Different types of word of mouth

The most recent Economist has a pretty good WOM industry overview called Listening to the internet. Hat tip to Max Kalehoff from Nielsen BuzzMetrics for link. Max, who is also quoted in the article, wishes that more articles would focus on the power of blog/BBS monitoring for distilling consumer insight. I strongly agree.

More often than not, blogs and BBS research is often discussed in terms of their power to start or amplify crises. PR firms should, and in fact are, paying attention to BBS and blogs as a "media" that should be monitored because the opinions expressed can have a significant impact on their clients' reputations.

But I would like to step back for a minute and look at the bigger picture of online Word of Mouth. Olivier Blanchard has one of the most succinct breakdowns of WOM. He writes (I strongly suggest reading the whole post):

1) News-Related WOM: (Also known as Event-Related WOM.) For better or for worse, a product launch, a record store redesign, a re-branding coup, a class-action lawsuit or a big corporate merger can generate WOM. PR firms and ad agencies can (and should) play a significant role in facilitating WOM in these instances.

News-related WOM sounds like this: "Hey, did you hear about that promotion (...) is doing?" or "Hey, check this out: (...) is going to start selling a hydrogen car completely built out of recycled materials next year" or "(...) won Best In Show again. Isn't it like, five years in a row now?"

2) Customer Experience WOM: Exceptional products, service, and user experiences create WOM. Period.

Customer experience WOM sounds like this: "Hey, have you gone into their new store yet? It's the coolest thing." or "Hey, have you seen (...)'s new movie yet? It's incredible!" or "Dude, (...) makes the best cup of coffee I've ever had. You won't believe how good their stuff is!"

Due to the tradition of a controlled media, I believe that word of mouth thrives in China, even more so than in the West. And now it is moving online. With 40% of Chinese netizens as regular users, BBS is a mainstream activity in China, not one limited to hobbyist or niche discussions. Even 'niche' discussions are big in China. The largest mobile phone site in China has close to 500,000 messages every month while the largest in the US has closer to 100,000.

The opportunity for companies in China to not only listen but also learn from these discussions is immense.