It's an OK book...I am using it for my thesis.
So far, everything in the book is based on common sense...I mean, nothing really grab my attention as a new way that can make me think "aha!"

It's a good book tough...suitable enough for my thesis:)

I've read tons of marketing books. Seth Godin, Al Ries, and now Andy Sernovitz are the authors who really have shown that they have a solid grasp on marketing.

Where Sernovitz really excels is his understanding of the dynamics of online WOM. Anytime you try to make a short-term gain, whether it be through spam or controlling what your customers say about you, you will lose. It does more harm than good. Having strong ethics and being a good person/company is what wins in the online world.

This is one of the few books I would dub as a "must read" for any marketer, both online and off.

The author certainly adds a lot of historical examples, making the book easy reading. But as for giving concrete examples of how to improve one's own business, it is mostly theoretical. Moreover, it reads more as a top-down memo than a conclusive analysis of the manner WOM marketing is conducted. The impact of WOM is in no doubt an influential part of every brands existence; however, I felt this acts book acts more of a summary rather than a in-depth analysis. If you are looking for an easy-read that will open your eyes to WOM, this is a great book for you; if you are looking for a book that delves deeper into the possibilities of WOM, keep looking.

Andy Sernovitz is the guru of Word of Mouth. Andy's advice will give you ideas you can use right now to jump start the conversations that customers are having with each other. If you've ever wanted customers to act as your sales team, this is the book for you.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book and my copy is totally marked up as I got many more ideas and strategies for us to implement in our business & daily operations. Our Magazine, Millionaire Blueprints Magazine Millionaire Blueprints is privileged to be marketed by word of mouth and we never had it as a line item in our marketing plan. Duh! I am so glad that there is discussion here on putting a value to word of mouth and proactively making it a part of the business and marketing plan. I also love the discussion about being honest & transparent, customer service, and simply being a part of the conversation both online and offline. Great book and it will definitely be referred to often in our business by our entire team.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VGA7VAALDB3S I don't care what your business is, you can use the techniques of Word of Mouth Marketing easily if you understand how it works. It's not hard, and best of all, it's not expensive. The investment you make for this book is nothing compared to the value and ideas you'll get that could transform your business. Easy, fast read. Buy it today.

This book is a very simple way to discover everything you need to know about word of mouth.
It's pretty clear, talk to everyone and it's fulfilled with good examples.
If you own a small company or if you are the CEO of an important group, you can be interested by the content provided by Andy Sernovitz.

As a long term fan of Andy Sernovitz's Blog many of the ideas in Word of Mouth Marketing were already known to me. The book is a portable version of the blog and I found it so useful I gifted it to my friend. Hopefully when he is done he too will pass it to someone who could benefit from Andy's wisdom.

If you want to know how to do word-of-mouth marketing in a way that truly works, consult the best. Andy knows.

Whether it's with your local barber or with your next-door neighbor, you talk about your experiences with companies, products and services. And if you're a marketer, you want people to talk about YOUR company, YOUR product or YOUR service.

But how do you do this?

Andy Sernovitz knows, and he makes it easy to understand with this book. And when you finish, you'll realize that good word of mouth marketing is good marketing. Period.

So it doesn't matter if you're a marketer, if you run a small business or if you work for a global corporation. This well-written book is full of tips and case studies that will help you do your job better.

Good advice and easy to read (less than an hour). I've already started to act.

What better way to give an example of word of mouth marketing than by participating in it! Excellant book with real world examples. Want to take it to the next level? I recomend attending one of the Gas Pedal workshops in Chicago!!

I don't own a company or business, but this book was helpful to me as a free-lance writer. Many of the ideas and tips will help me promote and sell my books. I recommend it to anyone who has anything to sell.

Pam Halter, children's author

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R97S7WEYFWKY2

Andy Sernovitz's book is a great way to get started with word of mouth marketing today. it's a nice balance between WOM theory/background, and practical how-to steps. Unless you're already an expert on word of mouth marketing, I expect you'll find this book encouraging, intriguing and motivating to get out there and join the WOM movement right away.

Technology is rapidly changing how we communicate. Andy Sernovitz tells how to use it effectively. Companies that use his approach stand a better chance of succeeding and thriving. He uses a simple, straight-forward style with concrete examples. Ironically this multi-billion dollar industry cannot be measured of itself, but individual results can be seen and/or conjectured. His insights are crucial in today's economy not only for companies, but for individuals. Please see the additional web site tools he and others have created to put Word of Mouth Marketing into action. An easy read, brilliantly written, with superb follow-up tools.

