Dave Balter, from the clever word of mouth marketing agency BzzAgent, has a special treat for our Signal vs. Noise readers. His new book, The Word Of Mouth Manual, Volume II, which costs $45 at Amazon, can be downloaded for free in PDF format.
It’s a good idea because: 1. Dave put everything he knows about the power of word of mouth onto the pages (and he knows a lot), 2. Dave is self publishing the book (you know we love that), and 3. Dave is walking the walk by initially promoting the book solely by word of mouth.
If you want your customers to start talking about your products and services, this book is a must read. SvN readers: get your free copy in PDF right now.
Ismo
on 16 Jun 08Wow, thanks!
Benjy
on 16 Jun 08I wonder how many bloggers Dave Balter reached out to about this initially. I’ve come across it twice - here and at Seth Godin’s site - within my first 3 minutes of spinning throught the web this morning…
JF
on 16 Jun 08Benjy, I believe it was about 20 bloggers that Dave has come to know over the years. We’re excited to be part of the group that can bring this book to our readers for free.
Chris
on 16 Jun 08I can’t afford to pay for this but I wouldn’t mind donating money for it. Nicely done.
Bartek
on 16 Jun 08Anyone else getting a “This file is damaged and cannot be repaired” error when trying to open the PDF?
Jon
on 16 Jun 08Strangely, I wrote down my first ever idea for a book this afternoon.
Then, I received both this message and one from Seth Godin in my RSS reader.
Inspiring!
Benjy
on 16 Jun 08Jason, thanks for the number… I’m willing to bet there will be countless more sites linking to it within the next couple days. I’d be neat to see how quickly it spreads—which I’m sure is exactly the experiment Balter is doing.
Dineen
on 16 Jun 08A solo lawyer e-mail directed me to the bzzagent link for this, and I happen to be a bzzagent, to boot. So here I am! Thanks for hosting this. Can’t wait to dig in.
Rahul
on 16 Jun 08Awesome, thanks!
Fred
on 16 Jun 08Great cover. Not.
Peter Urban
on 16 Jun 08Since we rely on word of mouth to get our business network and applications to our users I’ll definitely get this one. I am curious how much the free download will boost his sales at Amazon.
Matt Haughey
on 16 Jun 08I’m sorry but I still find the idea (and practice) of marketing via word of mouth to your friends and family to be a horrible idea. I see the author has a page of caveats about the work he does, but it comes off as condescending to me (I don’t like it because of superstition? really?).
Paying people to talk up a brand at a bar, or over the phone to your aunt Molly, or to students in your class breaks a very basic social contract (that uh, you’re talking to me because you want to and not because you are being paid to and the things you are saying are your honest opinions). Marketing via word of mouth doesn’t seem too far from fake testimonials you see on the web.
Jenn
on 16 Jun 08@Matt
As a bzzagent myself, I can say that I am not paid to talk about a product. I am given a product and am allowed to make up my own opinion about it. I’ve loved many of them, but I have also disliked some. The ones I like, I talk about. Just like I would talk about the most recent movie I’ve seen or a restaurant I frequent. I only speak about something if it’s appropriate – because honestly, who wants to be “that person”?
You also do word of mouth. You recommend stuff. Bzzagents just happen to get a product for free.
Dhrumil
on 16 Jun 08Thank you Dave, Jason and 37Signals.
Matt Haughey
on 16 Jun 08Jenn, how is that different than being a shill for the company that gave you the free product? I’m not trying to be an asshole here, I’m honestly wondering where you draw the ethical lines? I’ve reviewed lots of products on my own sites that I bought myself and I’ve been given a few for free, but I always disclaim the freebies to everyone as plainly as possible.
Are disclaimers built into being a bzzagent? I seem to recall the last time I looked at their site it wasn’t part of the deal.
JF
on 16 Jun 08Matt: Being a shill is being dishonest. If you don’t believe in a product, yet you tell your friends you love it, that’s being a shill. But, if you actually like a product, and you tell your friends about it, it’s not being a shill. And if you don’t like it, and you tell your friends why you don’t like it, it’s not being a shill either.
pearly
on 16 Jun 08Matt, as a Bzzagent, I don’t accept offers that I don’t use myself or feel that I can honestly help promote. For instance, there was a shaver (expensive) recently offered. None of the guys I hang with use electric razors so I didn’t join the campaign. Then there was the Mrs. Dash campaign. Most of the people I regularly socialize with are watching their salt intake and so on, me included. I felt that using the product and then bringing the dishes to our regular NFL potlucks was an excellent way to let them see for themselves that there are alternatives. To me, it’s no different than saying where you bought your cute shoes or recommending a movie you saw.
Matt Haughey
on 16 Jun 08JF, I think it’s a point worth making that if you get something for free, you’re more likely to like it because the price doesn’t factor into the review at all. Especially for bigger ticket electronics, if you ignore price, you can come up with a positive review of plenty of items that might not be worth their cost, and things that I personally wouldn’t suggest others go out and buy given the high price.
Daniel Tenner
on 16 Jun 08Hmm, this book is all fluff, no substance. Not worth downloading.
Another marketing book that’s only interested in marketing the author – not in teaching anything.
YCNews comments concur:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=218648
Word of mouth… bites both ways?
Christopher J
on 16 Jun 08Last year I was eating a quick dinner at a downtown Chicago fastfood restaurant when a (presumably) homeless man shuffled in through the door and started walking through seating area without having ordered anything. He was muttering something under his breath as he walked, and I assumed he was hitting people up for change or maybe food. As the man neared I finally caught what he was saying … two simple words: “Spiderman 3. Spiderman 3.” Over and over. The man had clearly been paid a nominal sum to walk around and talk about something he would have otherwise never mentioned.
To me, paying someone to have an opinion about something they would have otherwise never thought of is akin to genetically modified culture. It’s disingenuous, and suspect, and honestly freaks me out a little bit.
However I think an unpaid endorsment on a blog such as this is completely harmless.
JF
on 16 Jun 08JF, I think it’s a point worth making that if you get something for free, you’re more likely to like it because the price doesn’t factor into the review at all
That’s fair, sure, but the BzzAgents who’ve written comments here so far strike me as honest operators who aren’t just in it to get free stuff and say positive things all day long. They strike me as early adopters who love trying new things and giving their honest opinion about those things.
If people just say great things about stuff all day long, and those products end up being crap recommendations, I think they’d ruin their personal credibility pretty quickly.
Of course a few people can’t speak for everyone, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there are some bad operators in the bunch, but I’d bet, on balance, that the BzzAgent system wouldn’t work if there wasn’t honesty built in.
Charles
on 16 Jun 08Okay, I just read the whole book (free PDF version). I am pissed off.
The book was great, right up to page 116, when it went south. While reading the rambling fiction of cereal avatars, I’m thinking, “WTF? Is this any way to conclude a book such as this?”
Then it dawned on me. By writing such silly drivel for what has been a good book to this point, the author is getting the reader to talk about it. He is forcing word of mouth of his work. An engineered manipulation!
And, it worked. I’m posting, aren’t I? (Grrr….)
Michelle Stump
on 16 Jun 08I’ve been with several testing sites where I get the products for free. I don’t pay attention to the “price tag” on the item, I simply try out the item & let other people know my opinion on it & get their opinion too. Whether postive or negative then BuzzAgent as well as other sites like to hear HONEST opinions on items being promoted.
