As I was sitting in the locker room last week getting ready for my daily swim, the conversation turned to the inevitable at this time of year – the best and most conversation-worthy holiday gifts that my swimming mates and I received. There was talk about the new Galaxy Note, a PS3 video game, a multi-functional kitchen range from GE, and even a hot-off-the-line electric lawnmower. This same conversation was, and is, occurring between friends and acquaintances in every living room, every restaurant and on every social network at this time of year. Although social volume peaks during the holiday, it happens all year long; smart brands know it and are building strategic plans to harness it. They know they can’t leave it to chance anymore.
What strikes me most, though, is the palpability of these conversations and endorsements. My friends seemed to love the gifts they received – and they instinctively wanted to talk about them -- a lot. I became so intrigued by their endorsements of the Galaxy Note, that I had to go check it out (incidentally, The Note was very cool and it made me question the new Galaxy 3 my wife just bought me – but I didn’t tell her). These kinds of conversations – online and offline - are marketing gold.
We give this kind of marketing many names: brand advocacy, word-of-mouth, social advocacy, earned media, etc. Whatever we choose to call it, it is undeniable that the consumer decision-making process has changed and consumers, more often than not, are basing their purchases on what other consumers say. In a recent study almost 80% of potential buyers said that user 
generated content from existing customers had some influence on their decision to buy a specific product. Another cites that 41% of US adults consult online reviews as their source of ideas for holiday gifts*. Brands are coming to realize that they need to harness the power of their happy customers and proactively drive social advocacy – it is becoming critical to their success or failure as a company. Social marketing platforms that make it simple to generate, track and manage social behaviors are absolutely critical to a business - so conversations like the one I had in the locker room don’t become missed opportunities to build their brand, drive revenue, and create lasting customer relationships.
And they need to do it throughout the year - not just during the holiday season.
Richard Beedon is the Founder and CEO of Amplifinity
A hamster, a kind man with a very large vacuum, and a lost opportunity to generate a stellar company referral and some positive Word of Mouth (and all for free, no less). Take a look at Amplifinity's latest post on the totally revamped "All Things WOMM" blog (as well as website!).
We would like to hear whether you, as a consumer or brand, have ever missed out on a referral or endorsement opportunity. Tell us about it.
Amplifinity is helping one of our clients, a major telecom provider, drive revenue, acquire new customers and build a large database of brand advocates - all using the AMP platform. Request our case study today, and learn how we can help your enterprise-level company do the same.
Amplifinity is proud to announce that we won the Word of Mouth Marketing Association's WOMMY People's Choice Award for our American Laser Skincare Case Study. Take a few minutes to read about our successful referral program, and view our video. Thank you to all who voted for our case study!
If you would like to find out more about how Amplifinity's platform is helping our clients build their brand advocate base, drive brand awareness, and increase revenue, contact us for a quick demo.
Amplifinity seeks energetic, resourceful and driven Sales Account Managers. We are a creative, fun, but hardworking team, and our recent growth has created the need for more sales talent!
Read more about this position, and other openings: click here.
Brad Allan; Sales Associate at Amplifinity
The Woodward Dream Cruise: the largest one-day automotive event in the world, just outside of Detroit. Participants include 1.5+ million attendees and 40,000+ cars. Today’s cell phone technology with built-in cameras and mobile apps makes the Dream Cruise an ideal environment for auto marketers in the performance segments to connect with brand advocates and generate customers.
If you are a car person, you are most likely aware of this event. My lovely wife and I like cars, admittedly me more than her. We decided we needed to go to the last night of the “pre-cruise.” The pre-cruise is generally defined as the Tuesday-Friday nights before the actual cruise on Saturday morning. The Friday night pre-cruise has maybe half the cars and a tenth of the crowd. Not a bad combination.
As we were walking through the Chrysler display at the corner of 13 Mile and Woodward, I watched the cars driving by on Woodward and I heard my wife say (with feeling),” I want this!” “What is it?” I tell her that the object of her affection is the new Viper. The 2013 Viper SRT is sitting under a little tent partially surrounded by admirers. 
I have some connection to this car’s earliest ancestors as my uncle was one of the managers in Chrysler’s prototype shop when this beast was first developed. My favorite story concerned the design of an EPA legal side exhaust that didn’t vaporize the skin on your calf when you tried to get out of the car! That took a few attempts to perfect.
