3 WOM Lessons From the FIFA World Cup

I admit it…I have World Cup fever. I am plopped on the sofa with a cup of coffee for the early morning (on the West Coast) games and have been spending lunch hour checking out the action.  I even googled the off sides rule so I could better understand it.  And the other day, I realized that the World Cup has important lessons for word of mouth advertising.

1. There are no breaks.
I think many American viewers of the world cup are surprised the first time they realize the only commercial break is a relatively short half-time period during the match, which occurs after 45 minutes of nonstop play. In word of mouth, too, there are no breaks. You cannot decide to do some word of mouth advertising for an hour or a week and then take a break.

You always have to be talking with customers, getting them engaged in your business, and asking them to share their stories with their friends and family. That is one of the best  (and worst) things about using the Internet: there is always time to talk.

2. Team communication is key.
In order for a team to be successful in the world cup, players have to be aware of what others are doing all the time. Same with your business. Your employees are as (or more) important word of mouth advertising communicators as you are.  Providing them with ‘talking points’ about how to get customers talking about your business is one way to make sure your message is consistent and ongoing.

3. You never know when the big play will occur.
Those of us who watched the US-Algeria match in the first round held our breaths for more than ninety minutes. The US team were poised to score, but just could not get the ball in the net. Finally, during the 92^nd minute of play, US team member Landon Donovan scored in the blink of an eye.

It is sort of like that with word of mouth. You never know which of your power plays are going to pay off in the big sale or the huge bump in customer loyalty, but keeping consistent with messaging and always being on your game increase your chances it will happen.

When that happens, I will toot my vuvuzuela for you!

– Kim