Jenn
on 16 Jun 08@Matt
Hi Matt, you’re right actually. One of the rules of an agent is to disclose. My friends know I’m an agent, so they usually ask me if I’ve gotten any from mail from them. With people I don’t usually meet up with, I want to be honest, so I tell them where I found out about it. I guess it does come down to personal ethics and I want to be trusted, so I am happy to say where I got it from. It’s the same as getting a shampoo sample from a store. I don’t have to talk about it, but if I like it, I am allowed to talk about it.
Tor Løvskogen Bollingmo
on 16 Jun 08If I get stuff for free, that’s a value I’d add, subconsiously or not, to the product or producer – so I don’t think reviews from people who got stuff free would be something I’d give full credit.
Benjy
on 16 Jun 08Even if one were getting something for free to review, isn’t asking oneself, “Would I pay the MSRP/street price for this?” a question most people would ask themselves?
Robert Meacham
on 16 Jun 08You know what they say about word of mouth- A bad comment travels about ten times faster than a good comment. A good comment is solid so what better way to grow yourself, product, or business by earning it.
Robert Meacham author of prose and poetry
Michelle
on 16 Jun 08I also am a bzzAgent. I need to correct the misconceptions that Dave’s company “pays” anyone to “shill” a product. Lets take a recent campaign I was in for ZipLoc Big Bags. I was sent some sample bags which I never would have bought on my own. But since I got them for free I tried them out for a few different things and liked them. Now, maybe like me, you see a new product in the store and think “why would I want that?” and that’s exactly why WOM works. I am able to tell my friends, “look, there’s this new product called Ziploc big bags. I know you’ve probably seen them but let me tell you more about them. Maybe you’ll also think they’re useful. ” and then I proceed to tell the friend or family member what I’ve learned about the product and why I think it’s relevant to them based on my own experiences with the product. As agents we’re meant to USE the product, learn about the product and THEN and only then spread that through normal conversations with our friends and acquaintances. Once I even bzz’d a product in the supermarket (trail mix). It came from an honest place though – I tried it, I loved it, and I saw a woman looking at the product and thought I’d share what I thought. I’m not selling anything and any rewards I get from bzzagent are minimum and certainly don’t compensate me for the time I put into talking about a product. WOM at bzzAgent is meant to flow. I get to try a product that I might have never tried and I get to tell other people about the product, assuming THEY would never try it either. BzzAgent has a whole code of conduct that agents must follow. We must always tell that we’ve been given this product for free and that we’re looking for their opinion which we will report back to bzzAgent.
Anyone who doesn’t believe in WOM marketing really needs to open their eyes. Especially when we talk about the internet – how quickly can one blog post ruin a web site or conversely make a website rise to the top? We’ve all seen it happen.
Anonymous Coward
on 16 Jun 08Jason wrote:
“Being a shill is being dishonest. If you don’t believe in a product, yet you tell your friends you love it, that’s being a shill. But, if you actually like a product, and you tell your friends about it, it’s not being a shill. And if you don’t like it, and you tell your friends why you don’t like it, it’s not being a shill either.”
Whoa, not so fast! Hold your horses, Jason. You’re talking a mile a minute here, I’m not sure we can follow you.
Now, please take your time and break it down for us. Who is a shill, and who is not a shill? Who likes and who doesn’t like a product? Feel free to throw in a diagram or two, if you think it might help.
Gayle
on 16 Jun 08I happen to be a BzzAgent and I think the idea of this book is genius. I didn’t quite understand why it was being given away for free, (a little slow on the uptake) but then realized that he is using the internet as the perfect forum for people to use word of mouth advertising. Whether or not your opinion is favorable, its obviously working because you are all talking about it.
In regards to the debate over WOM being ethical or not, people have opinions. Whether or not you receive the product free, you are allowed to share them. When you are walking through the grocery store and are given a free sample, do you not accept it and give some verbal or nonverbal cue as to how it tastes? Is that considered being shill?
Considering this is being offered on more than one site, I’m excited to see where this all heads and what others think of the idea and the book.
Dawn
on 16 Jun 08I too am a bzzagent and cannot wait to begin reading this book!
Terri
on 16 Jun 08I am a new bzzagent, with this being my first campaign. At this point all I can say is WOW, what a way to start!!
This is a perfect example of how WOM works. Good, bad or indifferent, WOM is getting this book out there!!
I am so looking forward to digging in and reading!!
Kelly McNabb
on 16 Jun 08I am also a bzzagent and I can’t wait to read this book! I can’t wait to see what others think!
Marci
on 16 Jun 08I am also a BzzAgent. While you’re bashing WOM, consider the effect it has on products. A few months ago, I was part of a Pledge multi-surface and duster campaign. Just so happens I loved the products and, like most products, saw where some improvements could be made. I submitted my reports, my opinions and the opinions of those I “buzzed”. A few weeks after the campaign ended, I saw a commercial for the duster I am so fond of…but the new and improved version. Just so happens, some of the feedback received in the BzzCampaign was reflected in the product improvements. Now, I obviously can’t be certain the improvements were a direct result of the campaign, however, the timing is obviously suspect.
As agents, we are ALWAYS expected to do certain things: 1- divulge our status as agents (bear in mind, this also functions as WOM for BzzAgent)
2- tell people we received the product for free, to sample and share with others
3- give HONEST feedback, both our opinions and those of others
We are asked repeatedly what we do AND DON’T like about the product and what improvements could be made.
Now, Matt’s point about price: I always consider, and have been frequently asked by BzzAgent whether I find the market price to be fair. Maybe all agents don’t do this, but I believe many do. Many of these products are things I saw in the store and thought “I wouldn’t pay that much for this product, what a ripoff” ~ then I’ve been invited to BzzCampaigns and welcomed the opportunity to try a product for FREE and decide whether it was worth the price. For example: Glade Wisp Flameless Candle ~ I LOVE this product. As stated in my BzzCampaign, I wouldn’t pay $10 for it, because I don’t pay full price for anything unless I HAVE TO, but when that bad boy goes on sale AND I have a coupon…I’m stocking up on them!
BzzAgent always stresses the importance of HONESTY ~ they WANT our feedback, positive or negative!
If you’re so convinced that we’re all shills, Matt, et al, then why not join BzzAgent and balance out the perceived injustice? We’d love to have you!
Matt Haughey
on 16 Jun 08When you are walking through the grocery store and are given a free sample, do you not accept it and give some verbal or nonverbal cue as to how it tastes? Is that considered being shill?
If I took a free sample at the store, I would not stand on a chair and yell for everyone around to hear how wonderful Stouffer’s eXXtreme Meatball Bitez taste. I would just eat it and roll on. You are being directed to pimp the product to your friends and family that trust your honesty and judgment (which I’m arguing both take a hit when you take on free products in order to market them). Taking samples at a store and being a bzzagent are two completely different things.
J
on 16 Jun 08Taking samples at a store and being a bzzagent are two completely different things.
No they aren’t. If you take a sample at a store, and you like it, and you tell someone else about it, that’s no different then a BzzAgent taking a sample, liking it, and telling someone else about it.
Kel B.
on 16 Jun 08I was sent here on behalf of BzzAgent to check out the book. Word of mouth is a great starting point for a marketing campaign and a good trap when you think about it. Commercials are boring and you can always change the channel. At a store, you can easily choose the cheaper product when comparison shoppinig. However, when someone talks to you about a product you are kind of stuck there so you need to listen in case they ask you about what they were telling you about. A ha!
