Have you heard that network marketing is word of mouth marketing?

If so, you may have heard wrong. On the surface though, it sounds right.

NM isn't pure word of mouth marketing in the way professionals use the term.

According to WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association):

Word of mouth: The act of consumers providing information to other consumers.

But WOMMA warns about 'unethical word of mouth marketing':

Shilling: Paying people to talk about (or promote) a product without disclosing that they are working for the company; impersonating a customer."

True word of mouth marketing means one person telling another about something they love, without benefitting financially. They tell because they love it, and because they want you love it, too. Plus it's fun to tell friends about new stuff - it gives you social currency, if you will. And the group of people in the know, of which you are a part, gets bigger - because of you.

The TIVO craze grew from true and pure word of mouth. People who loved having TIVO raved about it to their friends. But not because they were getting paid, which would have made their raves suspect, but just because they loved it and wanted more people to enjoy it like they were.

So, when you talk about the product you love to another, even though you are using your mouth to talk about it, IF you get paid when someone buys, that's called SALES.

If you don't get paid when you talk about how great a product is, it's word of mouth the way marketers use it.

So here's a way to do word of mouth and not have people surprised at the end when they have to confess that you're sellling it: If you talk about your product, use your mouth to tell right up front that you are marketing it, and tell why -- because of what it did for you, etc. Then when they ask, "So where can I get this product?" you won't have to squirm. And they won't be suspicious of why you told them all those wonderful things about it.

Don't you want to know when someone's getting paid for endorsing things?

Today, celebreties and politicians too, have to disclose that they're being paid when they endorse products on TV even though they use them and love them. Because WE want to know that. Don't we?

Kim Klaver is Harvard & Stanford educated. Her 20 years experience in network marketing have resulted in a popular blog, http://KimKlaverBlogs.com, a podcast, http://YourGreatThing.com and a giant resource site, http://BananaMarketing.com

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