In an article written for Advertising Age, Pete Blackshaw, EVP of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Services, contends that employee word of mouth can serve as a primary advertising tool for brands. At Zappos.com, for example, strong WOM is almost directly driven by the motivation and attention coming from its employees.
"We invest the time and money into hiring and nurturing the right people, as many other companies do in their media planning," said Brian Kalma, Zappos' marketing chief.
Rick Murray, CEO of Edelman Digital and board member of the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), agreed. "A well-trained, highly motivated workforce that understands the brand, their role in making it successful, and who feels empowered to do just that, is any company's most powerful and most underutilized asset."
Leslie Forde of Communispace, which builds online communities for brands, likewise believes employees are the "overlooked resource." She asked, "How many times have we extended forgiveness or patience to a brand that 'messes up' in a customer service interaction because the individual employee that we've dealt with is impressive and professional?"
One challenge, according to Mr. Blackshaw, is building ROI metrics for employee loyalty and education. Another is that marketing departments rarely get involved with employees and HR departments don't typically touch brand building.
But Mr. Blackshaw listed a few reasons brands should be tapping "the employee-as-relationship-builder" model:
Measurements: Consumer-generated media analysis can now determine "with high statistical significance why employee behavior at, say, Burger King or Taco Bell creates positive or negative conversation. We can even assign 'reach' value to the conversation."
Social-Media Experiments: Social-media tools provide brands with a broader spectrum of "test and measure" tools to pinpoint opportunities to better understand the impact of employee loyalty and advocacy. It particularly helps employers explore the character and personality of employees. Corporate blogs offer the same opportunity.
Online Video: The "sight, sound and motion" benefits of employees talking via online videos "may well open up a powerful range of opportunities for companies to reap the full benefits of employee advocacy."
The "New" Customer Service: As Zappos.com underscores, customer service could be the most important WOM tool. Said Mr. Blackshaw, "Brands should be conducting large and small experiments in this area to understand how a little extra 'touch' can impact the game."
Rewards and Incentives: If conversations and employee advocacy can be somewhat measured, Mr. Blackshaw believes it's time to create data-grounded incentive and reward models. He said, "Online consumers constantly call out Southwest or Nordstrom employees for going the extra distance. If it's measurable, it's rewardable, right?"
Concludes Mr. Blackshaw, "If conversation is the new gold standard, and employees are consistently at the heart of the conversation, we have a big compelling reason - and tons of upside - in rethinking the importance of employee advocacy."
Discussion Question: How would you rate employee WOM as a marketing tool? To what degree can it be harnessed by brands? What challenges as well as solutions do you see in driving employee advocacy efforts?