Tim Jahn
on 16 Jun 08I think true WOM is great and a very useful tool. I think it also shows the value and true uniqueness of the product. But forced WOM is horrible…I can’t stand it. Such as when people have their co-workers write awesome “reviews” of their product so the product looks good.
If you build it, they will come. You don’t need to force them.
Di
on 17 Jun 08Wow ,,,,,,oh oh oh I mean WOM I thought this was a fantastic idea…me also being an artist in many fields,,and also a bzzagent,,,we often get overlooked for lack of funds to get into a good paying field. This is most inventive and I see it going far. Kudos to you :)
joy
on 17 Jun 08i am a bzz agent and love what i do. i get to try a product before actually buying it then letting friends and family know about it. then letting them know how i liked it or not, its fun. i just finished reading the book for my next campaign and i enjoyed it very much. david is a great writer that i read the book in one session. i love his sense of humor , wtg david balter!
Veronica
on 17 Jun 08I can’t believe all the WOM that’s going on right now! This is exactly what is suppose to happen, and you are all wonderful! Everyone has their own opinions about everything, and you can’t dissuade them from their feelings….as much as you try. I hope all of this continues!
Pat
on 17 Jun 08I’m a buzzagent too, and what a great first site to visit about the book! The discussion is great and I’m looking forward to visiting other sites and reading the book. Others already have pointed out that buzzagents are required to disclose about products and their association with BzzAgent; check it out yourself! On to other sites to see if there is more discussion….
Nichole
on 17 Jun 08I am also a bzz agent, this is my first campaign, I can’t wait to read the book.
Mathew Patterson
on 17 Jun 08My name is Mathew…and I am not a Bzzagent. Do bzzagents get some kind of special badge? A newsletter perhaps? I might be into that.
I agree with Matt Haughey on this one – giving a genuine recommendation based on something you come across yourself feels different to recommending something you are explicitly being asked to think about and ‘spread’.
There is a risk of your conversations becoming unnatural, and if my friends began recommending products to me suddenly, I’d be very wary.
Matt Haughey
on 17 Jun 08Amazing to hear the BzzAgent people have directed bzzagents to this thread to post. Trying to drown out any genuine criticsm by incentivizing representatives to flood the comments?
I wonder what bzzagents get for posting a pro-BzzAgent comment here, $5? $20? Free toothpaste to recommend to mom?
Bill Bradford
on 17 Jun 08Was this book posted here solely so that bzzagents could come and lamely “endorse” it?
If so, this greatly affects (in a negative way) my opinion of 37Signals and their integrity.
April
on 17 Jun 08I am a BZZ agent too and I was not directed here by anyone. The BZZ site has lots of links when you are in a campaign and you are not asked ever to click on them. We get NOTHING for doing so. I did sign up for this campaign, as I have many others. And I sign up for many campaigns. And some products I have even hated. And I told everyone my honest opionon. I am particulaly glad I have this opportunity to try new products and spread my opinion be it good or bad. To me it is like making a recommendation for the contractor that you just used to build your deck. IF you are happy about it you tell people if you are not you tell people that too. We are nmot shills for anybody. We choose products we are interested in sampling in ( We may be in need of something liek it so we get to try it for free. And then we tell our Honest opinion and sometimes my opinion is that the particular product did not meet our expectations.
April
on 17 Jun 08MAtt You ought to check out AMazon.com Several BZZ Agents posted their reviews and one of them is not a glowing review of this book. You see we are only asked to sahre our opinions. How we do that is totally up to us and then we do report all shared opinion back to the “Hive” weather the opinion is positive or negative. ANd if someone we BZZ hates the product for what ever reason we report that too.
Kayo
on 17 Jun 08I am a bzzagent. Just to clear what I think is a misconception, Bzzagents were not “sent” here to blindly endorse the book. We were simply given links to several blogsites where we could download the book for free- this being one of them. This was done so we could read the book and then give them our own personal opinions in a bzzreport. We are free to give any sort of constructive criticism we choose-good or bad. Afterwards, if we know of someone we feel would enjoy or benefit from reading the book, we simply tell them about it. That’s all.
I don’t get $10, $5 or a free tube of toothpaste. You get to read this book for free and I get to read it for free. My friends and family know that I am a bzzagent totally voluntarily, and they also know me well enough to know that I would NEVER give them a glowing review of a product if I disliked it, period. I am not required OR ever encouraged to endorse a product (or this book) if I don’t like it or don’t think others would benefit from it. Simple as that.
I became a bzzagent because I believe in WOM, simply because it works. When visiting online stores I always read the customer reviews, and I would far more trust a family member, good friend or neighbor’s review of a product than I would the store’s billboard ads or tv, radio or online commercials.
I have not read the book yet but will definitely give my honest opinion about it when I’m done- whether I like it or not. I do love the fact that people are voicing their own opinions here as well!
kangarool
on 17 Jun 08Here’s my problem with it, and why I don’t want to read any further than the first couple pages.
The book is entitled the MANUAL of Word of Mouth. A manual more than implies how to create or build something.
But then, on chapter 1, page 5, a sentiment I agree with, and which demolishes his whole titled premise: “Pure word of mouth cannot be deliberately created, intentionally generated, or purposefully harnessed.”
A Manual for something that can’t be built? Why would I go further if the author has already destroyed his own case in chapter 1?
April
on 17 Jun 08Kangaroo
I loved your clarification regarding that we were not sent here.
But I did not read the TITle as a noun as you have described it I read it as an adjective and for me the title fits the description as an adjective. “operated by a person” rather than an ad agency etc. But you have a point if you read the word as a noun
April
on 17 Jun 08Kangaroo
And it is not titled the Manua of Word of mouth THe title is The Word of Mouth Manual Volume !!
Manual as an adjective defining how the word of mouth is spread.
Michael Moncur
on 17 Jun 08Pardon me if I interrupt the stream of “I’m a Bzzagent too!” posts to offer an honest opinion.
I’m disappointed that 37signals is participating in the campaign to promote this book, or having anything to do with it. I’ve been giving 37signals free word of mouth for years because I like what they do, but seeing them participate in a dishonest marketing scheme for a book that promotes dishonest marketing makes me wonder whether I should respect them as much as I have.
Seth Godin, who to me represents everything that can be right about marketing, made the same mistake, and I’m not sure what I think of him now.
37signals: If you really support this book, I’d like to hear why. Many of your readers will wonder why a common-sense no-BS agency would support something like this.
Grant Barrett
on 17 Jun 08If you participate in word-of-mouth marketing, you’re a shill and a tout.
If you can rationalize participating in word-of-mouth marketing, you’re still a shill and a tout.
If you like the products that you talk about on behalf of word-of-mouth marketing, you’re even then still a shill and a tout.
If you dislike the products that you talk about on behalf of word-of-mouth marketing, you are still, even then, a shill and a tout.
Here’s why: if you allow a word-of-mouth marketing company like Bzzagent to frame your conversation—to choose what you will talk about at anytime, to anyone, anywhere—you are absolutely, positively a shill and a tout. You are being manipulated and you are, in turn, manipulating others.
You’re not only a shill and a tout, you’re a patsy, a punter, and a mark.
Vladimir Slepnev
on 17 Jun 08Everything is clear now. 37s, pull the post, or apologize, or something, before it’s too late.
Anonymous Coward
on 17 Jun 08LOL
My gosh…......
My husband will be surprised that I am now either a brothel patron or into Australian Horseracingor a spy.
