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The Power Of Word Of Mouth Among Online Groups

The Power Of Word Of Mouth Among Online Groups

By Sridhar Ramanathan

Today I was struck by how powerful my wife’s mom’s club is in terms of word of mouth.

Gina, mother of our four kids, is a board member of the Livermore Mothers club. She was drawn to this community of moms who support, inspire, and share experiences with one another. Like most moms, they are often the “economic buyers” of the household. And that makes them a powerful force in Livermore because they talk about their buying experiences—the good and the bad.

Gina once posted a note asking, “Does anyone have recommendations for electricians?” She received many responses, yet one name came to the top of the list–Carl Keeney.

We hired him based purely on the strength of references from fellow moms. It turns out that his business comes almost exclusively from referrals from the Livermore Moms Club. The moms use Yahoo groups to communicate, so what would take months of verbal word of mouth only takes a click of the mouse to get out to the 350 moms. Talk about power.

But this club is not so unusual. For example, I personally belong to the following:

• HP Alumni Association (5000+ members)
• Women in Consulting (200 members)
• EPIC – Enabling Partners in Consulting (72 members)
• Bay Area IChild (170 members)

All of them are part of what internet marketers call the “long tail,” or where there are far fewer “visitors” to a website because they represent a very specific interest group, unlike portals which serve the masses. But I see a further distinction here than the “long tail” descriptor. These are communities that foster word-of-mouth which, in turn, has a huge impact on buying behavior.

Common Characteristics Of A Private Online Group:

• Open vs. closed: Blogs, podcasts, and niche websites are community builders in the sense that they attract people with common interests. Anyone can visit the site and post a comment. But a community using, say, Yahoo groups, is typically closed to non-members. This exclusivity makes the group more intimate.
• Member vs. visitor: Because the group is closed, participants in the community are “members,” not just anonymous visitors to a website. Membership confers with it a responsibility—what you say matters and will affect your relationships with other members.
• Trust and honesty: People join this community because they share a common area of interest and, more importantly, a common experience (e.g. motherhood, HP tenure, consulting expertise, etc.). And that bond engenders both trust and a desire to help one another.
• Elicit, not solicit: Community lists facilitate member requests. Members elicit a response when asking for inputs — whether it’s about accounting, entrepreneurship, computers, or consultants. This is very distinct from websites, association mailing lists, or publications in which vendors solicit its subscribers with specific offers.
• Conversation vs. communication: You’ll find most online groups have “threads” or conversations online on a particular topic (e.g. does anyone know…?) as opposed to one-way communications (e.g. announcements).

What Marketers Can Do To Leverage Word Of Mouth:

• Look beyond the obvious targets: Who would have thought that one of the biggest influencers of electrician hires was mothers? Ask your clients who they turn to for advice and whether they belong to an online group.
• Deliver excellence: There’s no hiding in this venue; both good and bad service experiences will get telegraphed instantly in an online community, so your service better meet or exceed expectations well past the initial agreement. This is true whether we’re talking about electricians or architects.
• Nurture relationships: My mantra is that client retention is more important than acquisition. This holds especially true when marketing to a tight community where your very first client and your last one will carry equal weight.
• Be a member or befriend one: Carl, our electrician, was connected to the Livermore moms club through one of his early customers. And that connection proved vital since virtually all his business now comes through club referrals. You can do the same by finding out how you can better connect with your target group. If it’s CIOs of banks, perhaps your best client can give you visibility of what conversations are taking place among them.
• Don’t market: If you do somehow get to be a member of your target group, resist the temptation to promote, brag about, or pitch your service in any way. Sure, you can buy a sponsored ad, but never solicit business in the online group. You only hurt your credibility and risk blowing relationships.

So to sum up, we all know that word of mouth is the #1 best form of marketing because of its impact on purchase behavior. But do what Carl Keeney, our electrician, does:  identify your target buyer’s community, deliver excellent service, and build lasting relationships that will reward you many times over.