The Hindu Business Line : WOMMing its way in

With marketers realising the need for more personalised and interactive ways to reach their target audience instead of creating generic messages targeted at the masses, the phrase `mass communication' is gradually becoming passé. Alan VanderMolen, President (Asia-Pacific) of public relations firm Edelman, who was recently in India to launch a new marketing tool, Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM), says gone are the days of one-way communication which was based on mass consumption and unquestioning belief.

"Today, communication is based on a relationship imperative. Smart companies recognise the need for continuous, fact-based dialogue with their multiple stakeholders. WOMM, for instance, is also about getting companies to get their stakeholders and customers involved in their business both online and offline," he says.

In an interview with Catalyst, VanderMolen talks about the role WOMM plays in facilitating conversations and discussions between customers and stakeholders about the various issues and products of a company.

Excerpts:

How does WOMM impact a company's business?

With customers' trust in companies eroding rapidly, it has become imperative for companies to engage the stakeholders in their business in more personalised and specific ways. It is relationships which drive businesses today, not perceptions. WOMM enables this important dialogue between the company and its stakeholders and its customers.

Which are the various forms of media that could be used to facilitate WOMM?

One could facilitate WOMM by either creating a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual or by creating a Rich Site Summary for syndicating Web content or by using high-profile entertainment or news to get people to talk about a brand.

Convergence of media and technology has made access to information much faster. In fact, word of mouth, according to a McKinsey report, influences 67 per cent of the US economy.

Which categories of brands use word-of-mouth marketing internationally?

Healthcare, consumer products and financial services are areas in which there is a lot of mistrust and consumers are constantly on the look out for information — issues such as how to manage one's credit card debt, whether a particular drug is safe to consume, and so on.

In fact, Edelman had engaged online researcher, BuzzMetrics, to identify segments in which customers went online to get advice and share experiences. The study found that 30 per cent of customers using a particular consumer technology product seek advice, 61 per cent of those living with an illness look for advice, while almost 70 per cent of credit card holders share their experiences about credit card debts, while 12 per cent seek advice.

How has the response been in India?

India is not officially into the WOMM space yet, but we found marketers showing a lot of interest in this concept. Indian marketers want to engage their stakeholders and customers in a two-way dialogue.

What kind of a role does a PR agency play in facilitating WOMM?

Public relations has always been about engagement. It is about understanding your consumers and communicating to them in a non-controlled fashion. Our core focus as a PR agency has always been on stakeholder relationships, therefore, WOMM is a natural evolutionary process for us.

In fact, the biggest fear I have for the PR industry in India is that of commoditisation of the business. I see most of the agencies investing crores in product clips when they should be putting their money in collecting stakeholder data to help clients manage long-term relationships with the target audience.

What kind of investment are you planning for the Indian market to take this strategy ahead?

We plan to invest close to $100,000 in the Indian market through our joint venture partner R&PM: Edelman.

The investment would be for conducting primary research on stakeholder relationships and investment on intellectual capital.

With more and more marketers concentrating on one-on-one interactions with their target audience through tools such as WOMM, do you think traditional advertising is on its way out?

Advertising is definitely in trouble. Many leading companies internationally have reduced their spends on advertising, and prefer to spend more bucks on new media.

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