“The word punter may refer to:
A British and Australian English colloquial term for a paying guest or customer, especially a patron of a brothel a gambler, particularly an amateur betting on horse racing “
But since I am of Irish ancestry, I’ll go for this definition “Another use for the term is when used to refer to an informer or spy. This use is very common in Northern Ireland, particularly in Belfast.”
April
on 17 Jun 08What is it about the blogosphere that drives writers like Grant batty?
I think that Grant’s comments are soley dedicated to cruelty and to dishonesty. It really pisses the @##% out of me. Clearly!
As a Bzz agent I have now become victim to an on-line mugging.
I argue that BZZ is a complicated, imperfect co. that nevertheless has interesting and very worthwhile products.
People like Grant often act without ethics or thinking about how these acts affect others. I got one thing to say back to you: Take responsibility for your words and stop harming people.
Shocked? A BZZ Agent talking back like that? I’m just saying what almost all of us feel!!!!!
Seriously, holster your guns, cowboy.April
on 17 Jun 08There are nut cases and trolls in the blogosphere and Signal vs. Noise the best way to deal with them is to shun them. Providing a quality environment for the readers of your blog is more important than giving a platform for a few people who don’t know how to play well with others. …like Grant. I think alot of us do not want to chance being ridiculed by others if we make a comment on your site. We will steer to where we feel comfortable and safe participating, and stay away from places where we don’t. So please do something to stem his type of comments
You are in charge, you set the tone
Dolores
on 17 Jun 08I am a Bzzagent as well. Long before I became a Bzzagent I would tell friends and family about a product I recently purchased. WOM would either convince them to buy or to stay away from a product. Being a Bzzagent allows me to use a product that perhaps I normally wouldnt purchase on my own, such as the Sonic toothbrush. There are now 3 in my home. Maybe women are more receptive to new products used around the home. We talk all the time about where to shop, what day care centers are better, which hair salon gives better deals etc.something new we’ve come across. WOM can make or break a business or a product As an example everyone I know has used Hellmans Mayo for years..All of a sudden the taste changed because of the change in their recipe ingredients. In talking to other women some noticed the change in taste but couldnt figure out what was missing. Some still continue to use it but many switched to other brands Hellmans isn’t Hellmans anymore. In my case, I contact the manufacturers of many products that I am using for the 1st or 2nd time. I tell them what I like or dislike. I dont think promoting a product, whether as a BzzAgent or as regular consumer is being a shill. WOM is power. Commercials glorify the assets of a particular product and in a lot of cases the product doesnt measure up to the advertised claims, resulting in your money down the drain. If I get a free sample in the mail and it doesnt measure up I let people know. If it is a good product I let people know as well. If you really think about it WOM is everywhere. Someone is always talking about something planting a seed .
John
on 17 Jun 08I’m not a Bzzagent, never want to be a Bzzagent and am 100% with Mr Matt Haughey and Grant Barrett. 37, you really are hanging out your cross promotional washing for all to see. To all the bleating BzzAgents…. the world won’t stop tomorrow if you get off your low quality hobby horse earner. 37signals , you really do need to hire someone to kick your arses.. What a dopey post.
Michelle
on 17 Jun 08HEre’s what you’re missing, all of you who think we’re shills. We’re not being TOLD to talk or sell anything. If I’m standing at the bus stop with the other mom’s and we’re discussing something banal like the price of groceries and how orange juice nearly breaks the bank, I can reach into my purse and say “Hey, I have a free coupon for this new Tropicana, why not take the coupon and give it a try”I then tell the other moms what I thought of the Tropicana and what my family thought (I’ts got a TON of pulp, it tastes really fresh ) How is that dishonest? How is that being a shill? I’m sharing with my friends a new product. Is it any different than Tropicana hiring traditional marketing and plastering billboards all over? In this case, Tropicana hired bzzAgent and bzzAgent has me. if I hated the juice I wouldn’t talk about it. Plain and simple. Someone mentioned that it’s different than taking a sample in the grocery store and it’s not. I take a sample of cracker and I go home. A week later I am grocery shopping with my mom, trying to organize some appetizers and I say “oh last week I tried this really good new cracker, lets buy that, it was really tasty” A week later, my mom mentions to another friend as they’re noshing on other snacks, “oh we had the BEST new cracker, you should definitely try it out.”
I fail to see how this is dishonest. I fail to see how this devalues the product. in fact, I would much rather listen to a friend tell me about a product than a commercial on TV. My friends know that I’m not going to tell them about crappy products or tell them something is great (whitens teeth in 10 days!) when it really doesn’t work. In fact, my friends are always dying to know what my latest samples are because they know that they also will get to try new, quality products
(except that time when we tested Atkins bars. barf)
Bill Bradford
on 17 Jun 08Good products don’t need “bzzagents” to spread word of mouth; it happens naturally.
If you go to a web site and it says “Here’s your product of the day! Go pimp it out to your family and friends!”, well then you’re a shill whether you get paid for it or not.
Mike Harper
on 17 Jun 08To every “bzzagent” who claims they’re not a shill:
Have you ever tried a product that competes with a product you’ve been sent as a bzzagent that you preferred and then recommended on to others? If you’re really just passing on your own preferences, that’d be the norm—if you’re ramping up the amount of talking you do about products because of your role, then you’re a shill. As it is, you’re not passing on word because you’ve compared the product du jour to its competitors and picked one, only that something was pleasing enough at a price of zero!
April
on 17 Jun 08Whether or not this happens to lead to any “bzz” it has certainly succeeded in creating a bit of publicity. I bzzlaughed so bzzhard that my bzzsides bzzhurt!
Anonymous Coward
on 17 Jun 08Mike
as a matter of fact, I was in a recent campaign for Oust and I did buy Febreeze and compare it to that product. And then I and my family did our own testing of hoe long each sent worked. And I reported back that the oust lasted longer, but we preferred the scent of the febreeze. You see as agents we can choose how we want to do things and we do have the option of being creative and doing exactly as you said and testing it out with a competing product. ANd I prefer to do just that most times.
April
on 17 Jun 08OPPS I am not an annomous coward I typed in my name but when I was putting my email in I accidently hit the submit button, and it published. Sorry about that.
Michelle
on 17 Jun 08I’d really like for those of you who make comments about bzzAgent to actually LEARN how it works, because when you make comments like “If you go to a web site and it says “Here’s your product of the day! Go pimp it out to your family and friends!”, well then you’re a shill whether you get paid for it or not.” it just makes you sound ignorant.
That is NOT how bzzAgent works.
Here’s the rundown.
Company A decides they need some marketing for their product. They hire bzzAgent (just like they’d hire any other marketing firm). They come up with a criteria for which agents should be involved in this campaign. Agents for bzzAgent fill out multiple surveys and questionnaires so that they can target ONLY the agents who fit the company’s target demographics. The come up with marketing materials for the agents. The campaign is released to the agents who have previously been targeted (say women 30-50 with 2 kids) . Of those agents, only agents who WANT to join need join. Maybe you already have tried the product and hate it, or maybe your family simply doesn’t eat sausage. No product is forced on you. Once you join you receive in the mail coupons for the product (sometime actual product, but not always) and a pretty informative bzzGuide which tells just about everything you could want to know about the product. A good bzzAgent will then check out the company’s website, read about the product, and then try the product. Only after the agent has done all that, and formed an opinion on the product does the bzzing begin. Bzzing is meant to happen as part of normal conversations. You’re not meant to go out of your way to say “hey guess what I have!” it’s supposed to flow naturally. We all talk to people every day about many different things. We all share WOM about products whether we realize it or not. This is simply targeted WOM. Now, after ALL that is done, the agent files a report with the Hive detailing who we talked to, when we talked to them, how the conversation happened, what was said by us, what was said by then, and the most important thing, did we reveal that we were bzzAgents (that’s a MUST DO) . At no time are we meant to even share our opinion if we don’t want to. At no time are we told to go pimp it out. We’re simply meant to share about it if we choose to do so. And it works in reverse. I’ve had nasty awful products and you can bet that I’ve told people. At the end of the campaign the hive compiles all this information for their client (remember Company A? this is after all about THEM not bzzagent) and company A now has a very accurate picture of how their product is received in the marketplace, what people think about it, and what if anything needs to change.
