
Why word of mouth doesn't happen - breily
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/05/why-word-of-mou.html
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tdavis
Personally, I recommend things I use when they are awesome and/or useful to
the party I'm talking to. It's basically that simple. I tell people about
Pandora because I think it's an awesome way to discover new music, not because
telling them gains me anything. I told my father about Xobni because he
practically lives in Outlook. Hell, I can't even think of a time I've said
"you should join XYZ social network because I'm on there."

~~~
baha_man
"not because telling them gains me anything"

You are gaining something, indirectly, even if you don't realise it - more
users for Pandora, for example, means they are less likely to go out of
business. Also, it may not mean anything to you, but there's a certain cachet
in being the one in your social circle who recommends 'cool' new products.

Most people are flattered to be asked for advice, and would like to think that
their recommendations show what good taste they have.

~~~
tdavis
Granted, but I was referring to the phrase from the message above -- "direct
incentive." These are both indirect and completely unmarketable to boot.

I am a strong believer that everything we as human beings do, no matter how
"selfless" it seems, is always done because it benefits us in some way. These
two indirect methods are good examples of that and I'd be the last person in
the world to say I do _anything_ "just to be nice."

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Husafan
Before anyone posts another example of word-of-mouth working: the op did not
say it doesn't work. He simply listed reasons why it may not work in certain
situations.

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inovica
Google. It started and grew completely via word of mouth. Whilst Yahoo and
others were spending big $ on advertising, Google quietly grew and grew.
Granted, it only happened because they had a much better product (search) than
anyone else, but it was still word of mouth that did it

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edw519
Word of mouth works best when there is a definite _incentive_ to talk about
it. If I tell you about <xyz>, you benefit, but _so do I_.

This is the basis of the entire MLM industry. There are many other good
examples, too. (Refer 10 friends, get a discount.) Not everyone likes it, but
it works.

~~~
goodkarma
An incentive may not be required, but it definitely helps.

For example: I joined PayPal 10 years ago because my friend coaxed me into it.
PayPal paid me $5 for joining and paid my friend $5 for inviting me. We
invited lots of people..

On the other hand, consider GMail. It was just so massively superior to
anything else out there that as soon as I heard about it I was hooked. GMail
was (and is) free, but back then people were actually paying for invites..

~~~
whacked_new
The incentive in the GMail case is still there. If you think your action makes
a friend better off, then the action is valuable to you. Whether this act
stems from intrinsic selfishness or benevolence, is left for another time :-)

Anyway, I doubt anybody really thinks about this before coaxing their friends,
but broadly speaking "so do I" holds true.

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wundie
Bonnaroo. No advertising, 90k people attend the concert annually.

