Select the Communications Channels
Selecting efficient channels to carry the message becomes more dilficult as channels of communication become more fragmented and cluttered. Think of the challenges in the phatHiia-ceutical industrv: Over63jOQO U.S. sales reps "detail" doctors every day; hoping to get live minutes of a busy doctor's time. Some 40 percent of calls do not even result in seeing the doctor, which makes sales calling extremely expensive. The industry has hat! to expand its battery of! communications channels to include ads in luedicEtl Journals, direct mail (Including audio and videotapes), free samples, and even telemarketing, Pharmaceutical companies sponsor clinical conferences at which they pay physicians to spend a weekend listening to leading physicians extd| certain drugs in the morning, followed by an afternoon of giilfor tennis.
All of these channels are used in the hope of building physician preference for their branded therapeutic agent. Pharmaceutical companies are also using new technologies lo reach doctors through handheld devices, online services, and videoconferencing equip -me tit.®
communications channels maybe personal and nonpersonal, Within each are many subchannels, personal communications channels Personal communications channels involve two or more persons communicating directly facc-to-face, ptrSOn-tQ-autUence, over the telephone, or through 0-ulail. Instant messaging and independenl sites to collect Consumer reviews are another means Of growing importance in recent years. Persona! communication channels derive (heir effectiveness through individualized presentation and feedback.
A further distinction can be drawn among advocate, expert, and social communications channels. Advocate clwiniets consist of company salespeople contacting buyers in I lie target market. Expert channels consist of independent experts making statements tu target buyers* Social consist ¿f neighbors, friends, family members, and associates talking to lar ge! buyers. Tn a study of 7,0(10 consumers in seven European countries, GO percent said they were Influenced to use a new brand l?y family and friends.™
A study by litirson-Marstcllerand Hope r St arch Worldwide found that one influential person's word of mouth tends to affect the buying attitudes of two oilier people, Oil average, That circle of influence, however, jumps to eight online. There is considerable consumer-io-consuiner communication on the Web on a whole range of subjects. Online visitors increasingly create product inrormation, noi just consume it. Tlicy join Internet interest groups to share information. so that "word of Web" Is joining "ivord of mouth" as an important buying influence, Wordb about good companies travel fast; words about bad companies travel even faster. As one marketer noted, "You don't need to reach 2 million people to let then) know about a new product—1yon just need lo reach the right 2,0(10 people in the right way and Ihcy will help you reach 2 million."31
Personal in flue nee carries especially great weight in two situations. One is with products that are expensive, risky, or purchased infrequently."t he other is where the product suggests something about the user's status or taste, People often ask others for a recommendation tor a doctor, plumber, hotel, lawyer, accountant, architect, insurance agent, interior decorator, or financial consultant, (f we have confidence in the recommendation, we normally act on the referral, hi such cases, the recti turn eiider has potentially benefited the service provider
2. Solicit testimonials from ydur Customers: Use a response farm U191 asks lot ieedback—and permission to quote it.
Marketers' growing interest wi word-of-moulti, buzi, and viral marketing ha« ted to 3 number d m>i concepts and fleas. Here ate three seis o< such insights!
Research conducted by Renee Dye, a Strategy expert with McKmssy, strggests lhat Duii evolves according to basic principles, Dye contentfs lhat companies seeking to take advantage oJ burz must firsl ouer«me Five misCOQMptions about marketing conlagion. Here are "The 5 Myths pi 6uZ2":
1, Only outrageous or edgy products arc buzz- worthy, The most unlikely prptfticls. likfl prescription drugs, can general? iremendous buz;.
2, Buzz just happens. Buzz is increasingly the result of shrewd isarke:ing tactics in wtiich companies seed a vanguard group, ration supplies, use celebrities tu generate boa, leverage the power (jf lists, and initiate grassroots marketing.
^ 3. The best buzz-starters are your best customers. Often , a counterculture has a grealer ability to slart bu?i.
4. To profit from buzz, you must act first and fast. Copycat companies can reap substantial prolils if they know when to jump in—and when net to.
