February 9, 2006

Should WOM Agents Talk to Strangers?

Recently I sat in the Bua bar on St Marks in New York and as I sat at the bar a girl came in and started raving on about a new vodka the barman had. Then she took a photo of the vodka and barman and asked me if I had tried it. I asked her if she was affiliated with the brand. She said no. Then walked down the bar to another punter and told him about this new vodka she had discovered.

It’s personal events like that which explains our slight distrust of Buzz Agencies and WOM consultants. Anyway, Matt Galloway has taken a step back and looked at the pros and cons of WOMming friends and strangers:

“From the perspective of the WOMM firm, an agent that shares something with a strangers is not particularly valuable because of the low level of trust. Furthermore, it presents a higher risk of negative backlash when the CP discovers the affiliation. So why would a WOMM firm want their agents to talk to strangers?”

Should WOMM Agents Talk to Strangers?

Article categories: Creative Thinking