The pre-cruise was a missed opportunity for Chrysler to connect with potential customers and brand advocates. It would have been easy for a Chrysler event marketer to give people a chance to have their picture taken with the car or to gather reactions to the new re-design. There were many Chrysler staff people on site as the display took up most of the shopping center-sized parking lot. This was also just 4 months after the re-designed Vipers’ debut at the New York Auto Show. At that point, not many people had seen this car up close. Chrysler could have offered a free app to incent people to share pictures and comments with friends and encourage them to stop by the display to see it themselves. It would have been easy to track them through to the purchase of a Viper or any Chrysler vehicle.
One-and-a-half million gear heads, all in the same place, on the same day. Missed opportunity!
Join Amplifinity and WOMMA on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (CDT), for our Webinar: B2Bs in a Social World: Why Brand Advocacy Works
This is a free event, but space is limited, so please sign up today:
Register at: http://amplifinity.eventbrite.com/
What to Expect:
Speaker: Richard Beedon
There are 3 truths in B2B marketing today: 1) It’s increasingly harder to generate high quality leads and acquire customers; 2) It’s a social world and what people say about your brand is very important, and 3) Every brand has a generally untapped marketing channel consisting of their customers, employees and partners – these are a B2B’s brand advocates and they can reach out easily and often. This webinar will explain how.
Takeaways:
1. How to engage your salesforce to make referrals on your behalf.
2. How to engage your partners to make referrals on your behalf.
3. How the social world has changed B2B marketing.
4. The changing consumer climate - how B2Bs fit in.
5. The technologies available that can streamline and integrate with B2Bs’ systems to make brand advocacy simple
6. The advantages B2Bs have when it comes to brand advocacy and referral management.
Join Amplifinity and WOMMA on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (CDT), for our Webinar: B2Bs in a Social World: Why Brand Advocacy Works
This is a free event, but space is limited, so please sign up today:
Register at: http://amplifinity.eventbrite.com/
What to Expect:
Speaker: Richard Beedon
There are 3 truths in B2B marketing today: 1) It’s increasingly harder to generate high quality leads and acquire customers; 2) It’s a social world and what people say about your brand is very important, and 3) Every brand has a generally untapped marketing channel consisting of their customers, employees and partners – these are a B2B’s brand advocates and they can reach out easily and often. This webinar will explain how.
Takeaways:
1. How to engage your salesforce to make referrals on your behalf.
2. How to engage your partners to make referrals on your behalf.
3. How the social world has changed B2B marketing.
4. The changing consumer climate - how B2Bs fit in.
5. The technologies available that can streamline and integrate with B2Bs’ systems to make brand advocacy simple
6. The advantages B2Bs have when it comes to brand advocacy and referral management.
Brad Allen; Sales Associate at Amplifinity
Most have what I refer to as a favorite "toy" (cars, boats, power tools, those lucky few with airplanes, motorcycles, etc.). This toy is the one thing you had to have, love to show off, and must talk about. For me, I love my lawn mower. This is a man/machine love all the way. Many of you get what I’m saying without explanation (all you John Deere fans), but for those that don’t, I’ll provide a little more detail.
My mower came to me from a friend, who I would describe as a car guy, who replaced the
mower with a newer model. I referred to my old mower as the “Ferrari of Lawn Mowers,” although my sons did not agree. After consistent, tender loving care it would soldier on for 23 years. I witnessed its demise, and since there was no hope in repairing it due to the age and hours on the motor, it was time to go shopping.
I consulted many trusted sources like Consumer Reports, read online reviews, and talked to friends and family. After weeding through all my options, I finally found want I wanted! Less than $200 later, I was the proud owner of my new mower.
Of course, I had to try it out immediately. It started on the first pull. It weighed seemingly half of my old mower. The wheels easily adjusted. It was everything the brand promised and more. I was totally happy with my new “Ferrari.”
As a new brand advocate, I wanted to let all those out there know about this amazing lawnmower. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not have any way for a customer to provide a customer review on their web site. Companies, just like this one, can create greater brand awareness by simply asking customers to write reviews and testimonials, and refer friends (who knows once someone sees your new toy they may want one of their own). A recent study from Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, found that online consumer reviews are the second most trusted form of advertising.
Why wouldn't every company ask their customers to write reviews? It just makes sense. It's also free marketing and advertising of the most trusted kind.
Did I get your attention? I hope so, because I loved this article in The Atlantic this month! Short and to the point, Frank Rose reports on a recent Harvard study that explores why people like to talk about themselves so damn much these days. Turns out, our brains really dig disclosing personal thoughts and opinions about, well, pretty much anything. We like it so much, in fact, that the act of sharing activates and engages our "mesolimbic dopamine system." Who knew?
Why does this matter to what we do at Amplifinity? Well, if people like to talk and share as much as this study suggests, (and as long as humans still get happy from eating and having sex), they're still going to be sharing thoughts about your brand and referring you business. And that means I have more job security than I thought.