5. The media and advertising are needed to create buzz. When used eilhertoo early or too much, Die media and advertising can squs'idfi ttua before in Ignites.
■ Michael Catferky: IVord-of-Motith Marketing Tips
Markating auinor Michel Callerky's Word-nf-Mouih Marketing Tips v.'eb site offers many suggestions on how to buiid a network of referral sources, Here are five:
1. involve your customers in the process of making or delivering your product or service.
2. Solicit testimonials from ydur Customers: Use a response farm U191 asks lot ieedback—and permission to quote it.
3- Tell true stories to your customers: Stories ore the central vehicle tor spreading reputations because ftey communicate on an emoiioiiat level.
4. Educate your best customers: You can pick any topic that is relevant to your best customers and have them become the source of cre-d.bte, up-to-date information on thai topic.
5. Offer fast complaint handling: A speedy response is vita to preventing negative word of mouth from slatting, because negate feelings about a product or service may linger lor years.
■ Malcolm GfadwsH, The Lavz of the Few, Stickiness, and the Power ol Context
Mflfcwn GlatiwelA claims that lhrae lac tors viork to Ignite public imprest in an idea. He calls the 1irsi 'The Law of liie Few.' Three types pi people help spread an idea like an epidemic. First are Mavens. people who are knowledgeable about big and small things. Second are Connectors, people who know and cognmun-caie with a great number pi other people. Third are Salesmen, those who possess great natural persuasive power,
Any idea that catches the iiiteiest 0' M^ens, Coinnettors, and Salesmen is likely 10 be broadcast far and wide. A second factor is "stickiness 'An idea must be expressed so thai it motivates people 10 act. Otherwise ■ The Law of the Fen" will not lead to a seil-stisiaining epidemic. A third factor, irw Power of Oontexl. Wil control whether: Ihose spreading an idea are able to organise groups and communities around ii.
Sou'ozs: Renie Oyu. 11« Sue on an,* ttmart atfwss tevtomenttt-Oensrbei 2000;-139; Scon R. demon. "IdenlifyinB end Qertlopinj neierai Olannefe," 1 ■*. -!1. Ptfern ar^l Jeroaig- Neman, ^Analyse pf fli.ta.. Ntivwks in Marti®ting: ktelftoi;ifflj
Kussatkn," Juma1 of Kiting Rescatc/) INwaiter igsfit: 3M8; Jerry n. tviswi. Vtoa of tievft Mbrts^ (New Wife Jeftn wis*, 1991): CaHekyS Free Vicrd-Of iAxilh Matatiig Tos. 1999, available at <wwvf.gra;iiies.a^7allstreetfffi4€i>. Abo see Emanuel flcsen, TheAnatmq ofBuzztpai Vbrtt Diubleday. 20»;; Matoalm Gbttall, The Tfpmg faint Hav tjltle Things Cin Make a Bg merest <&sm titilf. Brow & Company, 2t>00;
as well as the service seeker, Service providers clearly have □ strong interest in building referral soiiTces.
Cotti in itni cation researchers are moving toward a social-structure view of interpersonal communication.'* They see society as consisting of cliques, small groups whose members interact frequently. Clique members are similar, and their closeness facilitates effective communication but also insulates dip clique from Hew idea*. The challenge is to create more openness so that cliques exchange information with others in the society. This openness is helped by people who function as liaisons and bridges, A liaison is a person who connects two or more cliques without belonging to either. A bridge is « person who belongs to one clli|iie and is linked to a person in another clique.
Many companies arc becoming acutely aware of the power of ¡norrt uf mouth or buzz. (See "Marketing Insight: Huw Marketing.") Products and brands such as Converse sneakers, Hush Puppies shoes, I an Sport knapsacks, Krispy K rente doughnuts, and the block-busier movie The Passion of The Christ were built through buzz." Companies such as Body Shop, USAA, Starbucks, Palm Pilot, Red Bull, and Amazon were essentially built by word of mouth, with very litilc advertising, in seme ca$es. positive word of month happens in a natural way.
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