Fred Abaroa

In Gladwell's The Tipping Point he states, "The Band Aid solution is actually the best kind of solution because it involves solving a problem with the minimum amount of effort and time and cost." The band aid referred to here is Word of Mouth. Of course it has to be the right mouths. Gladwell refers to these people as Connector, Mavens and Salesmen. The Connectors are people who "link us up to the world". They have social networks in the hundreds. They seem to know everyone and everyone knows them. The Mavens are "information specialist". They accumulate knowledge especially in the marketplace and share it. Finally the Salesmen are "persuaders", charismatic people with negotiation skills. Your assignment is to make a list of Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. Find out their speciality and match it with the products your marketing. You should always have a relationship with these band aids. Ask their advice and keep them up to date. Don't force it, this will not work at all. The word of mouth campaigns are most effective when they are natural. Gladwell's book talks in a lot more detail about context and other points. Take a read and put it to good use. Don't just read but do.

Fred Abaroa
The Marketing Imagineer
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