VIRAL  NETWORKING:  Is Word of Mouth             Marketing Trustworthy?

 (P-O-P-S)  Have you heard the name Bernard Madoff recently?  His name is on the tip of everyone’s tongue.  But that is not so great now.  The success of his giant Ponzi scheme which rid the world of 50 billion was based on a web spun amongst an elite social networking group who trusted the referring party’s word of mouth endorsement.

While the Internet gives the consumer more clout over the company, do those testimonials to a company’s capabilities necessarily mean anything?  Or are they just one form of influence you can consider when choosing a company to perform any service for you? 

“I’m from Missouri, show me” is a slogan not just applicable to a smooth political promise, but key to determining whether a company can service your needs in any area that you are seeking help.  So it is your job to see on a one-to-one basis exactly how they gel with Clients and whether they suit your specific needs.  Firsthand information is best, and it is up to you to do the due diligence so you don’t lead your company down a rabbit hole and then say “whoops.”

For example, while the mat feature is not as up-to-the-minute as the blog, are you sure that one has more credence than the other?  When a company markets itself through mat features, it is highlighting a brand claim and putting their word in print.  Mostly, it is a promise that an editor, your consumer advocate, believes in – so this company had best live up to its claim.  Good journalists are not bought – they are convinced.

While blogs can give you some insight, you really don’t know the connection between the recommender and the Brand, and can be getting information from a source the company paid to plant the info. 

Choose to work with people you can meet in person, instinctually like, and companies that try hard to live up to fulfilling your needs.  Monitor your results on an on-going basis and weigh the results based on the investment  -- and you won’t have to kick yourself or commit hari-kari even in a recessionary economy.

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Myrna Greenhut heads up P-O-P-S.com (http:// www.p-o-p-s.com) and is a firm believer in widespread, truthful publicity, however you achieve it.  An entrepreneurial optimist, she hopes that we can recover from the current recession quickly, but honestly believes that companies need to market continuously in a global economy come what may.