So again, how is that shilling any more than the company who plasters posters on the T, or billboards on the highway, or commercials on the TV for my 7 year old to see? I certainly trust the comments from friends and family more than I trust anything else.
Think about how often you listen to WOM. Movie reviewers – they’re WOM marketers. Do you consider them shills? The movie studios release movies to these folks often time before the general public – they’re getting into see the movie for free in most cases – and they tell the population what they think. Do you question their integrity? They’re getting a salary to do their job and they’re getting a lot of perks from the movie companies, yet you still classify them as fairly objective.
WOM marketing is everywhere.
April
on 17 Jun 08Word of mouth works best when the information being passed on is factual. I will give you this, the information contained often presents itself like a sales sheet. It even presents ways to bzz about the item. But something you clearly don’t understand is that Bzzagents don’t want you to just randomly interrupt someone or a conversation just to talk about the product or service. They expect it to come up in natural conversation. For example, some ways to bzz about a book. I was in a campaign for Luanne Rice’s Books, so I set it on my coffee table to see if anyone picked it up. And only when they asked about the book, then I BZZed about it. I also bought several of the books as gifts to friends. ( I only received one book for free) What is NOT suggested is to shove the book in someone’s face and say ‘hey look at this!” Because the people who join the campaign are limited ( interest, ability to bzz, and results of survey) this item or service had a good chance of coming up naturally anyway.
People talk about their interests in every day conversation. That is what word of mouth is all about. People talk to other people of similar interests about those very interests.
Bzzagent is NOT stealth advertisement. It’s not giving in to corporate garbage. It’s honest word of mouth discussions about products and services. Bzzagents encourage positive and negative bzz, I had one particular product which I found appalling, Listerine Whitening Strips and if asked about it, I provided my honest opinion. They stuck together and tasted terrible and I did buy and compare it two two other brands, and my campaign came up the loser and I Bzzed about that.
Spike Jones
on 17 Jun 08Matt, Grant, et al….
I think someone needs to point out that the company in question does not represent all of the word of mouth marketing beliefs and/or companies out there. As John More says, this is CREATIONIST WOM, not EVOLUTIONARY WOM.
BzzAgent has it’s place in the world, and that’s with the product seeding arm of word of mouth marketing. It is not the definitive WOM marketing tactic or company. And while everyone here is entitled to their opinion (even me), please don’t lump the rest of us in under the same header as BzzAgent.
Matt Haughey
on 17 Jun 08Michelle, thanks for clarifying how the process works.
So it sounds like you don’t get paid at all, you don’t even get free product all the time, sometimes you just get free coupons. And in exchange to fill out reams of surveys and then talk up the products you like to friends and family.
I guess another angle on this that shocks me is that you volunteer for this and sometimes it’s only for a coupon. Do bzzagents realize that the actual BzzAgent marketing company is getting tens of thousands of dollars per client? (if not 100s of thousands on bigger ones) Do you ever see any of that? And you sell your honest conversations with your friends and family for coupons? Does that not seem crazy to volunteer for something like that?
Tom
on 17 Jun 08I’d be fascinated to see one of these “informative bzzGuides” that all Bzzagents are provided with. What’s the likelihood it includes statements like:
“Use conversation starters such as: ‘Don’t you wish you could find a natural, pulp-filled orange juice for your family?’”
“Think about what makes Tropicana different from other orange juice brands you’ve tried. Is it the delicious taste, the pulp or the Florida freshness? Talk about these aspects to your friends.”
...
This post smells fishy, to be honest. Can someone from 37signals confirm that you don’t have any form of commercial relationship with Bzz? Or that you haven’t been paid to post this article?
Craig Bradley
on 17 Jun 08The reason that this is abhorrent is summed up by Matt Haughey’s very first comment on this thread. It compromises the basic social contract of human relationships.
And it breaks in a way that is fundamentally different from the way passive marketing does. In this instance, one individual actively signs up to be a marketer in their personal life. Any screening or vetting or targeting is all compromise because the individual is actively choosing to use their personal life to market. The example about the Luanne Rice books makes the case. “I set it on my coffee table to see if anyone picked it up.” Boom, right there, you are allowing a marketing company to enter your daily life and you are choosing to use any personal credibility you have with others to benefit or harm a third party that you INVITED in.
I’m sorry, but this is a really really bad idea and further erodes personal integrity.
Matt Haughey and others have this one out of the park.
37signals just took a big hit in the Whuffie count if you ask me.
sati769leigh
on 17 Jun 08SHILL –noun 1. a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating, as at a gambling house, auction, confidence game, etc. NOPE 2. a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty. NOPE –verb (used without object) 3. to work as a shill: He shills for a large casino. NOPE –verb (used with object) 4. to advertise or promote (a product) as or in the manner of a huckster; hustle: He was hired to shill a new TV show. NOPE
i think some folks are confused on the actual meaning of the word shill. you might want to know what a word means before using it. Bzz agents are not paid. we do get to try a product and then we CAN or not share how we like about it. You share the good, the bad etc. You dont pimp the product and lie. You just let it be part of a natural conversation. I in all honesty, told my mom how much i disliked the aveeno lotion i got. I told her why. guess what? WOM, no SHILL. I bought a round of canadain club for my friends in a bar, we were asked why we all ordered the same thing and wether we liked it or not etc. NO SHILL. people just sharing with people things they do or do not like. something we all do every day anyways. Bzz agent just harnesses and focuses that power of WOM.
Dave Balter
on 17 Jun 08I’m Dave Balter, founder/CEO of BzzAgent and author of The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II. I’ve been reading this thread and figured it was a good time to weigh in.
I believe firmly that everyone is entitled to not only their opinion, but also the right to express it (that’s what social media - in all its forms is all about - after all). But having started BzzAgent, written the book that triggered this thread, and come up with the distribution model that involved 37signals, I feel it’s my responsibility to share a series of facts that may inform the opinions that are being voiced so passionately on this blog. The reason? This has moved beyond concerns about BzzAgent and misinformation is spilling over to 37signals, and I want to clear that up.
Real quick on BzzAgent:
A lot of the points about the business of BzzAgent have been discussed above. I could go on and on with facts about our Code of Conduct and elevating ethical standards for the industry. Instead of taking up valuable space here, anyone that’s interested in the facts can check out the code at: BzzAgent Code of Conduct [That all being said, there are some people who fundamentally disagree with organized word of mouth. That’s ok (as I wrote in the intro of the book), and I get it. It’s healthy to have disagreement. I just want to make sure the actual facts find their way to the forefront, that’s all.]
Now for the important stuff about The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II and 37signals.
