Here's a true story as told by Jerry Wilson in his highly recommended book, "Word of Mouth Marketing", that illustrates how all the forces of Word of Mouth might be operating at the same time, pushing and pulling for and against a company's image. "One day, I piled three other company executives into my car to take them to lunch. My idea was to go to a reliable neighborhood steak house that had never disappointed me. "No way, Jose'," responded Executive Number 1. "The salad bar's always empty and nobody seems to care." Just like that, the restaurant lost at least $40 worth of business. Executive Number 2 had never been there, so the first words he heard about the restaurant was negative. Executive Number 3 piped up to say, "You know, it surprises me to hear you say that. I've eaten there a lot and have never been disappointed - but I never have the salad bar, so you may be right about that part of it."

Do you see how Word of Mouth operates unsystematically if left to its own devices? Chances are, the day-to-day effects of Word of Mouth marketing efforts can be described in the same terms as this more or less chaotic scene in my car. All the ingredients are there, operating invisibly - for better or for worse - on your business. Could anything have been done to crystallize a unanimous opinion from the four of us? Yes. And these are the strategies we discuss in the book, (Word of Mouth Marketing). But for now, just realize how random Word of Mouth can operate. (Reprinted by Permission)

You have to have well-trained Employees who provide outstanding food and service if you are to use positive Word of Mouth as a marketing strategy. You need to develop and use a systematic plan to create and to generate positive Word of Mouth Advertising.

Regis McKenna in "The Regis Touch", illustrated this when he said, "Forget about market surveys and analyst reports. Word of Mouth is probably the most powerful form of communication in the business world. It can either hurt a company's reputation ... or give it a boost in the market."