EBlog

Word of mouth has moved to the web

November 1, 2007 | Posted by: Lee

As marketers, we all know how valuable word of mouth can be for our company. We also know that sometimes it works against us if the word is negative. With the explosion of user generated content and social networking, word of mouth has moved to the web and it's more powerful than ever. When our customers are happy they can be evangelists for our companies. But when they're unhappy, they can turn others against us.

The volume has been turned up and now a single individual can reach more people on the web than through other mediums. So what's a marketer to do?

Embrace word of mouth on the web - both positive and negative. Join in the conversation. Accept the fact that your customers are going to talk about you and you can't control what they say. But you can learn from what they say and address issues head on.

Case in point. Dell was slammed a few years back by Jeff Jarvis who created what I like to refer to as the posts heard around the world. His "Dell is Hell" series of posts lambasted Dell regarding its customer service.

Dell ignored it at first, but finally decided they needed to do something to address all the negative publicity. Now Dell embraces word of mouth on the web. They've created the Direct2Dell blog where they openly address customers' concerns. When first launched, over 50% of the posts were negative. Now, since Dell has joined in the conversation, negative posts are down to 20%. They're changing perceptions by engaging customer concerns head on. Dell has also created ­IdeaStorm, an online suggestion box designed to improve their products and services by asking customers what they want. They've generated over 35 new ideas that Dell has taken action on. This is free advice that's driving products and revenue. That's powerful and smart.

Are you ready to put word of mouth to work for you on the web?