Andy Sernovitz

Business leader, Change agent, Connector, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Marketer, Web guru, Writer/Editor

I teach word of mouth marketing. Why? Because companies that understand this stuff are more open, transparent, honest, and kind. Because companies that learn to get people talking (and learn to talk back) are better businesses. It's about one big idea: Companies that make people happy are more successful. Your idea, cause, or business won't succeed just because it's great or worthy. It will succeed when you earn the respect and recommendation of a community that will carry your message for you. I'm the author of New York Times besteller "Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking." I run a site called WordofMouth.org , which teaches word of mouth techniques to marketers and entrepreneurs, and SocialMedia.org, a community for social media leaders at the world's greatest brands. I'm also a rabid purist on the topic of marketing ethics and travel the country teaching companies how to stop being jerks to their customers. In past lives I taught internet entrepreneurship at Wharton, taught word of mouth marketing at Northwestern, ran a business incubator, and started half a dozen companies. I like starting communities -- I created the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and, back in the dotcom days, I ran the Association for Interactive Marketing. My blog is called "Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That!".

Happiness is the secret to successful business. Companies build around earning customer love and respect are the only ones that will succeed.

The Word of Mouth Marketing Manifesto 1. Happy customers are your best advertising. Make people happy. 2. Marketing is easy. Earn the respect and recommendation of your customers. They will do your marketing for you, for free. 3. Ethics and good service come first. 4. Marketing is what you do, not what you say. 5. Negative word of mouth is an opportunity. Listen and learn. 6. People are already talking. Your only option is to join the conversation. 7. Be interesting, or be invisible. 8. If it’s not worth talking about, it’s not worth doing. 9. Make the story of your company a good one. 10. It’s more fun to work at a company that people want to talk about. 11. Use the power of word of mouth to make businesses treat people better. 12. Honest marketing makes more money.

community organizing, Ethics, Evangelism, Happiness@work, Marketing + Communications, non-profits, Online Marketing, Social Media, Viral Marketing, Word of Mouth