Most people agree that the publishing industry is at a crossroads. It can continue down its increasingly narrowing path, or it can try to forge a new one. I have proposed a new model for publishers on my own blog and on Harvard Business School Publishing’s blog. So when it came to the distribution of my own book, of course I explored new models.
The approach I came up with was simple: sell the physical book for a premium while equipping 20 or so bloggers I read and respect to start the process of giving away the electronic version for free. That’s it. It’s really that simple. There’s no promotion, no partnership, no money, no nothing. The bloggers (a complete list is available here) were free to criticize the book if they wanted. Totally their call.
Just as these comments are totally yours.
Dave
Craig Bradley
on 17 Jun 08It’s hilarious that all these bzzagents are proudly proclaiming that they’re allowed to be negative if they want. Whoop-de-freaking-doo.
That doesn’t change the basic fact that the very existence of a conversation or relationship is compromised by the fact that you invited a marketer into it. Even if you are negative, you’re still sharing something with me because you asked a marketer to expose you to it.
Ugh.
BzzShill
on 17 Jun 08My friends come to me to ask about technology, Cajun cooking, child rearing, Adobe products, dread locks, art exhibits, TV shows, gardening, the NBA finals and a host of things that I am into or involved with. Call me the happy shiller if you will but I freely share information on any subject I have information on. If I happen to get, for free, a product from said subjects, companies or kitchens, I am not going to turn it down. I am going to shill my butt off. Like another poster, my shilled-tos are always asking what product I am involved with lately. Unashamed, I blatantly pull out a bag of nuts, or talk about the new Sonicare toothbrush. Yes, sir, talk all you want about dishonesty but I am convinced that feedback to companies on their products is helpful whether it is good or bad.
Stephen
on 17 Jun 08The idea of organized word of mouth campaigns is vile to me. Taking the handshake monkeys out of the office and putting them onto the street, where the real people are, invades our personal space. Just as the endemic demise of the small Mom & Pop shop was ushered in by the giant “We don’t mind if we lose a little cash on every sale in the short term so long as we get every sale” corporations.
I’m not a BzzAgent. If one ever recommended anything to me, I would be instantly turned off of the idea. It’s another subtle invasion of my brainspace.
Tom
on 17 Jun 08Dave, thanks for your comments.
Further to my earlier question, I’d be interested to see a a copy of the “BzzGuide” that you send to your agents. Can you provide a link?
Michelle
on 17 Jun 08to Matt: Most of us do it because it’s fun. We get to try out new products, some free, sometimes not. Usually we get one free sample, but I can think of a few campaigns where we did not. We also do get points for each time we complete part of the process and send in a report and eventually those points can be redeemed for goods. But we get the same amount of points for good bzz or bad bzz. What counts is appropriate bzz. And it takes a long time to get enough points to get something. Like me – I’ve been doing this for a few years and I’ve never bothered to redeem my points yet. The stuff I can get in return isn’t why I bzz. Many of us like to be the friend who in “in the know” on new products. Many of us like to try things out. Just as there are people who won’t buy a new car until it’s already in it’s 2nd incarnation, there are those of us who DO buy an item the minute it comes off the shelf. There are those of us who enjoy trying new things and new products and there are those of us who simply like to share what we find. That is why bzzagent works.
Michelle
on 17 Jun 08Stephen: A friend has never recommended ANYTHING to you? either you have no friends or you’re not a good listener. Because people recommend things all the time. And again, you’re missing the point of bzzAgent. It isn’t our job to recommend anything. It’s our job to tell our friends about a product and allow them to try it themselves.
Tom: each campaign has it’s own unique bzzguide which outlines various product features. Yes, it is a marketing guide and yes, it does highlight aspects that the company wants to focus on, and yes it does suggest who would be a good person to share this information with – for instance, I had coppertone sunscreen last year in the spray bottles. I had never used it before. The guide listed facts about the sunscreen: ingredients that were unique, design of the bottle that was unique (spray upside down), all varieties that it came in, etc etc etc. It also suggested times when it would be appropriate to bzz. Yes, it’s all marketing. How is that a problem?
Coupondiva
on 17 Jun 08I agree with Michelle…I have only redeemed my points once. It’s not about the “stuff”, it’s knowing about new products and being able to say “oh, I’ve used that”, or “I didn’t care for that”. Being in the know is what I like about Bzz Agent. The free products are nice and I love giving coupons to friends (and strangers), but that’s not all it’s about.
Stephen
on 17 Jun 08@Michelle – It’s not that friends have not recommended things to me. It’s that I have friends for, apparently, different reasons than you—I keep a friend because he’s a good person to have around, fun to play video games with, a solid shoulder to cry on, a good mind to plumb when I’m having troubles, and someone to sit in silence with when there’s nothing to be said. I do not keep friends so that they can tell me about products.
Let me say that again, because my mind is reeling that I even have to say it. I do not keep friends so that they can tell me about products.
It is indeed a long fall for society to now, when corporations capitalize on the value I place on my friends’ opinions.
Coupondiva
on 17 Jun 08Some of the things Bzz Agent has sent me I have negatively buzzed. It’s about being honest, not selling the product. I would never recommend something to a friend that I myself don’t respect or like.
What does that mean, Stephen…you “brainspace”?
Coupondiva
on 17 Jun 08If you try a new burger or find a new store that has good prices on clothes you know your friend would be interested in, wouldn’t you tell your friend? I just tried some new diapers on my daughter that are much cheaper then the old brand I was buying and I called up my best friend who also has a small daughter to tell her they didn’t leak (hooray) and where I found them. Not because I’m in a campaign for the diapers, but because I think she can save money with them. That makes sense to me.
Coupondiva
on 17 Jun 08Dave, I love what I’ve read of your book so far. My husband has also started reading it. Thanks for the oppertunity to read it for free!
Michelle
on 17 Jun 08Stephen, my mind is reeling as well because I have to keep explaining that you’re missing the point of bzzAgent. I don’t have friends simply to bzz them. Nor does every conversation revolve around product bzz. But by your very description of your friends, wouldn’t you trust their judgment? Don’t you ask them “hey, do you like your Iphone? Do you like your G3?” “what do you think about the latest WOW?” or whatever you’re into. OF COURSE YOU DO. and you’re lying if you say you don’t. We all have people that we turn to for advice and for information. Among my friends I’m the one who they ask “Hey have you tried that new bagged lettuce? Have you tried that new cold medicine? Have you heard anything about this new cell phone service?” I’m THAT person. Most bzzAgents are THAT person. bzzAgent is simply an extension of what we already do in real life . and bzzagent simply gives us the opportunity to try that many more products because we like being THAT person.
sati769leigh
on 17 Jun 08Well, i guess every housewife in america is a shill cause they all share with eachother ideas, products they like or do not like, coupons and more. welcome to shilllandamerica. I love my friends in business and in life and online. I love that I can count on them to be well rounded. Not only can we share the latest on a show we love, a business idea, or what have you but i know that if i say i have never tried a product and they have, they will tell me what they think. amazing how that works. Bzz Agent is only working with what is already going on. I can trust thier judgement and input on things as they can trust mine. amazing how that works!!
Coupondiva
on 17 Jun 08Well said!
Production Assistant
on 17 Jun 08Having just heard about BzzAgent because of this book, I called them today to ask for a rate sheet or quote for their assistance in promoting a film. Upon being asked when they’d be able to get us the information given that I’m trying to get an estimate quickly for the director, they said the regional rep would get back to us “in a few days . . . hopefully.” Well, we’re picking an agency sooner than that. FAIL.
