The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing

by Emanuel Rosen

Book Overview

A groundbreaking guide to creating the word-of-mouth magic that cuts through the skepticism and information overload of today's consumers, and drives sales-and profits-to new heights. What turns a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385496680
• ISBN13: 9780385496681
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Crown Business
• Length: 303 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Book!

Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" draws our attention to the idea of "word-of-mouth"; Seth Godin shows us what kinds of remarkable things can be achieved using viral marketing techniques; Emanuel Rosen's "The Anatomy of Buzz" walks us through how to make word-of-mouth marketing work for our own businesses. This is an excellent book! It lays out a pathway to follow and provides pragmatic guidelines and best practices, verbally illustrated using real-world examples. A business book is a success for me if I find I've made a few notes while reading the book (and acted on those notes). In reading "The Anatomy of Buzz" I generated dozens of notes and ideas - many of which have been implemented or are in process today. This is an excellent book. I'll say it again: This is an excellent book! I strongly recommend it to those who have "marketing", business development", "sales", or "founder" in their job titles.

Move over Seth Godin!

A detailed, yet simple system for creating buzz about your product or service. Here are the roots of effective viral marketing. Rosen has also included many fascinating stories - both personal and business - that support his teachings. Count on great reading that concludes with a step-by-step "workshop" to help you launch the word on your product or service. Learn how some of your efforts may be wasted without employing the proven suggestions of this "BuzzMaster." I picked up the book when I saw that Everett Rodgers had written the intro. He's the guru of understanding (for over 30 years) on how to get innovations into the marketplace.

For the small business owner who wants to get big!

Rosen has done a great job of making Internet marketing accessible and cheap. The first time I read this book, I did it in two sittings. Now, I pick up pieces of it every day as I try to plot strategy for marketing books on the Internet. While his discussion of hubs and distribution channels get a bit heavy at times, he gives you clear, concise strategies that anyone can use to get people talking. Having said that, let me echo Rosen's most important piece of advice: In order to create buzz, you have to have a great product. Without it, you won't get very far in your efforts. Highly recommended.

Bustling Buzzers Busily Boost Business

This is the first book I recall that looks at the word-of-mouth phenomenon as a management activity for modern marketing. While Edward Bernays often recounted fascinating tales of how public relations helped move products by setting fashion, he never focused on the face-to-face aspects of how new ideas spread. Robert Cialdini has done remarkable work on describing how influence is created, but does not squarely focus on the word-of-mouth aspects of that influence. Mr. Rosen has done a sound job of providing a number of interesting, behind-the-scenes examples as well as a context for thinking about word-of-mouth marketing. (I actually ended up trying some products describe here that I probably wouldn't have otherwise, such as the novel, Cold Mountain). The book's main weakness is that it focuses on word-of-mouth about products rather the broader question of how word-of-mouth creates opinions in all areas of society. Mr. Rosen defines buzz as "the sum of all comments about a certain product that are exchanged among people at any given time." Naturally, you can have either good buzz ("It's great!) or bad buzz ("Avoid at all costs."). It is easy to us to underestimate the power of these comments before we consider our own experiences. For example, if audiences hate a new movie, the word soon gets out and ticket sales plunge. You have probably seen people waiting in line to buy tickets asking those leaving a theater how the movie was. Here you have an example of perfect strangers advising each other and making purchase decisions based on these interactions. Naturally, this occurs much more frequently with authority figures (like Oprah for books) and people we know well (our family, friends and neighbors). For example, I always ask my older son before seeing any movie. He will have already seen the movie and knows my tastes. I will always have a good experience if I follow his guidance. The examples in the book formed the core of the interest for me. The concepts in the book were familiar to me from my days as an executive in the alcoholic beverage industry. Because of significant limitations on selling liquor with advertising, new brands are built almost totally through buzz aided by bar parties and other activities. I was surprised that there were no substantial stories from liquor or cigarettes (remember the cartoon of Joe Camel?), both of which depend heavily on creating buzz. In addition to learning more about how buzz works, this book also offers guidance on how to encourage and accelerate that buzz. The book is divided into three parts: The first looks at how buzz spreads (a small percentage of all the people do all of the connecting together of information networks); the second examines what makes for success with buzz (having things people want to talk about and encouraging that talking); and the third details how to stimulate buzz for your business (this is summarized in a workshop for you in chapter 16).Publishers, book a

Invisible but Powerful Human Networks

Think about it. How many times have you been asked "Seen a good movie lately?" or "What's your favorite Italian restaurant?" or "Where can I get the best deal on an air conditioner?" The single most powerful but least understood form of marketing is word-of-mouth and yet, until now, no one has devoted to it the attention it deserves. In the Foreword to this book, Everett M. Rogers observes, "New products and services spread among the consumer public through interpersonal communication networks. These networks are for the most part invisible. They often operate in mysterious ways.. Thus we are largely blind to this very powerful marketing process. No wonder that we fail so often in our efforts to diffuse innovations." He's right.Rosen explains how to create effective word-of-mouth marketing with material organized within three Parts: How Buzz Spreads, Success in the Networks, and Stimulating Buzz. It is important to stress that Buzz results only in combination with a superior product or service. As Jeffrey Gitomer correctly points out, "customer satisfaction" is achieved only on a per-transaction basis; the objective is to achieve and then sustain "customer loyalty." It is not only possible but common for a new product or service to generate Buzz initially but if the quality is not sustainable (preferably enhanced), what I call Positive Buzz can become Negative Buzz. (Even under Rosen's personal supervision, no matter how much perfume you pour on a pig, it's still a pig. The only buzz it generates will be provided by insects.) The "interpersonal communication networks" to which Rogers refers can just as effectively (and probably more quickly) "get the word out" about a defective product or unsatisfactory service. Obviously, no Buzz is preferable to Negative Buzz.Rosen is talking about Positive Buzz. He explains HOW to take full advantage of the marketing opportunities it permits. In Chapter 16, "Buzz Workshop", he asks and then answers a series of very basic but profoundly important questions. (All by itself, this final chapter is well-worth the cost of the book. I strongly recommend that this chapter be re-read on a regular basis. Competitive marketplaces do have a way of changing, don't they?) Once having read the book, the reader is well-prepared to select and then implement those concepts, strategies, and tactics which are most appropriate to her or his own situation.This book will be especially valuable to small-to-midsize companies with limited resources but the success of any marketing efforts (Buzz or otherwise) will still depend upon the quality of the product or service offered. All of us now actively involved in marketing owe a substantial debt to Rosen. Revealingly, the quality of his thinking and the originality of his ideas created Buzz long before his book was published. The acclaim he continues to receive is richly deserved.