WOMMA Spaz

Well, I'm back after a holiday hiatus.  And the event that inspired my return to the screen was today/s WOMBAT missive from WOMMA, that is to say, the email newsletter sent out by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

So, they have a little instruction sheet telling folks "How to Sell WOMM Internally" - seeing as it's so new that many companies are not yet on board in recognizing its importance.  This is a good idea, and -- a caveat from me -- I greatly appreciate WOMMA and what they are doing. I'm just giving them a playful tweak here.  Because number one on their list of how-tos is:

"Declare and promote yourself the WOM expert.  At large companies, in particular, nobody yet thinks of word of mouth as a practice. If you declare yourself the expert, nobody will challenge you."

I just had to laugh.  I mean, this is half of the problem with innovation in America today, is that people who don't know what they're doing call themselves experts whenever something new and exciting comes along.  Nobody knows any better, so they'll fall for it!  I agree that the strategy of becoming the WOMM go-to guy at your large firm is good for your career, so the advice isn't bad.  I just would have made point number one "Make it your business to learn as much as possible about Word of Mouth Marketing."  Read the literature, participate in some open-source marketing intiatives, attend conferences and watch word of mouth happen about the sessions and showcased companies, hobnob with the WOM stars who have made this discipline their career for the past ten years or more, and express your deep interest and commitment to the discipline to your colleagues.  In other words, become an expert, don't just say you're an expert.  Sheesh!

While I'm at it, as a consultant in the practice, let me also point out WOMMA's final directive: "Enlist the experts (but don't lose control)."  The explanation for this point ends with the line, "If you give up the sense of expertise to the practitioner, you run the risk of being eliminated as the expert within the company."  So now we're advising non-experts (who call themselves experts) not to defer to the real experts, for fear of missing out on possible career advancement?

This is another problem with innovation in corporate America.  Some people prioritize maintaining control and establishing their political positions over considerations about what would be best for the company.  I have this how-to list for their bosses: promote people who work in the company's best interests, not their own.  And not so incidentally - do your best to make sure the two coincide. 

OK, that's the end of the tweak.  I do love what WOMMA is doing for the industry, don't get me wrong.  And a company that has conversations with its customers is better than one that doesn't, so if this is really what it takes to establish the practice, then godspeed.  You can see the entire list of how-tos here and sign up for the WOMBAT newsletter here.

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[Russell Nelson]

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http://mindstorms.lego.com/