People talk. When they're happy, they chat. When they're unhappy, they yell and scream and kick and rant, inciting angry mobs. Social networks have shone a searchlight on the darkest corners in business - there is literally nowhere to hide. We ignore this new exposure at our peril: revenues and reputations can be rapidly destroyed by it. But there is a big upside if we learn how to participate fully.

Andy shows us how to embrace the transparency inherent in social networks, use it to engage honestly, enjoy the process, and reap real benefits. He reminds us that the fate of our business will be decided by others unless we open communications on all channels. Best of all, he reminds us that doing what's right is not only more pleasant, it's more profitable.

Your customers are talking about you. You can choose to listen, facilitate, and participate - or ignore them.

I like how the author described word of mouth as BtoCtoC (business to consumer to consumer). I also like the emphasis on honesty and disclosure. "Nobody talks positively about a company that they don't trust or like."

Aside from the obvious promotional value, word of mouth offers customer service opportunities, and unfiltered market research insights.

I have a bookshelf brimming with business books, but Andy's is one that's dogeared, highlighted, post-ited(???) and a continual go-to reference for me. The Five T's are clear, insightful, and compelling (because they work - how's that for a new concept?).

Andy's writing is witty, concise, and you can breeze through this book in a day or two. But the ideas and concepts are workable for the long haul and they're a staple in my marketing arsenal (in fact, quite the cornerstone in many ways). A practical, common sense guide for bringing the best in marketing back to its very essence.

I liked this book on word-of-mouth of marketing, but I didn't love it. I've read other books on WOM, which provide better information. In my case, I use WOM to market my books. While this book is applicable to marketing books, "Plug Your Book" is better. That's not to say that this book isn't worth it. It's full of valuable information for anyone who is new to WOM marketing.

I especially liked the examples the author uses and how he broke WOM down to a science. He provided a pie chart that shows that at least one third of sales comes from WOM.

The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because I don't like how it rambles on about the importance of WOM. When I write or read, I like it be straight and to the point. That's why so many books are thick; they ramble. My books are thin; I write about thing and then move on.

Brandon Simpson

I just finished this book as part of an ongoing project on developing WOM strategy for my company and found many great ideas in the fast reading, straightforward book. The author is the President Emeritus of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), and there is a bias in their direction, but it is an excellent organization with a lot of good information and networking. The only missing element is marketing research - the author clearly alerts readers about the lack of research in the introduction as he wanted to keep the content fluid and full of ideas rather than an academic analysis of statistical research. It would have been nice to see measurable evidence of the effectiveness of his 5T approach. Yet...

Good book. Fast read. Great ideas.

This book is exactly what it promises to be...a fun, practical, hands-on guide to the art of word of mouth (WOM) marketing. This book is about getting back to the basics and fueling your desire to build a remarkable organization. The quick summary of what's in the book...

* 3 Reasons People Talk About You
* 4 Rules of Word of Mouth Marketing
* 5 Ts of Word of Mouth Marketing
* 6 Big Ideas: Deep Stuff That Changes Marketing Forever

The first 59 pages of the book give a thorough, yet concise, overview of the concepts of WOM marketing. For me, the really juicy stuff began on page 61--the HOW-TO section. (That's the pragmatist in me.) Page after page, I found myself writing down ideas, usually a spin-off of something Andy's seen or done...which is a considerable amount. Going back through my notes, many of these ideas are things we can do right away along with things we should have always been doing, but somehow got off track. This book is like a brainstorming guide...it helps you focus on the WOM concepts that matter most.

Word of warning...if you're looking for detailed, data-driven analysis of WOM, this is not your book. Most of the negative reviews on Amazon criticized the book for being too "obvious" or "simple." I'd argue that it's the simple and obvious ideas that make this book so powerful, not just for marketing and PR professionals, but for anyone in your organization who interacts with your customers and prospects.

BONUS: One of the 5 Ts of Word of Mouth is TOPIC. People often latch onto the most unexpected topics and we need to have the courage to run with it. Andy uses the example of RedEnvelope. Their unexpected topic? Beautiful gift packaging. I've personally ordered from RedEnvelope...it was a gift for my mom. The first thing I heard from her after she received the gift? "The package was just beautiful! It came in this great red box with a giant bow!" She told all her friends about her "gift in the big red box." Not only did I look like the world's greatest daughter, but RedEnvelope likely got a few new customers.

What's your big red box?

First of all, any book that is referred by both Seth Godin & Guy Kawasaki is worth buying (no matter how much it costs).

