Word-of-mouth marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM, WOM marketing, also called word-of-mouth advertising) is the communication between consumers about a product, service, or company in which the sources are considered independent of direct commercial influence that has been actively influenced or encouraged as a marketing effort (e.g. 'seeding' a message in a network rewarding regular consumers to engage in WOM, employing WOM 'agents'). While it is difficult to truly control word of mouth communication, there are three generic avenues^[1] to 'manage' word of mouth communication for the purpose of word-of-mouth marketing, including:

• Building a strong WOM foundation (building brand loyalty, trust and satisfaction)
• Indirect WOM management (advertisement and other promotional strategies)
• Direct WOMM management (viral marketing and electronic communication)

The success of word-of-mouth marketing depends heavily on the nature of the loyalty rewards used. When companies utilize poor incentives to motivate consumers or agents to spread positive word of mouth about products or brands, the campaigns backfire.^[2]