Speak Easy and Other Clever Marketing Acts a Conversation Make

It just might be the other kind of conversation, the one surrounded by doubt -- is my friend who is telling me they love this product being sincere or are they getting something out of it? By 2011, research company eMarketer estimates that 20% of adult Internet users will be word-of-mouth influencers.

I haven't seen the report, yet I do wonder if this is also based on the use of social media to publish information and opinions. Are you passionate about a product and service? Do you like being in the know? Chances are marketers are looking at you as a potential extension of their staff to go and spread the word. With traditional loyalty programs, it is difficult to tell if behavior is genuine or if it is dictated by convenience.

Meet the new customer loyalty program -- you give happy customers freebies in the hope they will tell their family and friends. As a company tailors its programs on those whose behavior can be "bought", will it miss the conversation with truly loyal customers who do not need the free gifts? And how are companies going to find those passionate consumers? If you publish, chances are one of the ways is through key word searches.

I read a lot of material, books especially, and I have featured many on this blog. Some authors have found me because I wrote about them and may decide to keep me in the loop for their next project. Other authors start as the friends I know and respect who then publish a book. In both cases, I will write about the book only if I personally found it useful and interesting. My desk is filled with books I received from publishing houses and publicists.

Which books am I more likely to find the time to read? Aside from those that are clearly well written, the ones that are going to teach me something new that will fit with what my hot topics are. And to do that, you would have to have read this blog at least a little to know what those might be.

What about the people who do not have an online presence? No problem, we'll give them one through a cool site. Procter & Gamble did with Tremor, which they define as a VIP community of teens and counts 225,000 members to date. By depicting itself as a place where it is cool to hang out, P&G is hoping it will build some equity in the teens wallets with coupons and special offers. Will it also build share of heart?

The code reference for the freebie loyalty program at Staples is Speak Easy. It's a simple concept, if your customers are going to become an extension of your sales force, why not craft a few simple messages they can use when speaking about your products? Here are some free pens and office materials and a couple of bullet points on each product to make it easier for you to tell your friends.

I tend to think that people in the end need to be responsible for what they choose to do and in that vein, the best form of advertising is often the free kind -- what customers volunteer about your product and service. Are you listening? The LA Times reports (free subscription required) that eMarketer estimates in 2006 about 65 million Americans gave word-of-mouth advice both as part of formal programs and just in the course of normal conversations. Which part did a company pay for?

Comments

[David Reich]

Valeria, there's a fine line here. Basically, companies are paying off people to talk about them, except instead of money, they're getting freebies or discounts. Some people will take the freebies and talk about products they honestly feel are worthy of conversation. Others will talk up products because they don't want to fall off the freebies list.

It comes down to who do you trust. If I have a friend who is always shilling products, I'll tend to discount what they tell me after a while.

In my post today, I liken it to product sampling.

[Cam Beck]

I think the customer pays for all kinds of WOM. Some explicitly, and some implicitly. Of course, the goal of every marketer of a product or service should be that the consumers sing its praises. Samples don't necessarily bother me. I do view endorsements with some skepticism if the product was free or lent, but the test for me is if the endorsement is thought out well enough to overcome my concerns.

I very well could be in the minority on that point, though.

[Valeria Maltoni]

David -- I was reading an article in the Sunday paper not long ago that centered on this very topic -- people signing up for freebies to talk up and actually making ok money from it. You do have a good angle, and I know this is a topic you're passionate about!

Cam -- we do, don't we? Funny how we are all searching for the pure intent when the truth is we are influenced by marketing *and* our biases. Does the pitch seem genuine? In other words, do you believe in it? That's what I look at.

[Michael Wagner]

Is the marketplace turning into the Iowa State Fair? Are we coming home with all kinds of samples and freebies stuck in an electric company plastic sack while companies expect us to remember them and talk them up?

I shutter when you suggest, "if your customers are going to become an extension of your sales force, why not craft a few simple messages they can use when speaking about your products?"

So now my neighbor has "talking points" just like the political pundits on the tube.

Most are capable of spotting the talking heads do their talking points. Will we learn to distinguish THAT kind of WOM from "the free kind"? Or will we in the end just dismiss it all?

Great conversation!

Keep creating,
Mike

[Dan Nee3y]

I absolutely agree with you, with traditional loyalty programs, it's hard to distinguish genuine opinions from repeated company messaging. The "new" customer loyalty program model that you mention rely on material incentives, which can draw out customers that are only interested in freebies. Wouldn't it be better to attract passionate customers with a community that provides them with not only rewards, but other valuable benefits: helpful tips in using the product, camaraderie with fellow users, and the opportunity to voice questions and comments in an uninhibited atmosphere? I wonder if communities like Tremor or Speak Easy were only created for brand building and WOMM but the real potential lies in the ability to collect rich information about customers, which can be leveraged and expanded with the right tools which could allow companies to understand customer insights across multiple company built communities.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Mike:

I love the comparison. In a way we're going back, aren't we? State and local fairs are all about community and getting together with neighbors and friends -- at least they used to be.

My suggestion was made with tongue firmly in cheek as that is exactly what Staples does in its Speak Easy program -- probably the reason why they called it such. And we might just dismiss it all.

Which brings up a topic near and dear in the blogosphere. What about comments from people who tout a product or service? Maybe we'll pick that up another day.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Dan:

This is an interesting discussion as in corporate life we often get samples of promotional materials, and I have to check myself for biases when hiring vendors.

These days it seems that no matter what the question is, the answer is community. I will be posting about that later this week or next one. I think the next wave in technology tools and space will be a departure from community.

You might want to check out Satisfaction, they are offering a space for customers to support other customers and companies to join the conversation. And it will be the ones who are passionate about a product and service to be active in that space.

[Greenwoman]

Hello Valeria! Blessings from my garden! I was nominated by Pamm at My Secret Spiritual Dance for an Outstanding Women Bloggers award and I just wanted to thank you for the series. There truly are some wonderful bloggers on that list. Thanks again!

[Terri Waterman]

How many of us can sincerely say we are 100% not biased about any product? Or any person? How do you buy credibility? Is it possible, and if so - would it continue to be credible? Looks like we're all on our own here...

[Valeria Maltoni]

Greenwoman -- you are very welcome.

Terri -- long time! Of course we are biased, we identify ourselves with brands that speak about our aspirations and to our qualities. Credibility is subjective, kind of like trust. And it builds over time with reputation. The other question I did not include could be: does it matter?