Companies have mission statements, governments have policy directions but big social movements have manifestos. Here is our declaration of 10 principles that drive our business and we believe profoundly influence today's culture, society and markets.
#1 We Want to Lead A New Era of Customer Engagement - people want in! We're in the business of creating more participation-based avenues than TV, radio and print
#2 We Know Word of Mouth Advocacy is #1 - despite a world of increasing media clutter, we still understand the unparalleled value and exponential power of a "trusted friend"
#3 We Strive for Remarkable versus Good Enough - whether it's product, marketing or communications, more than half of word of mouth is about creating pleasant surprises, we help orchestrate these oohs and a-has!
#4 We Tap the Power of Influencers - some of these people are not like the others! We believe word of mouth exists everywhere, but it's a helluva lot more powerful in the hands of your front row - a small yet gifted group of connected, passionate and informed people
#5 We Understand Word of Mouth is More than Luck - fundamental principles and psychology drive word of mouth, we design and harness buzz around these basic human truths
#6 We Orient Content for Influence - eyeballs are here today and gone tomorrow - inspiring customer conversations is a higher order benefit... because it'll tell a few people... and so on... and so on
#7 We are at the Intersection of People and Business - authenticity, dialogue, engagement and participation are the new currencies of business, we open the drawbridge between firms and their customers
#8 We Convert Customers, Users and Consumers into Authors, Ambassadors, Collaborators and Scouts - we spark to the best ideas, experiences, stories, activities and leading online and offline tools to transform audiences into engaged zealots
#9 We Get Results - we are in business to help you grow your business - we help clients uncork the value trapped in their crowds and generate actionable plans with quantifiable performance
#10 We Believe WOM is a Passion Play, not a Conquest Tool - to be effective and to be ethical, orchestrated word of mouth needs to be voluntary, honest, credible and unpaid
Only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey
On Product Recommendations - 90% trust their spouse, 82% trust their friends, and 69% trust their work colleagues but only 27% trust retailers/manufacturers, 14% trust advertisers and 8% trust celebrities.
Source: Henley Centre