According to his blog Andy Sernovitz is on vacation now, but I just finished his book today (remember - had time only on the bus:P) and must admit that it is a great study for all companies unfamiliar with WOM Marketing. I somehow assumed I hardly know anything about it and happily concluded the opposite - I recognised all the main rules and tips given in this study. At the same time I was amazed how this book reflects the true nature (can one talk like that about business?:/) of WOM Marketing - transparency, reality and very down to earth Word of Mouth techniques - action>reaction type of thinking which might sound simple, but is the best solution here.
Word of Mouth Marketing is a) giving people a reason to talk about you and b) making it easier for the conversation to take place.' - this is his definition! (can be found on this site committed to the book with quite interesting content, do check it out!)

I would like to leave you with the words of his WOM Manifesto from the same source:
'1. Happy customers are your best advertising. Make people happy.
2. Marketing is easy: Earn the respect and recommendation of your customers. They will do your marketing for you, for free.
3. Ethics and good service come first.
4. UR the UE: You are the user experience (not what your ads say you are).
5. Negative word of mouth is an opportunity. Listen and learn.
6. People are already talking. Your only option is to join the conversation.
7. Be interesting or be invisible.
8. If it’s not worth talking about, it’s not worth doing.
9. Make the story of your company a good one.
10. It is more fun to work at a company that people want to talk about.
11. Use the power of word of mouth to make business treat people better.
12. Honest marketing makes more money.'

I think all WOM marketing consultants should treat it as a starting point. I strongly advice having it on our shelf!

(Actually I think the comments to his materials sound exactly like his preaching about WOM: 'Share This Article! I want you to pass this article on — it’s one of the best ways to generate word of mouth. You can post, copy, forward, or share this article with anyone you want, as much as you want. But you need to follow the rules: 1) Don’t change it, 2) Give author credit to Andy Sernovitz, 3) Mention that it comes from the book Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, and 4) Link to http://www.wordofmouthbook.com. (c) 2006 Andy Sernovitz. This work is licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.')

New rules of marketing again

Currently I am forced to commute to work by bus which gives me more time to read the books waiting on my shelf. Just as I have finished 'The New Rules of Marketing & PR' written by David Meerman Scott, and was wondering which work-related book should be next I got a Google alert containing link to this podcast. It's an interview given by another social media marketing specialist - Andy Sernovitz - whose book on WOM marketing I happen to have on my waiting list. (I am just about to start it now...). Andy's podcast explains very basics of WOM marketing and to me seems to be quite obvious, but I am happy to see that new type of marketing activities is promoted so wisely!
As for 'The New Rules of Marketing & PR' I am once again glad I decided to order a few books related to my current work - they give me insight into both business, as well as the social media. I think it's crucial to understand how the web and the markets are developing - not only for work, but for my own experience too. I find David's book fascinating and very inspiring - so inspiring that I decided to try out podcasting myself and got a proper microphone today. Silly idea, but I will read children books to my fellow Polish bloggers, since most of them have at least one child. And honestly - I do it every evening for my son anyway, so it's an easy way to start something potentiallt more serious:)
So read it - you can never tell how a book can change you!:)

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