Keller Fay knows that people like to talk and the word-of-mouth research firm is in the process of trying to find out about what.
Since April, Keller Fay has interviewed 100 people a day and asked them to keep a diary of conversations they've had about products and brands.
Ed Keller, the chief executive of Keller Fay, told The New York Times, "When you talk about engagement, as a lot of marketers are, people talking about your brand is the ultimate engagement."
The "what" consumers are talking about, according to Keller Fay, mostly centers around media and entertainment, such as movies, television and print publications. They also, however, spend time talking about food, travel brands and retail stores.
Among retailers, Target, Kmart, Sears, J.C. Penney, Gap, Victoria's Secret and Wal-Mart top the list of stores consumers talk about most.
Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst for Nielsen/NetRatings, said, "Everyone knows that word of mouth is important, and it's something that goes on all the time. But being able to really harness it can be very difficult."
While brand marketers and retailers are anxious to make word-of-mouth work for them, Todd Tweedy, chief executive of BoldMouth, said it often requires that companies listen to things they would rather not hear.
"Some advertisers just aren't ready to be more customer-facing," Mr. Tweedy said.
One thing that brands and retailers might like hearing is that roughly half of the consumers in the Keller Fay study who talked about products and stores also mentioned an ad, promotion or article on the company along with it. It seems that advertising and public relations do work.
Discussion Questions: Are there metrics in place to help brands and retailers assess the impact word-of-mouth has on their business? Is it possible for brands and retailers to harness word-of-mouth? If yes, how would they harness it?