Yesterday I spent a great day with loads of smart people at Supergenius, the Word-of-Mouth (WOM) conference hosted by Gaspedal.
After attending 11 amazing sessions, I decided to share my Top 11 Ideas here. One thing to note – many of the speakers were consistent in messages. So while I give credit here to these specific presenters, I heard similar themes throughout the day.
1. An army of fans becomes a permanent advantage. (from Andy Sernovitz)
Andy, with all sorts of passion, restated the basics – but often overlooked – aspects of WOM. Fans will always have a better message than a marketing team. A “Tell A Friend” form on your web site will produce higher quality leads that are free. The big question to ask yourself about your service, your product, your message or your company: Would anyone tell a friend!?
2. Movements never end. Campaigns are short-lived. (from Spike Jones)
Spike reminded us it’s about elevating the conversation. The talk is not about your product, it’s about what people do with your product – what do they achieve, what do they feel, and how can you provide space for your best customers and fans? Movements have inspirational leadership and active participants. To create this, there is actually a barrier to entry to a movement so you only get those who really want to be there and participate.
3. Start by listening. (from Lindsay Lebresco)
To know how you’ll interact with your customers, it’s important to hear what they’re saying. Don’t jump in to promote, just listen and monitor for a while. Use some basic tools – Google, Twitter, RSS to track how/what/who is talking about your brand.
4. Stir some stuff up. (from Jason Falls)
Be bold and draw a line in the sand when appropriate and when you’re ready to back it up. This doesn’t mean being nasty or disrespectful, as Jason has shown time and again on his blog. This means having intelligent discourse with those who have opposing view points. And NO mediocre content. If you don’t have something to say, don’t say it.
5. ROI still means Return On Investment. (from Olivier Blanchard)
While others are trying to redefine this business metric, Olivier is busy showing how to prove it. It’s important to measure your word of mouth efforts with real business metrics. It’s not easy, and it’s also important to realize that we’re talking about offline and online here, so be wary of measuring just one thing.
6. Look at marketing as a system instead of an event. (from John Jantsch)
It’s not one thing that moves the levers, it’s many. Know how to move them through a system instead of looking at one event for results.
7. The way we communicate has changed – you have the choice to adapt or become obsolete. (from George Wright)
Think like content providers. What’s compelling that you do? It may be ordinary to you but others would find it interesting. How can you make it worth watching?
8. Fans are weird. (from Jake McKee)
Yes, fans are weird. Get over it. They are also the best ambassadors for your brand. They are doing the work for you. Embrace them.
9. Make your customers the heroes. (from Kira Wampler)
Ask your company – what can we do to help our customers get recognized? Share their challenges and celebrate their victories. Make it about them!
10. Give your competitors’ customers another reason to change. (from Rod Brooks)
Customers will defect when affected by PO2 = Pissed Off/Priced Out. Don’t wait for those events. Give customers a reason to recognize why they belong with you. Provide a definition they can relate to, and welcome them at all times.
11. Create affinity and loyalty before need. (from Braden Young)
Don’t create a hard sell culture, create an education culture. Provide useful information and education before your customers need you. When the need arises, they’ll remember you as providing that for them.
Of course, this was just the tip of the iceberg. I missed some sessions happening at the same time as others and know I’ll be spending some more time with summaries and blogs provided by others at the conference. Kudos & thanks to the Gaspedal team and speakers!
Were you there? Did you get some other tips to share? Please fill in the blanks!
