Articles by Chris Ross

Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing is certainly not a new sensation; in fact it’s not even a hot buzzword anymore.  The reality is that much of what began under the banner of WOM is now being spoken of in the lexicon of social media.  Blogs, Wikis, User Generated Content (UGC) and the whole social media world are really built upon many of the principles started years ago with WOM. 

No matter what you call it, there’s now an environment capable of propagating the reality of your products quality and comparative value into the marketplace at blinding speed.  All these channels of communication and exchange make information available to a larger group of people at a faster rate than at any time in history.   

Even in this world of radical transparency and information exchange, I continue to be amazed at how much energy goes into messaging and marketing that attempts to gloss over product deficiencies rather than directing more focus and resources on fixing the underlying issues.  Often the result is marketing that dooms a product to fall short of expectations and to subsequently be raked over the coals of public opinion.   This kind of thinking completely misses the opportunity to tap the exponential power of social medial and WOM and fuels those folks who love to expose faulty products and the companies who make them.

Addressing core product issues isn’t always possible for a variety of reasons.  Lack of funding, short timelines to get a product to market or a host of other factors create the need for compromises.   No product, even fantastic ones, will likely go to market without their creators secretly wishing they could have slipped in a couple extra cool features.  

In the end, it comes down to the truth of your product.  Despite great marketing, huge media buys and all the other traditional marketing trimmings, a less-than product is destined for a very short half-life these days.  In contrast, high-quality offerings taken to market with savvy use of social media/WOM channels are likely to enjoy a longer run and do so with smaller marketing budgets. 

Next time you’re planning a go-to-market strategy, don’t underestimate the marketing value of a great product.  Waiting for, or pushing for, that next feature could be the best marketing decision you’ve ever made.    
 

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Depending on your perspective and how jaded you are relative to these things, Web 2.0 seems to quickly be on its way to becoming a cliché along the lines of “e-Business”.  Remember e-Business?  Ahhh, good times….but I digress.

Without question Web 2.0 is fundamentally shifting how we understand and engage markets, allowing both consumers and marketers unprecedented access to information about one another.  This transparency, timeliness and fluidity of interaction provide both a massive opportunity and an incredibly complex business challenge.  

Interestingly much of the buzz about all things Web 2.0 is focused on the enabling technologies with less emphasis on how, or if, these technologies and content address a fundamental business or consumer issue.  In some cases many of these technologies do a better job of contributing to the ever growing glut of information than they do providing meaningful tools or resources.  We don’t need more technology or content, we need more time.

So maybe Time 2.0 is a good moniker for the next wave of thinking.  Seems the key question we should be asking ourselves as marketers is “how do our efforts fit within the context of a consumers time?”  In an attention economy, marketing which aspires to provide maximum value in minimal time is marketing that understands and appreciates the realities of everyday life.  Winning the hearts and minds of consumers is largely based on demonstrating an understanding and respect for their beliefs and values.  If we respect the use of time, we can demonstrate we share the same values about the most precious of resources.

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