QUOTES ON WHY WORD OF MOUTH WORKS

"No matter how artful or talented you are, you must follow a specific methodology to be successful in expecting and getting quality referrals." Scott Kramnick

"Lofty words cannot construct an alliance or maintain it; only concrete deeds do that." John F. Kennedy

"Your reputation will spread much faster within a targeted group than it could between groups." Bill Cates

"In a marketplace characterized by rapid change and potentially paralyzing choice, credibility becomes the company's sustaning value." Regis McKenna

"Customers set up a hierarchy of values, wants, and needs based on emperical data, opinions, word-of-mouth references, and previous experiences with products and servies. they use that information to make purchasing decisions." Regis McKenna

"A product or company in its infancy has no real meaning. But it acquires meaning from its environment, and it changes as the environment changes." Regis McKenna

"[consumer]Perception extends from the quality reputation of the product and its manufacturer to the reputation of other established users of the product." Regis McKenna

"People are deluged with promotional information, and they are beginning to distrust it [advertising]. People are more likely to make decisions based on what they hear directly from other people, including friends, experts, or even salespeople. These days more decisions are made at the sales counter than in the living room armchair." Regis McKenna

"We rely on word-of-mouth information when determining what products to buy, what companies to trust, what written reports to read, what corporate leaders to believe." Regis McKenna

"Building a communication strategy and process based on word of mouth and insuring a positive customer experience is hard work. It's a lot easier to run an ad, issue a press release, or hold a press conference. It's a lot easier to talk than to listen." Regis McKenna

"Like it or not, people are talking about your business all the time. Some talk is positive, but because of a quirk in human nature, negative talk reaches a much wider audience than positive talk." Jerry Wilson

"Sociologists say the average person interacts repeatedly with approximately 250 other people, including neighbors, family, and co-workers." Jerry Wilson

"Word-of-mouth marketing ultimately depends on the quality of your customer service." Jerry Wilson

Ask four key questions when planning a word-of-mouth marketing campaign: "Am I devoting 75 percent of my marketing effort -- dollars and energy -- to activating a word-of-mouth network? Are all my salespersons devoting a specific -- and sizable -- share of time (and money) to user network development and expansion? Are they compensated for doing so? Is every employee a conscientious network developer among his or her colleagues?" Tom Peters

"Under promise and over deliver." Unknown (Submitted by Angelo D'Angelo)

"Give them quality. That's the best kind of advertising." Milton S. Hershey

"An opinion leader may be motivated to search and engage in Experiential flow activities in order to disseminate product news, advice, and personal experience via word-of-mouth." Donna L. Hoffman and Thomas P. Novak

"[speaking of on-line marketing]Word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind, because it involves one friend telling another about something they found useful. The built-in forwarding function in every [E]mail program makes word-of-mouth advertising spread even more quickly. Jay Conrad Levinson and Charles Rubin.

"A man is always stronger while making a reputation than he is after it is made." Josh Billings

"Criticism is legitimate only when the speaker is believed to have access to relevant informatin on which to base his judgement." F.G. Bailey

"As personal reputation gives access to economic opportunity, it is logical to suppose that the latter cannot change without profoundly affecting the former." F.G. Bailey

"When dealing with people, remember that you are not dealing with creatures of logic but with creatures of emotion." Dale Carnegie