#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #6 REFERRAL

One of the things you will notice about the ladder in this segment of the Word of Mouth Media discussion on the relationship ladder is that there are some new words.

As we look back on Rung #1 - SPAM, it is accompanied by the emotion that is generated by this kind of activity - DISDAIN. And even as we move up to Rung #2 - NOISE (slightly more targeted communications than Rung #1), it can still elicit IRRITATION.

Hopefully once you have reached Rung #3 and have started getting a response, you have your audience INTRIGUED. But intrigue isn't enough to keep you moving up in engagement with your prospects.

Rung #4 - DIALOGUE gets you to a place where you can distinguish true INTEREST in whatever you are offering (whether selling a product or a service, or trying to get someone to believe in you or your ideas).

A level of COMFORT results from getting to Rung #5 - CONVERSATION. This can be comfort with your product or service or just comfort with the fact that someone cares enough to fully converse with them about what they are after versus just what you are offering.

Rung #6 is really the Holy Grail for most marketers and that is getting to a place where you can actually get the client/prospect to TRUST you.

This is also where you begin to move your own needle by getting the referral for (or conversion to ) a sale. It is also the place where if you deliver against your promise in both the product or service and the whole set of experiences pre- and post-sale, then you have a great chance of this person referring you to others. TRUST is an essential component of relationship and of continued engagement.

So this is the place that you must be if you are counting on viral marketing as a core component of your marketing plans.

Stay tuned for the last rung, REPUTATION, coming tomorrow.

Chicke Fitzgerald | founder Solutionz Media and CEO Solutionz Group www.solutionz.com

Solutionz Signs of Success: SOCIAL PROOF

Social proof
If you do a Google™ search on this term, you will find that it is not a new term. In fact, it was used as early as 1951 in a Los Angeles Times article on Teen Etiquette, talking about "following sporting rules with cheerful courtesy", which would yield social proof that you were indeed "growing up".

In the current vernacular, the term "social proof" has to do with the results yielded by an individual or a company's involvement in word of mouth, or social media. Put more simply, demonstrating success.

My contention is that most companies are not yet sure what proof they are looking for to justify the time spent on social media. Indeed most have not yet reached a stage where they themselves have "following the rules with cheerful courtesy" demonstrating that they are indeed "grown up" in their use of the range of new tools, which include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Digg, Google Friend Connect, FriendFeed (just acquired by Facebook), etc.

It reminds me of when the term "new media" became vogue in the early 90s. The Internet was still in its infancy and the term actually related to the use of "multi-media" and new platforms such as Compuserve and Prodigy to reach consumers. The proliferation of PC use in the home was what sparked the growth of this media. Eventually of course, new becomes old and we have to come up with new terms.

New media was focused on companies reaching their audiences, largely by using older mass media techniques based on traditional advertising. In traditional advertising, companies looked for return on investment, with a pure ratio between spend and sales. Ad agencies guided the way, expert in all things "new media".

We in the travel industry are fortunate, because we didn't have to rely on just the advertising model in our foray into the online world. We quickly became the leader in what is now known as eCommerce, because we had automated systems already in place to allow people to purchase our products and services. But it can't stop there. Consumers have moved beyond just using travel sites for eCommerce and now demand the word of mouth elements - sharing reviews/feedback, sharing knowledge and not just relying on expert views of destinations and products.

Word of Mouth media isn't as simple as eCommerce. It involves not only companies talking to consumers, but consumers talking to consumers and consumers talking about companies and their products and services. The one thing that Word of Mouth media has in common with its predecessor is that it is a major factor in brand building, but in its infancy and in the hands of those that are not yet "grown up", it may not have a direct correllation to driving sales. So the best measure at the outset is what I have dubbed "ROIT™" or return or investment of time.

As you look at the relationship ladder that must be climbed in word of mouth media (see http://www.wordofmouthmedia.blogspot.com), most companies are still on the bottom rungs (SPAM and NOISE), which relate to more traditional mass media reach - quantity over quality. Getting to the top rungs (REFERRAL AND REPUTATION/BRAND) require a much stronger focus on delivering relevant information and in fact, forming relationship.

Those are the tenets of strategy that must be deployed as you look at using social media and word of mouth as tools in achieving your goals and getting yourself or your company on the social graph.

Leveraging Google Friend Connect

Watch this video and learn about how the Google Friend Connect feature can help you grow your social graph. Simon U Ford gives a very succinct view of GFC and how it fits into your use of word of mouth media.

#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #5 CONVERSATION

Bravo, you've gotten past thinking that SPAM and NOISE are good ways to get sales referrals or to gain a reputation (a good one that is). You've even gotten some folks to respond to you as you comment on various articles and blogs. RESPONSE is good.

Perhaps you have taken the big step beyond 140 character communication (aka Twitter or any other micro-blogging/status update) and have become a citizen of the blogosphere.

The secret there of course is saying something that people are interested and of course, working to engage them in DIALOGUE. That gets you as far as Rung #4.

So how do you get to Rung #5, CONVERSATION?

What is the real difference between online dialogue and conversation? I would distill it down to one word - ENGAGEMENT.

You can see that I've added the word engagement to sit across from the word relationship. True relationship is built over time and quite often involves "knowing" the person, either personally by meeting face to face or by talking over the phone (or Skype). Engagement can occur with people that you don't "know" in any sense other than dialogue over the Internet.

You don't normally use the term dialogue with people that you know intimately (e.g. "I had a great dialogue with my husband Michael yesterday"). No, that is a conversation.

What we are talking about here is the degree of engagement, the degree of relationship.

Stay tuned to hear about the next rung, which requires you to also add in a large dose of trust into the equation.


Chicke Fitzgerald | founder | Solutionz Media 813-925-0789

#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #4 DIALOGUE

You've invested a lot of time in trying to elicit a response. Perhaps the reason that you haven't been successful (yet!) is that you are spread too thin.

This week I made a major decision which was predicated by coming to the realization that I was indeed spread too thin, in a lot of areas of my life, including social media.

For those that know me well, you'll understand that it takes a lot to get me to that point, as multi-tasking is my middle name.

I realized this week that I needed to narrow my focus back to what I both know and am known for, which is within travel, mapping and navigation. Then I can leverage what I've learned in social media and in doing the radio show (www.blogtalkradio.com/solutionzlive).

Getting people engaged in dialogue online is getting more and more difficult. Case in point is Groups on Facebook and Linked In. Lots of people join them, perhaps to have that "badge" on their profile so people know what they are interested in, but very few people get engaged to the point where they are actually eliciting dialogue.

Dialogue is first and foremost a function of LISTENING. You can't have a meaningful dialogue if you are the only one talking. That is called monologue for a reason. So the difference between Rung #3 of trying to elicit a response and #4, DIALOGUE is how much listening you are doing versus talking.

Is your response one that is just intended to turn the attention back to you? Or do you really care about the other person's views and their needs?

One of the characteristics of true online dialogue is when it has more than a single cycle (e.g. a comment that may have a response, but no more interaction) or when someone else chimes in, having found value in your contribution.

To get to multiple cycles, well, that is Rung #5 - Conversation. Stay tuned!

Chicke Fitzgerald | founder | Solutionz Media 813-925-0789