I loved it. I have notched the pages - over half the book. Underlined great information and thoughts. Wrote notes for my business. I can't say anymore. Make your company unique and different by buying this book.

A very valuable tool and an essential read. It offers a great introduction to the whole world and psychology of word of mouth marketing.

Highly recommended.

This book is an excellent guide that shows how anyone can become part of the conversation as opposed to becoming the news of the day.

I can wholeheartedly recommend reading this before you read any other WoM book.

After having worked at a Word of Mouth Marketing Agency for 1.5 years as a copywriter, this book still offered some good insights on the subject. It can be seen as the foundation of any good WoM-marketing campaign.

This is a thought provoking look at Word of Mouth Marketing. I refer to it often and would recommend it to anyone interested in building their business through Word of Mouth.

Andy Sernovitz practices what he preaches -- I got a pre-publication copy of his book from him for free at a conference. And, here I am to tell you about it in response to a post on his blog! He knows word of mouth and his book is an excellent primer.

As some other reviewers have noted, it is an introduction. It's a good, easy-to-read intro packed with proven ideas that will be of interest to both business owners and experienced marketers. That said, if you've been a WOMMA member for years and know all the latest WOM trends, this is not the book for you. (Although I think there are only a few hundred of those people out there.) In an emerging field like this, a solid guidebook with clear rules and step-by-step instructions is exactly what most marketers need. "Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking" should be the first book you read when you want to learn about WOM. (Which should be today, if you have anything to do with marketing!)

Just finished reading Andy Sernovitz's Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking (actually a little while ago, but I'm responding to his recent blog request to get 100 reviews on Amazon--this is a review I wrote in March @ www.astekblog.com). Great read, I'm going to suggest that many of my clients read this. Actually anyone in any organization that relies on people (hmm, that's about all of them) would benefit from some or all of what Andy describes and dissects.

In a supreme word of mouth marketing proof of concept, Andy gave me the signed copy after I responded to a blog post talking about how much to give away to people for free before they become clients. His response was, "Give it away big time... Demonstration: I'll send a free book to the next 5 people who ask for one." Best offer I've gotten in a long time, and here I am talking about it. Here's a brief review:

This book provides a context, actionable framework, and toolkit to support many of the marketing ideas and instincts I've had for years but not found a reliable outlet through which to explore. It could perhaps be shortened (not that it's particularly long), as there are many repeated concepts -- sometimes in adjoining sentences. Then again, I believe this is exactly Andy's point. We over think so much of this stuff that he has to hit you over the head a few times to drive home the notion that the best marketing is often the simplest and most intuitive. Bottom line: play to the strengths of your organization by creatively getting people to talk positively about you. Once you've gestated the conversation, capitalize on it and start another one. What should be obvious often is not, but there is a three-letter word that ties it all together: fun.

While I applaud Andy's decision to lose the hyphenation in word of mouth marketing, the grammar nut in me gets stuck on treating Web site as a single word and not capitalizing Internet. Details like this don't change the quality of the material but they distract me from it. Then again this is marketing, where liberties are welcome. And these are somewhat newer tech terms that perhaps deserve to be deformalized.

My only nag is that Apple kicked off the revolutionary colored computer word of mouth marketing campaign with a Bondi Blue iMac, not pink or purple (page 12).

So go get it already!

love the ideas, but weak on future, social media more powerful than wom...hard work here...larry weber

Fun, easy to read inspirational book on Word of Mouth marketing by Andy Sernovitz. In one sitting I came up with several -- what I call -- "Light bulb ideas" that I'll be implementing. As a marketing professional I've read many of the competitive marketing books out there, but Andy's is refreshing and down to earth. It's not overloaded with jargon and hype. Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

People love to talk. Now, thanks to the Internet, they also like to post reviews about the products and services they have experienced. This combination of people talking and a new democratic medium has helped create a variation of marketing based on word-of-mouth. Of course, any good business owner recognizes that word-of-mouth, or customer referrals in the old lingo, is a time-tested form of marketing. But the new twist is that, thanks to increased ad costs, more intense competition and smaller budgets, marketers are stretching to develop new tactics. Enter author Andy Sernovitz and the word-of-mouth concept. The author contends that this is a novel idea, but is it really new? Probably not. Most of the ideas are self-evident and Sernovitz tends to repeat them. While we love a new thing, readers instead might see this as an updated look at a known phenomenon: the power of neighbors who talk to each other.