How’s that for word of mouth?
Production Assistant
on 17 Jun 08Ehh, that was meaner than I wanted to be. But you’d think customer service would be a top priority for a company focused on word of mouth. :/
Michael Moncur
on 17 Jun 08To all of the bzzAgents who don’t understand what’s wrong with all of this:
You keep saying that you’re having the same conversations with friends that someone like me would normally have, you’re recommending products in the same way I’d enthusiastically recommend my iPhone, and that you’re free to say whatever you want, positive or negative.
That’s great, but think about it for a moment. Suppose all of the bzzAgents feel exactly as you do. They’re all on a moral high ground, and unlike most humans, no amount of free products or marketing materials will influence them.
What value is the company doing the marketing getting from you? If you’re doing all of the same things I’d do for free, why are they paying bzzAgent thousands of dollars?
Either some of the bzzAgents aren’t as honest and open as you, or the companies doing the marketing are throwing their money away. In either case, I don’t see anything honest about it.
Rebecca
on 18 Jun 08Michael, I don’t have all the answers you’re looking for, but I can give you an example. I was recently involved in a BzzAgent campaign for a tooth whitening product. I had never tried anything like that before and was really eager to try it out. After trying it several times it was obviously not a good product for me and it actually caused me discomfort to use it. I told friends, coworkers, and even strangers in the drug store to stay away from this product. After the campaign was over a few coworkers decided to try some of my leftover samples and found that the product didn’t bother them at all. One of them did end up buying a box to use until his wedding. So I guess it all boils down to the only bad publicity is no publicity.
Craig Bradley
on 18 Jun 08Rebecca:
You’re making the point for us. You tried something you would not have and inserted that not only into relationships you already had but also created new relationships with strangers just because of the “campaign”.
And the marketing worked, as you point out.
Yick.
It’s obvious that the comments defending the practice fall into two huge categories. A-I do this anyway, cause I’m the one in the know and this makes me feel more special and in the know , or B-I give negative reviews sometimes, so it’s okay.
The basic criticism is, you’re allowing a third party, and a commercial one at that, into your personal relationships, and not in a passive, but an actively invited way. Neither of the defenses answer that, but I suspect that nothing we could say would be convincing.
sati769leigh
on 18 Jun 08maybe some folks are just jealous of those who are outgoing enough and confident enough to do this kind of thing? maybe? movies sometimes give out a free sample, you can get freebies online, you can get all sorts of free stuff. you try it, you buy it, you tell others about it. there is no differnce. Bzz agent merely harnesses this power of the people. what is dishonest about sharing wether you like a product or not? seems foolish to me to turn you back on something you yourself have never tried. i would suggest that the sceptics try it. see what it is like? then come back and call it being a shill. sheesh
Michael Moncur
on 18 Jun 08what is dishonest about sharing wether you like a product or not?
Nothing at all. Now you answer a question: what is dishonest about sharing whether you like a product or not because someone compensated you for doing so?
I’m completely amazed that none of you “bzzAgents” can see this distinction.
Rebecca
on 18 Jun 08Actually Craig, it was a product I had been wanting to try and would have eventually. Receiving it through BzzAgent saved me the money I would have spent buying it only to discover that I didn’t like it. I had such a bad experience with the product that if I had bought it I still would have told people to stay away from it. I seem to be one of those people that strangers will walk up to and start talking to so I still would have had the opportunity to tell the stranger in the drug store that approached me that I didn’t like the product.
“The basic criticism is, you’re allowing a third party, and a commercial one at that, into your personal relationships, and not in a passive, but an actively invited way.”
I think most people do this almost every day, yourself included. Think about the conversations you have with people—“Oh I like that shirt!” “Thanks, I got it at X,” “That sandwich looks good,” “I picked it up at Z on my way to work.” Commercialization is invited into your relationships everyday and most people don’t even realize that it’s happened.
Believe me, I have no problem pointing out BzzAgent’s flaws—I’m positive my name is well known around their head office! I have been very vocal about when I disagree with their tactics. They are not the sole reason I talk about products I use in my day to day life. I may have tried something I hadn’t before, but I don’t go out of my way to create conversations about the items either. The bottom line is that the companies want to get their names out there in a way people will remember. WOM is one of the most effective ways to accomplish that. Yes, it does invite commercialization into my day to day life, but that commercialization is there anyway whether I want to admit it or not.
Carol Hays
on 18 Jun 08Dave’s book is great and makes a very good point. After running a contracting business for over 10 years, I learned that the best advertising and customers are the customers you develop from word of mouth. These customers will bring you more customers and the customers they bring in turn will bring more customers for years and years to come. I’m a bzzagent because I know the value of word of mouth.
Heather
on 18 Jun 08I am extremely offended by the ignorant comments being made by viewers of this blog. Why on earth does it matter so much to any of you who strongly disagree with the WOM technique? Would you rather support subliminal messages? Do you yell at the tv everytime a commercial comes on? These are all marketing techniques. The thing is, the bzzagent technique is genuine and honest. This new book gives people a chance to find a way to connect to one another on a PERSONAL level. There is no payment exchanging hands, instead, real opinions are being passed on. My position as a BzzAgent is not something I stand on chairs in grocery stores and proclaim as one reader posted. But if I like a product, it truly works, and I know people that would love it, why wouldn’t I want to pass it on? My opinion would be truthful rather than marketed or biased.
Matt Haughey
on 18 Jun 08“Do you yell at the tv everytime a commercial comes on?”
I would, if it was my friend trying to read talking points about Mrs. Dash to me in my own house. Then I’d avoid that “friend” in the future since I don’t like advertising inserted into my personal relationships.
Karen5111
on 18 Jun 08Matt, if you dont like advertising inserted into your personal relationships—-dont watch TV, read a newspaper or magazine, go to a movie, or a grocery store. Definitely dont eat in a resteraunt or fast food. Costco should be for sure off limits with all their “shills” almost throwing samples at us in every aisle. And dont watch the news as they are definitely marketing one political candidate against another. There must be a mountaintop somewhere , where you can leave the real world behind and not be bothered by peoples opinions. As a Bzz agent volunteer, I love the interactions with others, love trying new products or old products in new ways. I do not approach strangers on the bus or in the grocery store about my opinions any more than I would about my politics or religion. We are not “Predators” hiding under your bed forcing you to try our Mrs. Dashs seasonings. Get a life. Lighten up a little. Everyone is different. Me? I am having fun with the program and sharing my findings with family and friends just as they do with me about what goes on in their lives. If you dont like it, dont join. Everything is not a conspiracy . Thats a pretty warped. concept.
sati769leigh
on 18 Jun 08i have never been compensated by a company for Bzzing about thier product. getting a 5-10 product is hardly enough to make me give false WOM about it. sorry, i have a higher price than that? maybe 1 million? LOL i have yet to here of ANY Bzz agent being compensated by a company for Bzzing the product.
sati769leigh
on 18 Jun 08Matt, do you use any products then that have labels when you have people over? what about movies? computer games? you have no adds in your house ever? never watch telly with friends? are your friends avoiding you for exposing them to these things when they are over? probably not. if a friend asks you about something that you have tried or purchased do you then refrain from giving them your WOM input on the product or service since it might be offensive to do so? advertising, wether you like it or not, IS in your personal relationships. every time you wear clothing, watch a movie or telly, eat food or really do any activity with your friends there is advertising. I would hate to think you would feel you need to have no friends or social life and just stay in yoiur house for fear of being exposed to advertising in your personal relaionships. *eeek
Mike Harper
on 18 Jun 08I wrote a little ditty about the difference between obvious advertisement and products pushed into casual conversation, but I think it’s more telling if we leave the bzzagent to everyone else word ratio as high as it is. It’s kind of telling.
