Do you know your WoMI score?

Better get a handle on your word-of-mouth referrals (both the good and the bad)

As the saying goes, bad news travels faster than good news, and we're not just trying to spook you here.

As many of you now, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) has been the gold standard used by businesses, professional service firms and trade associations to measure customer recommendations and loyalty. According to Temkin Group research, five out of six companies (83%) asked their customers the Net Promoter question: “How likely is it that you would recommend (this product/service/brand) to a friend or colleague?”

But, according to new research from ForeSee, a more equitable method of deleting “detractors” from the measurement equation provides, a better, more real-world gauge of the word-of-mouth recommendation quotient. ForeSee has collected more than 2 million survey responses over the last two years to research and develop a more accurate and precise way to measure both word-of-mouth promoters and detractors.

Enter ForeSee’s new Word of Mouth Index (WoMI) for the next generation.

WoMI measures both likelihood to recommend and likelihood to detract from a specific brand by adding a second question: “How likely are you to discourage others from doing business with this company?” By measuring both positive and negative word of mouth, business leaders gain a next-generation metric that, when viewed within the context of the customer experience ecosystem of metrics, provides actionable insights that can help leaders improve key business outcomes, including word of mouth, says the report.

The report suggests that a system that significantly advances the measurement of the customer’s experience with primary benefits for businesses operating in today’s high-speed, word-of-mouth-driven culture would include:

• Any measurement with one simple value that can be used to rally stakeholders (executives, employees, Wall Street, board members, etc.) around their customers’ experience and across an organization
• An understanding of the difference between True Detractors and True Promoters to eliminate the risk of alienating customers who aren’t legitimate detractors
• Adding a second question to understand what drives negative word of mouth as well as positive word of mouth to allow companies to take proactive measures to fix issues

Review the complete Foresee report in PDF format.

Macro View

While the two-week government shutdown earlier this month caused a short-term dip in consumer confidence and housing prices, just keep the long-term view in mind. The major market indices remain at or near their all-time highs; and with the Fed’s continued stimulus program expected to keep interest rates near historical lows for the time being, the forecast for equities and overall household wealth should be robust. Remember, housing prices are still up about 13 percent over this time a year ago. As the Fed said in a statement yesterday, the economy continues to grow “"at a moderate pace" and exhibits growing underlying strength.”

On the business front, more than two-thirds of S&P 500 companies (68.7%) are beating analysts’ earnings estimates, according to Thomson Reuters data, which is comfortably above the historical average of 63 percent. Only about half of companies are beating topline revenue forecasts, Thomson Reuters reports, but to us, this just means companies are being more productive with the capital and talent they have at their disposal. Another positive indicator, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday that businesses increased their inventories by almost half a percent in the latest reporting period (August), a sign that they expect stronger demand for their products.

Conclusion

While testimonials, endorsements and “likes” are great, nothing beats a word-of-mouth referrals from a satisfied client or customer. On the flip side, nothing’s more dangerous in this viral communication age than a negative review shared by electronic, phone or face-to-face interaction. Make sure you not only have a great handle on your core competencies—but your core incompetencies as well.

More tips can be found on the FREE Resources page of our website.

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Tags: Net Promoter Score, Word of Mouth Index, WoMI, Foresee, Temkin Group

LinkedIn Drives the Most Traffic to Corporate Websites

As busy professionals who’ve been around the block a few times, we’re guessing you’re more comfortable with LinkedIn than you are with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and other popular social media platforms. Don’t let your younger staffers (or kids) give you a hard time about that. Chances are your peers feel the same way about LinkedIn--and it’s your peers who are the primary decision influencers at their organizations.

Let’s face it. Most of us don’t have time to put the energy we’d like to into mastering social media and social networking. But, if you’re interested in driving qualified prospects to your website and to your other online resources, concentrate your energies on LinkedIn. We’re not advising you to ignore the other social media channels since each has its merits. But, there are only so many hours in the day and LinkedIn will probably give you the best bang for your social buck.

Still not convinced? Well, the new Investis IQ Audience Insight Report tracked visitors to corporate websites from social media platforms. Guess what? LinkedIn drives significantly more traffic to corporate websites than all the other social platforms combined. And you thought LinkedIn was just a respectable place to keep your professional bio and contacts up to date!

According to the survey, LinkedIn accounts for nearly two thirds (64%), of all visits to corporate websites from social media sites—and that percentage is growing, researchers say. Twitter is a distant second, although it’s gaining traction, up from 4 percent in 2011 to 14 percent today. Researchers attribute that growth to the increase in the number of companies adopting Twitter for corporate communications. Ny contrast, Facebook’s sharehas decreased by nearly half in the past two years, to 17 percent from 30 percent. The findings may indicate that Facebook is a declining platform for B2B corporate marketing.

Get mobile ready

Researchers believe the Big Three--LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter--account for 95 percent of visits to corporate websites from social media sites. No surprise there, but the report also found that 20 percent of all traffic to corporate websites came from mobile devices (primarily of the “i” variety). However, less than a one in four companies (23%) provides either a dedicated mobile site or a “responsive” website. There is clearly a lot more for corporate websites to do.

Improving your LinkedIn Profile (and your firm’s)

There are many quick and easy ways to improve your LinkedIn presence, just make sure you think each step through carefully before you post. We’re talking about your professional reputation here. These are just a few:

·       
 Make sure you have a company page, not just a personal one—and share content that adds value. The company page enables you to do display your slide presentations, video clips, press mentions, articles, recent awards and anything else that makes you a “thought influencer.”

·       
 Join a group (the right way). Participate in discussions that your clients and prospects are likely to be following. Again, there’s that “thought influencer” angle. Just don’t post comments for the sake of getting your name out there. If you’re not really adding value to the thread, sit that particular discussion out and just follow along. Wait till the next topic comes around. Sooner or later, there will be one that’s right in your wheelhouse and you can post and opine with 100 percent confidence. You (and the group) will be glad you waited for your turn at bat.

·       
 Start your own group. Look closely at the types of questions for which your clients or customers are frequently asking your advice. Chances are thousands of other people whom you’ve never met are wrestling with the same issue. Find the common thread within those questions—say risk management, tax mitigation or portfolio insurance—and form a niche group around those topics. Once again, you’re positioning yourself as a though leader and it’s a great way to draw new prospects into your nurturing funnel.

Just a word of caution. It’s easy to start groups—it’s harder to maintain them. Be consistent. Be proactive and be honest with yourself about how frequently you (and your team) can post and moderate. 

     
Conclusion

     
Social and mobile is not going to go away, but you can’t possibly keep up with all the new technologies, applications and uses of it. It’s better to master one or two and seek help for the rest. There are plenty of talented, reasonably priced contractors out there to help you—but you may also find a few folks right under your own roof with a real passion and interest for a particular mobile/social channel. As my old Israeli army boss used to say, “You don’t get if you don’t ask.”

More tips can be found on the FREE Resources page of our website.

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Tags: LinkedIn traffic driver, LinkedIn for business professionals, LinkedIn over Facebook Twitter, Social Media Marketing, Investis IQ Audience Report