I've just gotten into WOM marketing and so I assumed that my knowledge on the subject is limited. After reading this book, however, I came to think that I could be a marketing guru as well. The ideas described in this book could be summarized on three pages and still those pages would not be worth reading! Rules such as: make your message interesting or make it short or make it easy to remember are obvious for all those who are capable to think logically. Others (e.g. Chinese banquet example) are simply ridiculous!
I expected to learn a lot from this book. I learned nothing new. Plus, the book appear to contradict all the rules he lists: it could definitely be shorter and more interesting!

I loved this book not only for the specific word of mouth marketing tips, but for the enthusiasm Sernovitz brings to the subject matter as well.

I am nobody you've ever heard of - just a woman starting her own business. Sernovitz made me realize that there is a whole new way of doing things, a whole world out there that I have had no connection to.

First, this book made me feel not so bad about my lack of experience, because plenty of people with experience are just not getting it! And second, Andy's book taught me that if my business was going to have an internet presence I'd darn well better get up to speed on how to become a part of the online community and be as smart as I can about making sure people know about my product, find my website, and buy! I'd better blog - I'd better get out there - I'd better make connections, and friendships, and be a part of the conversation!

"Word of Mouth Marketing" has an exciting message and is very accessible even for the novice. This book should be a part of anyone's Business 101 learning, and I highly recommend it.

I was really torn between giving this book three or four stars. What inclined me toward four was that I didn't get a straight run through it, but instead was three quarters of the way through and had to put it aside for a week-which is a long time to put reading aside and then pick up again without it losing a great deal of its momentum. So, I went with the higher scoring in the belief that I would have had a more positive experience with the material if it had not been for a circumstance beyond the author's control.

That being said, you may still be wondering what I found lacking to keep it from getting five stars. First of all, I don't hand five stars out like candy (and I wish a lot of other reviewers would follow that lead, as it seems as though there are an over-abundance of five stars over at Amazon). I feel that a five star rating is for the exceptional. A four star is for the good. Three stars for the nominal, with two and one stars relegated to the bad and really stinky. I steer away from half stars as that smacks of indecision (and would require me having to add those images to my library and they are difficult to come by).

I rate this book at four stars because it is good. It is not exceptional. If you're purchasing as marketing advice, it will provide you with enough to know that you need to buy more books by other authors that go into a good deal more detail. If you've already purchased a couple of marketing books, it will reinforce what you've already read and give you a good pep talk to keep you motivated. It is not going to enlighten you to anything new (unless it's your first purchase of marketing material-in which case see point above about now knowing you need to buy more books).

As a writer, publisher and editor myself, I have to make one comment about the writing-more precisely the voice, or tone, of the book. I received the distinct impression that Mr. Sernovitz saw a trend of sales in marketing books, whipped one together with no real effort or research beyond what he already knew off the top of his head (which is considerable-no argument from me there) and tossed it out onto the market. Again, as in one of my prior reviews of a different book, I wish the author had taken more time, gone more indepth, researched and added to what he already knew and given us a real read. In many ways I felt teased, and a little cheated.

I typically gauge an effective marketing book by how much actionable information is provided. My measure is simple, lots of earmarked pages indicates good ideas that can be impactful. After reading this book on the train I had 12 ear marked pages and had left myself three voicemails about ideas my company could implement immediately.

If you want to make a measurable improvement in your marketing programs and empower your customers, buy this book.

Thanks,

David Baeza
Area Vice President, Customer Acquisition
Citrix Online

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An easy-to-read primer to Word of Mouth Marketing. If you're new to WoM, start here. However if you're looking for more details, you may be disappointed. Wish he would have included more case studies. Very up to date with a strong focus on the online world, something that's missing from Emanuel Rosen's "The Anatomy of Buzz".

After seeing Andy keynote a business event, I picked up a copy of his book. After reading his book, nearly every page is filled with my notes full of actionable ideas sparked by the examples and suggestions his gives.

The book itself is an easy read, but you'll need to be prepared with a pen and paper to jot down all of the ideas you'll get out of each chapter. It's extremely thought provoking and made me frustrated that I had overlooked so many simple and effective strategies for marketing my business. I highly recommend this book to any CEO, CMO, Marketing or PR executive.

Most of what is in this book is obvious. Its not going to get you thinking in a new way unless you've been under a rock for the last 20 years. To make matters worse the book repeats itself and its content could easily fit into a 20 page book.

Andy breaks through the clutter and gives you the straight talk on Word of Mouth Marketing. An easy read with many great ideas on how to use this new medium. Get it and pass it on...and tell them to pass it on....

