entertainment; Food and Dining; Beverages; Retail and Apparel; and Technology. The fastest-growing categories are: Household Products (up 102% in volume); Home (up 53%); Health and Healthcare (up 38%, and notably up 22% before the pandemic); and Personal Care/Beauty (up 34%). Automotive, telecommunications, and travel all declined. Offline WOM accentuates the positive. Any good marketing or communications pro will attest: It’s not just the volume of WOM that is important but also its tone. Is the conversation helping or hurting? If you have spent any time on social media, then you can appreciate its polarity. People share (or even concoct) the best of their lives and are quick to gripe about, well, almost anything. In contrast to social media, offline WOM is generally positive (and increasingly so). In 2007, nearly two-thirds of it was “mostly positive” with less than 10% “mostly negative.” Today 69% of offline WOM is mostly positive and only 7% is mostly negative. What is the implication of all this, post-pandemic? Recognize the primacy of offline WOM, and don’t leave the management of it to chance. Your potential messengers (including employees, customers, distributors, partners, and friends) will indeed talk about you in their everyday conversations—if they feel comfortable in knowing what to say, and if you are top-of-mind in those moments. You can’t control that outcome, of course. You can, however, make sure your marketing and sales messages are carved into interesting, bite-sized conversational nuggets. You can then share those nuggets with a wide range of potential messengers, and feed the system through thanks and acknowledgment. The offline world retains its oversized influence. Your business can shine in the many offline conversations that are happening this very day.
For Better Sales and Marketing Messages, First Get Everyone Uncomfortable

For Better Sales and Marketing Messages, First Get Everyone Uncomfortable

La-Z-Boy sells a lot of recliners. I don’t believe they win a lot of design awards, but then again their customers likely put a low priority on being fashion-forward in the family room. The recliner buyers wants to be comfortable and those big cushy chairs can indeed deliver comfort. That might be fine at home—but on the job comfort can wreck your marketing and growth plans. Too often I see internal teams running on auto-pilot in the ways they deal with customers and prospects. On the external side, you can be sure that competitors are trying to make your customers a little uncomfortable. And we have to make prospects similarly uncomfortable in order for them to consider doing business with us. ...
A Big Risk for a City such as Little Rock?

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Has your company ever seen a Request For Proposals (RFP) that you knew you likely couldn’t win? Your options might include ignoring it altogether, tossing the “Hail Mary” pass in hopes for a miracle result, or perhaps just doing the basics in order to keep your name out there. This year’s Mother of All RFPs might be Amazon’s open competition for its second headquarters location. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company expects to spend $5 billion on the project over nearly 20 years. ...
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What makes for an effective marketing story—the kind that is fun to tell, interesting to hear, and persuasive? We are learning more and more about the importance of good storytelling. Many companies rely on published case studies as a primary means to create and share stories and carry their sales conversations. One client has nearly 500 case studies on its website, many of which run well over 2,000 words. That represents a lot of work from the marketing team and a treasure trove for anyone who talks with customers! ...

How Buyers are Different When Other People are Involved

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Too Many Meetings End at Halftime

Too Many Meetings End at Halftime

I attend meetings—lots of them—as a participant or speaker. In general, meetings continue to improve as tools that enable the businesses (associations or corporations) that created the meetings in the first place. Event professionals have made great strides in promoting their events beforehand to raise attendance and set expectations. I also see higher levels of interaction for attendees during the events themselves. ...

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Nothing happens, as they say, until someone sells something. Unfortunately, many executives and sales people are in the habit of saying the wrong things – and thus they miss opportunities to make things happen.

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What Does Everyone Need to Know?

“But I had no way of knowing that.”  

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Who Feels Ownership of Your Message?

It is a common, and quite natural, question. When some new branding or corporate message is rolled out, employees and other potential messengers will wonder (or even skeptically ask aloud), “Who came up with this message anyway?”

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