Who are you most likely to believe:

a) An advertisement (print, TV, radio,point of purchase)?
b) A sales guy on a used car lot?
c) A dear and trusted friend or family member whose opinion you value?

It isn't a trick question.

Depending on what study you read, the numbers fluctuate, but the findings are pretty much always the same: Purchases influenced by traditional advertising: Less than 25%. Purchases influenced by recommendations from peers: 65% and above.

Moreover: Advertising can be expensive. Enthusiastic recommendations from happy users are generally free.

So let's see: Traditional advertising isn't all that effective and costs a bundle, but in comparison, word-of-mouth recommendations are incredibly effective and relatively inexpensive. Is it any surprise that WOMM (word-of-mouth marketing) became ond of the big marketing buzzwords in 2006?

The thing is... only companies with great products or something exceptional to offer can really benefit from positive word-of-mouth. If a product is great, easy to use, cool to play with, looks good, tastes good, smells good, fits well, performs better, etc., users will sing its praises.

"You HAVE to try ABCD's smoothies. They're incredible."

"It's the best sci-fi flick I've ever seen. You HAVE to see it."

"It's the most fun I've had driving a car."

"Read this book. It'll change your life."

Anything short of that kind of endorsement might sound a little like this:

"It tasted like concentrate."

"Yeah... It was okaaay, I guess."

"Whatever. My Prius corners better."

"I couldn't even get past the first chapter."

So what are companies with... average, or maybe not so great products to do?

Well, they have a few options:

a) Embrace a pricepoint/value leadership position.
b) Engage in a dialogue with your customers and let them help you make better stuff.
c) Lie your pants off.

We've looked at (a) and (b) before, but we haven't really spent a lot of time on (c). Why? Perhaps because our readership tends to be composed of execs and business professionals who "get it." And as a result, we focus most of our discussions on best practices and emerging trends and ideas... not so much on the dark underbelly of marketing, word-of-mouth or otherwise.

Yet here we are, still in WOMM's infancy as a Marketing discipline, and the field is already getting split: a) Those of us who understand WOM and WOMM and have a strong sense of ethics know how to make it work for the right clients. (We also know when WOMM will not work for specific clients, and we have the courage to tell them no.) b) The others, who don't understand it well and/or are more flexible when it comes to abiding by... ethical practices use deceptive practices in their doomed WOMM campaigns.

For a discussion on that subject, click here.

To be fair, I will concede that the use of deceptive practices may not always intentional. In some cases, someone, somewhere in the organization engaging in a WOMM campaign might not understand its mechanics... or may not live by their employer's code of ethics. Things happen. Sometimes, the best of intentions can get ruined by a few missed details or bad HR decisions. So there. We can agree to give a small percentage of deceptive WOMM marketers the benefit of the doubt.

But only a small percentage.

If you've reached the point in this discussion where you're asking yourself "is this going anywhere? Is there a point on the way?" then fret no more. We're here:

This week, WOMMA (The Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association) released a list of 20 questions meant to be used by all organizations engaging in WOMM initiatives. These questions deal with seven basic precepts:

1. Honesty of relationship
2. Honesty of opinion
3. Honesty of identity
4. Taking responsibility
5. Respecting the rules
6. Hiring an agency
7. Probing your own soul

(Okay, I kind of made up that last one, but click here to find out why I added #7.)

If you are new to the world of WOMM, go ahead and read the Introduction to the twenty questions here before moving on to the full document.

In the end, the decision to engage in deceptive practices (when it comes to WOMM, any other Marketing projects or all aspects of business) is always a personal one. There is no magic pill out there that will make dishonest people honest. There is no way to ever completely make sure that companies you work for or deal with will always be 100% honest and ethical. There will always be people who try to cut corners, lie, cheat, steal, or otherwise exploit effective systems to their advantage. All that we can do is choose not to make unethical decisions, not do business with companies that engage in unethical practices, and have the courage to walk away when the folks who sign our paychecks turn out to be less than honest themselves.

For those of us who believe that great marketing can and should be honest marketing, the 20 questions are an invaluable tool... and an effective gut check. For us, scoring 19/20 isn't good enough. It's either 20/20 or nothing.

If you haven't already, make the choice to be one of us. (The good guys.) Print WOMMA's twenty questions and incorporate them into your best practices folder.

People respect and do business with companies they can trust. Don't ever lose sight of that. You don't ever want to be known as the guy (or the company) that lied or cheated. If you work in the world of marketing and business, you're in the business of building (not destroying) reputations.

Have a great weekend, everyone. :)