The founder of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, [...] this author has done everything he writes about, and continues to do so. It is a real treasure house of activities to drive discussion and customers to your company. We are advocates of getting prospects to put up their hand. As a long time sales guy I know that my chances of a sale are greatly increased if the prospect contacts me first. Here is a book with hundreds of ideas to get that to happen. WOMMarketing is not a fast process, but it is the momentum builder which beats any advertising hands down in cost and effectiveness. The best part of the book, he has placed all the ideas in a systematic, proven, ethical and logical process that any company can follow. Lesson reinforced, its all about the details in execution that spell success or failure in a company. A must buy., regular read for all sales/marketing/CEO types

Whether you want to promote yourself or your business this book provides a practical roadmap. It's packed with tons of examples and written in an easily accessible style.

If you want to find out how Red Envelope, Dell, Ikea, Harley-Davidson use word of mouth marketing, this is the book for you. It is an excellent compilation of anecdotes along with marketing rules to live by. I am using the examples in this book as the impetus to break out of the traditional marketing tactics - simple ideas, like "tell a friend", engaging with blogs and creating a customer forum to promote enhancements, make tons of sense.

If you ever have a chance to see Andy speak, you must go. He is a fantastic storyteller and very motivating.

Sernovitz not only explains word-of-mouth marketing, its important, and how to generate and use favorable comments, he stimulates readers to think of their own ideas to use in promoting their products. I have a list of 27 specific things I plan to do to promote my next book as a result of reading Word of Mouth Marketing. I wish I had Sernovitz's information-packed volume when my last book was published.
Patrick Young, co-author, Keeping Young Athletes Healthy

Andy is absolutely brilliant. This book will teach you how to use word of mouth marketing to make your organization more profitable and how to spend less on marketing. This is an actionable, practical guide. It's simple and to-the-point. Joe Barnes, Vice President and consultant, Storyteller Communications, Everett, Washington. A nationwide marketing and communications training and consulting firm. www.storycom.com.

Andy's book is a thorough, no-nonsense guide to WOMM and how to start and grow a mutually beneficial conversation with your customers. The advice is practical, and includes several real-world examples to demonstrate how anyone can use word-of-mouth marketing to further a cause, generate sales, elicit feedback, and increase awareness.

I'm a student in Andy's Word of Mouth Marketing class in the integrated marketing communications program at Northwestern University. It's believed to be the first ever graduate-level course on the topic. Our enthusiastic class is blogging about the lessons learned from Andy's book and course at [...] If you're interested in WOMM, please join the discussion at our blog.

Andy Sernovitz makes a point of mentioning that word of mouth advertising is as old as mankind. However, with new online media--forums, blogs, etc.--word of mouth can travel faster and further than ever before. Therefore, marketers need to understand how to use--and how not to use--Internet tools that can nowadays make or break a company.

Andy does a superb job of explaining all this in simple language that will make sense to skilled online marketers as well as business owners and executives who are just starting to figure out what business blogs are. He gives us the big picture view of word of mouth, as well as a sizable number of useful tips on how to execute effective word of mouth activities.

The book is not all about online marketing, either. One of my favorite tips is how Andy turns client business cards into luggage tags. What a great way to get talkers talking! It's very cool that Andy not only introduces new concepts, but reminds us of old ones, like handing out logo pens, that we tend to forget as we're swept up in the Internet craze. These things still work.

One thing that surprised me is Andy's emphasis on email as a word of mouth tool, maybe even the most important word of mouth tool. I've heard so many complaints about spam and "in-box overload", you wonder how long email will hold up for conversation or any other use.

There's great stuff in here for any business, regardless of size or scope.

The book did not pioneer any new frontier but did an outstanding job of reaffirming the obvious when it comes to word of mouth marketing (run a good business and be terrific at the fundamentals). I was enlightened about the power of Blogs, the impact they are having on accelerating word of mouth advertising and how I can participate in the conversation credibly. I have read literally hundreds of marketing books. This is a very good one that integrates the old marketing principals with the new.

1. It's interesting with great stories as examples.

2. You'll find yourself talking to folks about this book. You can't help it. And they are happy to hear the information as well.

3. It will save you from making that big mistake someone is asking you to do with regards to a blog or forum.

4. It's easy to read. Easy to get. Reminds you of what is really important to your customers.

This guy practices what he preaches. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, it's well worth it.

Within hours I had implemented many of Andy's practical suggestions, some of them I knew, but needed the reminder to go and do. Most important, he reminded me and all of us, that good old-fashioned customer service will drive the best word of mouth marketing. If it isn't authentic, your customers will rat you out!