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…is like Pushing a Rope… but only a little bit because, sometimes, it does work. It would probably be more accurate to say that it’s putting the cart before the horse but that’s a rather old-fashioned metaphor and it doesn’t entirely suit, either.

Eric Sink provides us with some thoughts on the excercise in frustration that many companies are ardently pursuing in trying to create Word of Mouth marketing. Word of Mouth is the latest brass ring but, because it depends on other people, it’s a bit butterfly-like; you never know quite which way it’s going to head next and pursuing it often sends it off in another unexpected direction.

There are better ways to go about pursuing that butterfly.

Eric recommends that you create something that a small target audience will LOVE because something that people love is something they talk about.

Apple has operated this way, rather comfortably, for a remarkably long time. They don’t try to capture 100% of the computer hardware market or 100% of the MP3 player market; they focus on a much smaller group of people and create something that is highly useful to that group. (Of course, they also create products that happen to be outrageously stylish and fun but maybe I think that simply because I’m part of their target market.)

Consider the approach behind different lines of cars. Once upon a time, Saturn built a lot of buzz and a loyal following over their unique low-pressure sales approach before they were swallowed. SUVs are built for a particular audience and so have enjoyed tremendous penetration and surprising sticking power because they are well-targeted. (And that one is a market that I most definitely do not fall into.) The Mini is another "lifestyle" car that people tend to either love or hate.

The point here is that Word of Mouth is much easier to achieve when you have something worth talking about.

But I still don’t have a metaphor I’m happy with.