It’s hard not to see that word of mouth marketing is clinging to the “coolhunting” trend of a few years ago and trying to find the percentage of influencers who can convince the other 90% of the population what brand to get when they just want orange juice and don’t give a shit which brand it is. There are new, innovative and useful products, but I doubt few of them have the cash to deploy a corporate word of mouth campaign.
Karen5111
on 18 Jun 08Mike, As a Bzz agent volunteer, I feel what I do is no different than clipping the coupons from the Sunday paper and trying a new brand or a product that I wouldnt normally buy. With the coupon it is a great price. I have done this often and found that the product is WORTH the price, better than the brand I normally buy . So I continue to be loyal to this product even when it is not on sale. I would probably tell my friends about this product, alerting them to the coupon making it more reasonable. And that I thought it was a great product. It is still up to them to clip the coupon, buy the product and form their own conclusion about it. I have found some great products also by requesting a sample online and find I love the brand and then purchase it. The brand gets new customers by offering this try it first option. There is no guarentee I will buy it after trying. But many people will if they have great results. I have changed shampoo and deoderant brands due to these samples. Again, it is a form of advertising. Thats all Word of Mouth is—-just ADVERTISING. There is no deceit , interrigation after, no strong arm sale, just a very effective way of offering a chance to try a particular product. If you all clip those coupons, you are doing the same as I am. Using a form of effective advertising to see how a new brand will work for you. By the way, my cupboard is never without that Mrs Dash now that I have tried it. Wonderful product!!
Coupondiva
on 18 Jun 08I was recently given the chance to try that new $250 Logitech remote control…I tell ya what it was the biggest pain in the butt to set up! My dad got one as well and STILL doesn’t have his up and running. However, the remotes great if you can get it working. We have it hooked up to three tvs, but I could never have afforded it without Bzz Agent because it’s so expensive. I guess if you’re into electronics it’s not bad, but when you have to buy diapers and formula all the time, I don’t have money for anything that costs more than $5.00!! :) The only people I have told about it are the people who have come over to the house, seen it and said, where the heck did you get this? Or, friends who know I got it and asked how I like it. And I’ve told them what I think…it’s a great remote if you know how to set things like that up and don’t mind reading a HUGE book of instructions when it goes wrong.
I don’t see anything wrong with telling people about it. I haven’t told anyone about it yet that’s said “ohh…I HAVE TO HAVE ONE NOW!!!”
Diana
on 19 Jun 08I see the point as plain as the smile on my face. I have been a bzzagent since November and have done at least five campaigns. What i see is people communicating . You agree you disagree it does not matter you are talking and getting the word out using the best possible advertisers ordinary people (housewives,business men and women, teenagers,adults,children and even babies, mothers,fathers,grandparents,family and even friends) just to get the word out at minimal cost. To me its like a game to see how creative i can get and what fun i can have each time and i am rewarded in the end with self satisfaction knowing i was totally honest.
Thriftyrocks
on 19 Jun 08I, too, am a BZZ agent and I guess you can say that WOM really works! I’ve been to quite a few of the blogs through which this free book download is being offered.
So: I’ve been visiting blogs I normally may never have found. I’ve been impressed with many of them and may frequent them in the future…and am enjoying the trip.
This is my first campaign with Bzz Agent but I also belong to other such sites and I can tell you that I don’t ever “buzz up” a product I have no use for…I adhere to the ethics of the site and I’ve enjoyed the ride.
I enjoy getting things to try and I endorse the items I love. Why wouldn’t I? Do you tell your friend about the show you watched last night? Same thing, true? You watch the show and through it the advertising of the network. What is the difference?
You can usually trust your friends to steer you to the really good products.
Don’t join the movement if you don’t agree. Live and let live. But if you think this form of “selling” is going to go away: don’t bet on it!
Anonymous Coward
on 19 Jun 08To all of you rabidly anti-WOM and anti-BzzAgent, I have a suggestion—why not join BzzAgent and participate in a campaign? You’d get to see the materials everyone gets, the surveys that are filled out, the reports we make, etc.
I think you’d be pleasantly surprised, even if you still disagree with the premise of WOM.
And you’d get it through your heads that there’s no compensation. Not even a tube of toothpaste.
sam
on 19 Jun 08I’m a Bzz agent and I think WOM is an excellent way to market new products. You are given samples of products to try and make up your own opinion whether positive or negative and spread the word to family and friends. I think it has more effect that leaflets or fliers posted through your letter box it’s a honest way to go about it, I am more likely to buy a product if friends and family reccomend it rather than reading a biased leaflet that is put through my letter box. I think the idea of this book is to get people talking and sharing opinions, I have been on different blog sites and forums and it’s actually working people are talking about it. WOM is actually getting this book out there. Although I would not buy it at $45 the free download has made a very interesting read.
Patrick
on 19 Jun 08Glad to see so many more people talking about WOM. Thanks for the book link, it was an informative read. Your site looks clean and you know what you’re talking about. Keep up the good work.
Rochelle
on 19 Jun 08Thanks for the book. I have not heard of it until a few days ago and appreciate the free download.
Have a Scentsa-tional Day Rochelle, The Cinnamon Lady www.cinna-minnies.com
FREE Holiday E- book http://www.4shared.com/file/28140680/d2b848b0/Cinna-Minnies_Holiday_Ebook_2007.html?dirPwdVerified=a6c902a7
Jeanine
on 21 Jun 08As a bzzagent, I am interested in learning more about word of mouth marketing. No, I’m not a shill. I do love getting free stuff. Whether I like it or not, I’m going to talk about it. I’m actually more likely to talk about some product that I hate. That’s just the way I am. I am an educator who is underpaid. I do look for every way I can to get things cheaply or free. But I do not lie. I get to keep the product whether I like it or not, so why lie? Can’t wait to read the manual.
Rstlswolf
on 21 Jun 08Wow. I came here from bzzagent, looked around and liked what I saw and then started reading the comments. I can’t believe there is so much controversy over people coming to this site from bzzagent. I have received nothing from the site other than many new favorites in my browser from the links I have followed. I do plan to download the book and read it to find out if it interests me. If I find just one thing in the book that possibly changes the way I view something for the better, then it was worth my time to follow the link and click download.
Tonia
on 21 Jun 08I have recieved items from Bzzagent that I love and items I dislike from them. If I do not like them, I let them know. I do not tell people I love them, I tell them to try the product out for themselves and make there own decision. I am excited to read the book. I think word of mouth is a wonderful thing and I learn many new items, tricks and tools from other mommys.
Janet
on 21 Jun 08I have been a bzzagent for a long time. I have had some of the most interesting products given to me to try out. Many I love many I don’t and that is what the producer is wanting to know. Some of the products I see on the shelves some I don’t. I am actually looking for the products sometimes. I still look for a grapefruit drink to this day. I loved it and I hate grapefruit. It never made it to market. But I still look. I don’t search for people to talk to. I talk to people who are interested. Anyway, this book has been very, very interesting. And now I may try to incorporate some of those basics into ideas I have that I know the world would love.
This discussion is closed.