The Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Think about it. What makes you decide to try a new restaurant, see a particular movie, read a novel? Is it because you saw an ad, or because a friend-someone you trust-recommended it?

The whole advertising arena has changed. Today there are so many more choices and so much clutter. We’re no longer all watching the same TV shows. One study says the average person is exposed to 3,000 advertising messages in a day, which sounds unbelievable until you think about all the ads you see in newspapers and magazines, in the mail, on TV and radio, on billboards, and on your computer screen.

Do the ads get your attention? Do you remember them? Do you run out and buy the products? Or do you start worrying about the scary side effects of those prescription drugs? You probably "zone out" on the ad marathons, TiVo past them, or head for the kitchen. But chances are you’ll remember-and believe-what your friends tell you. There is no more powerful communication technique than the simple act of one person talking to another.

With all the newfangled technology out there, the commercial world has rediscovered the power of word-ofmouth marketing (WOMM). We think it’s time libraries did too. Note that we’re talking about not just word of mouth but word-of-mouth marketing. Many of us naturally drop the "L" word into our conversations both inside and outside the library. What we’re talking about is getting organized, focused, and consistent about what and how we communicate. If we do it right, other people will help deliver our message. It’s also called building a buzz.

We think WOMM makes sense for libraries for three very good reasons. One, because we can afford it. For the first time, the playing field is level. We can compete. We can win public awareness and support. Two, libraries have a potential sales force of millions, including our entire staffs, Friends, trustees, and satisfied customers who for the most part we have not tapped. And three, because it absolutely is the most powerful form of communication.

The two of us had been buzzing about buzz for some time when two regional library systems in Illinois, the DuPage Library System and the North Suburban Library System, applied for and received an LSTA grant to provide training, planning support, and information resources on word-ofmouth marketing. Thirty-five libraries participated, including 29 public, three academic, two school, and one special. We were hired to lead the training sessions and provide counsel on project development. It was a learning experience for all of us, and we share what we learned in a book, Building a Buzz: Libraries and Word-of-Mouth Marketing, to be published by ALA Editions this fall.

Starbucks. The Body Shop. Ebay. These are all companies that built their reputations on the strength of their product and strategic use of word-of-mouth. Satisfied customers became their sales force. Positive word-ofmouth is so simple, basic, and powerful that it’s hard to imagine any company prospering without it. And you can probably think of more than a few ventures (we won’t name them) that have suffered from negative word of mouth.

You also may have heard that some companies are paying people to do word of mouth for them. This is considered unethical in the advertising profession, and it is not the kind of word of mouth we are talking about.