Word of Mouth

Are you aware of the effects of what you say? One of the oldest and most impacting ways of communication, is spreading your view by

Word of Mouth
Matthew 15:11
The words you speak are a projection of your deepest self. Your spoken words come back and you and may pollute or heal you.



Already in the bible (Matthew 15:11) Jesus states that instead of discussing whether unclean foods (entering the mouth) defile a person, the words that come out of a person's mouth (could) defile him more.
However, be good of heart, so that good words come out of your mouth (Luke 6:45) to generate good things in life.


WOM Marketing
Word of Mouth (WOM) is serious business. Be aware that your spoken words could effect or infect your environment.

Just like a viral infection, your words can become contagiousness (sticky) and are (in)directly widely spread around.

In the world of (viral) marketing this is what in the book named "The Tipping Point", Gladwell calls:

The Stickiness Factor
Marketing research on products and brands, showed that (product or brand) success is closely related to a handful of 'stickiness' key drivers:

• Excellence: perceived as best of breed
• Uniqueness: clear one-of-a-kind differentiation
• Aesthetics: perceived aesthetic appeal
• Association: generates positive associations
• Engagement: fosters emotional involvement
• Functional value: addresses functional needs
• Nostalgic value: evokes sentimental linkages
• Personification: has character, personality
• Cost: perceived value for money

Whether you like to successful transfer a message, sell a product or "sell" yourself (like a brand), rate your message, product or yourself to the above list of 'sticky key drivers' and see how you can do better.

The more key drivers qualities are fulfilled, the more success you'll have.


WOM Formula
There's even a WOM formula that states that (the success of) WOM is a function of originality (O) and usefulness (U).

WOM = O x U

This formula has been extended by Alain Thys to:

WOM = O x U x S^C

With:

• O = Originality
• U = Usefulness
• S = Seed, covers the amount of initial locations you can seed your message(i.e. the number of customers, bloggers, etc.)
• C = Credibility, determines the relative value of these seed locations.

WOM HR in the office
Another WOM application can be given in the Human Resource (HR) field (Authentic Word of Mouth Marketing Innovations)
The way employees in a company respond and translate 'messages' and 'information' in the organization to other employees, depends on their 'Social Abilities' and their positive or negative 'Work Experiences'.

When making cultural changes in companies we may distinguish between these several kind of employees:

• Quadrant A
  Employees in Quadrant A do not feel positive or engaged at work. This group also tends to not have a large social circle, which means that even if they are complaining about the workplace, it will have limited effect. However, do not underestimate these people as many of them many not be extremely social in person but are social on the internet, where they can have an enormous impact. Especially if this group has tech skills, work hard to make them feel engaged and frequently ask them what they like about the job.
• Quadrant B
  Employees in Quadrant B generally like the job and have a positive opinion of it, but do not care to share that fact with a wide circle. This group should be encouraged to speak about the job more. If they are not comfortable with engaging more people in person, you can make them an online advocate of the company and train them in blogging, social networks and other online social tools where they can meet more people without feeling uncomfortable. They can also be mentored to go to more public events.
• Quadrant C
  Employees in Quadrant C are dangerous to your company. These highly social but negative people will spread negative stories, talk about company weaknesses and flaws in management. In the best of situations, you should try to move these employees to a more positive feeling for the company. Care must be taken that these people do not get left unchecked until they have severely damaged the company image, which as a social insider, is not difficult to do.
• Quadrant D
  Employees in Quadrant D should get paid double. These are the people that add energy and excitement to the company and they act as a latent but effective salesperson whenever they encounter someone. These are the people that, even years after they have left your business, will still be talking about it to new people.
  The key with employees in D is to recognize them, encourage them and challenge them to do even more. Give them the stories and access to information that will make it even easier for them. Turn up their volume.

Realize the power of WOM, use it!

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Stumble It!

Power of indecision

You always take a decision, even if you don't. In fact, every (non)decision or (non)action changes the world and has a deep impact on your life and that of others.
Once you are aware of this immense effect, don't let this make you indecisive.

Try to define your next move, make a decision.



Not taking the right decisions at the right moment, might lead to a Lost Choice.

Even if you make decisions easily, in particular cases it's better to take the decision 'not to decide' (yet) and to wait and ask the universe for help.
Sometimes your intentions, dreams or wishes are too ambitious or difficult to achieve (at once). You can not dictate the universe to follow the exact path you've defined in reaching your goal.
This, all together, means that must give the universe time to respond or to calibrate.

Following this approach doesn't imply that you have to sit back passively and wait for the universe to deliver you the 'pot of gold at the end of the rainbow'.
No, this situation requests for a receptive approach where you listen to what the universe answers. These often inconceivable 'universal answers' hold the key to refine or redefine your ambition or wishes.
At the same time, use the universal answers to check or adjust the rightfulness of your intentions. You and the Universe have to be 'on the same page' to be successful.

Once you've gone through all these processes, you're ready to make your 'next move' to step forward in small steps, knowing and trusting that the Universe will help you at the right moment (the present) with the right gift (the presents).

It's just like Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) states in this impacting "you can't always get what you want song:"

You can't always get what you want But if you try sometimes you just might find You just might find You get what you need... Mick Jagger

Realize that, to "make it happen", you'll have to follow the law of attraction, that states:

“What we continually think about..., eventually will manifest in our lives.” Robert Collier 1885-1950

Notice that this quote uses the word "'manifest' and not 'happen'!



So try to recognize the song of the universe, just like scientists are studying the song of a volcano (mp3) to predict volcano eruptions by correlating (Mozart's) music with precise stages of volcanic activity.
Use the power of indecision: sing and dance to the music of the universe, your composition, your life.

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Stumble It!

Multiple Guess

Maybe you're not a real "Multiple Choice Professional". Or even worse, after you've invested hours, days or months in serious study, you haven't been able to pass this simple Multiple Choice Test (MCT).

In other words, smoke gets in your eyes. You're on the way of becoming a real MCT 'desperado' and are now considering - although you're serious and honest at heart - less honorable MCT passing-strategies like "always pick the longest answer" or "don't study at all, just guess".

On the other hand some of your friends pass MCT's without any effort, difficulty or study. They appear to have a natural talent for passing MCT's. Is this talent based upon 'intelligent guessing' or are they just lucky ?

What should you do? More study with the risk to overstudy, learn some more MCT tricks, change your view or just "go lucky" and put your trust on "multiple guess"?


The answers...
To become a real MTC professional, here are the answers you need:

• Study the right way
  Start with a positive attitude. Doing your best!
  Study and read to improve your vocabulary.
  
• Improve your test-taking skills
  Instead of the popular MCT tricks, apply proven techniques and suggestions to improve your test-taking skills.
  
  To develop that MCT gutfeeling, exercise it:
  - Learningskills program (10 minutes)
  Practice Multiple Choice Test.
  - Rules for intelligent guessing
  Last resort to improve your 'multiple guess'
  abilities.
  
• Random guessing : Forget about it !
  Developing MCT's has become a real science. Most tests are constructed in such a way that random guessing in general doesn't work.

Not convinced?
You're still not convinced that study and applying MCT-techniques are the right way to succeed?
Lucky you! The probability of guessing exactly 'k' answers right (successes) in a MCT with 'n' questions and 'a' answers per question is given by the mathematical formula:


with p=1/a and q=1-p

Applying this formula in a MCT calculator gives you the opportunity to convince yourself that guessing won't help you. So

Calculate your MCT Luck !
with this calculator and see what your chances are to pass a MCT just by random guessing.

Guess what, study your Luck

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Stumble It!