STEVE O'LEARY is CEO of O'Leary and Partners, an advertising agency in Orange County, California. In his thirty-five year advertising career, he has worked on over 20 retail brands that range from single store operations to large chains, and from dry cleaners to fast food restaurants. His clients have included Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing, Century 21 Real Estate, and Taco Bell. He has been a speaker at various industry events and client conventions and workshops, and a guest lecturer at numerous universities.KIM SHEEHAN is Associate Professor at the University of Oregon, where she teaches classes in communications and advertising. She spent twelve years in the advertising industry, working with fast-food clients such as Wendy's and McDonald's, and with retail store clients like Kinney Shoe and Laura Ashley. She is the author of Controversies in Contemporary Advertising, and a coauthor of Using Qualitative Research Methods in Advertising.

"The Web has caused a redefinition of business systems and how they interact and dialogue with consumers. This is especially true for small businesses, which face challenges marketing their products and services and competing with large, often global competitors. O'Leary (CEO, advertising agency) and Sheehan (Univ. of Oregon) successfully take on the challenge of addressing these important how-to issues for small businesses. They establish a basic road map--customers-conversations-community-commitment--as the organizational framework for this useful work. The objective is to help small businesses use customers to talk about their stores and services with others to help build a growing community of customers and increase sales. As a method, this is word-of-mouth on steroids. This well-organized, lucid book sets forth this operating approach with practical marketing suggestions, and ideas that make budget sense and can be quickly implemented and measured. A how-to book doesn't get much better than this....Highly recommended." - Choice

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1:The Importance of Word of Mouth and Customer CommunitiesToday's Retail EnvironmentWhat Are Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Customer Communities?What Customer Communities Will Do for Your BusinessWhy Word-of-Mouth Marketing Is So Popular NowWhy You Should Harness the Power of Word of MouthWord of Mouth and the Local Store AdvantageHow a Customer Community Fits into Your Advertising PlanSumming UpChapter 2:Who Are Your Customers?Getting Started: Defining Your Trading Area by Geography and ZIP CodesMoving Forward: Determining the Demographics of Your Trading AreaTaking It Further: Looking at Your Business by Customer SegmentsYour Loyalty Segments: The Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting the Data About Your CustomersSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 3:Getting Started with Word of MouthGetting Started: Backgrounds, Definitions, and History of Word of MouthJust What Is Word of Mouth?Getting Started: Understanding the Impact of Word of MouthMoving Forward: The Elements of a Word-of-Mouth CampaignMoving Forward: Using Information to Create Word of MouthMoving Forward: Delivering the CommunicationTaking It Further: Working with Traditional AdvertisingTaking It Further: Using Word of Mouth with the Family, Flirts, and PhantomsTaking It Further: Creating and Working with Store ChampionsSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 4:Encouraging and Rewarding Word of Mouth with Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting Started: Asking Your Customers to Talk About Your StoreMoving Forward: Understanding Reward and Loyalty SystemsMoving Forward: Types of Reward ProgramsMoving Forward: Selecting the Best Reward Program for Your BusinessTaking It Further: Creating a Personalized Loyalty ProgramUseful InformationTaking It Further: Personal Communication as Its Own RewardTaking It Further: Turning Loyalty into ReferralsSumming UpChapter 5:How Customer Communities WorkGetting Started: Customer Communities as the Third PlaceGetting Started: Understanding the Customer Benefits of CommunitiesMoving Forward: Best Practices of Customer CommunitiesTaking It Further: Understanding How Communities Pay Off for Your StoreSumming UpChapter 6:Establishing Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Successes and Challenges of Online CommunitiesMoving Forward: Choosing a Format for Your Online CommunityMoving Forward: Identifying Social Glue to Bring Your Community TogetherMoving Forward: Selecting the Best GlueMoving Forward: Involving Customers in Your CommunityTaking It Further: Facilitating and Moderating Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making the Third PlaceSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 7:Growing and Supporting Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Ways to Get Online Members into Your StoreMoving Forward: Creating a Community Space in Your StoreMoving Forward: Involving Your Employees in Community EffortsMoving Forward: Roles Your Employees Can PlayTaking It Further: Reaching Out to Local Organizations to Aid Your Community EffortsTaking It Further: Selecting ActivitiesTaking It Further: Successfully Implementing Community Marketing ProgramsSumming UpChapter 8:Tracking the ResultsGetting Started: Defining Success and Tracking ResultsMoving Forward: Sales Measurements That Track Changes in Your BusinessCustomer Service Measurements That Indicate Changes in Your BusinessIn-Store MeasurementsWays to Measure Word-of-Mouth ActivityMeasuring the Value of Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making Sense of MeasuresSumming UpChapter 9:Keeping Your Community Fresh and VitalGetting Started: The Cluster Effect and Its Impact on Your CommunityMoving Forward: Understanding the Power of Social Networks through MySpaceKeeping Interest and Involvement AliveTaking It Further: Revisiting Your Marketing GridTaking It Further: Clarifying Community RolesSumming UpChapter 10:Ethical Considerations That Will Make Your Community More SuccessfulWhy Privacy Statements Are ImportantSteps in Developing and Implementing Your Privacy ProgramTransparency and How It Effects the Legitimacy of Your CommunityThe Word of Mouth Marketing Association Principles of WOM MarketingSumming UpChapter 11:The Adventure BeginsAppendix:Your Local Store Marketing ToolboxToolbox 1: Developing Your Marketing GridToolbox 2: Creating a Map to Discover Your Trading AreaToolbox 3: Using Zip Code Tabulation to Think about Your Local Market AreaToolbox 4: A Primer on DemographicsToolbox 5: Data-Collection TechniquesToolbox 6: Talking to Customers: What to AskToolbox 7: Analyzing DataToolbox 8: Collecting Data on Your Web SiteNotesIndex

STEVE O'LEARY is CEO of O'Leary and Partners, an advertising agency in Orange County, California. In his thirty-five year advertising career, he has worked on over 20 retail brands that range from single store operations to large chains, and from dry cleaners to fast food restaurants. His clients have included Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing, Century 21 Real Estate, and Taco Bell. He has been a speaker at various industry events and client conventions and workshops, and a guest lecturer at numerous universities.KIM SHEEHAN is Associate Professor at the University of Oregon, where she teaches classes in communications and advertising. She spent twelve years in the advertising industry, working with fast-food clients such as Wendy's and McDonald's, and with retail store clients like Kinney Shoe and Laura Ashley. She is the author of Controversies in Contemporary Advertising, and a coauthor of Using Qualitative Research Methods in Advertising.

"The Web has caused a redefinition of business systems and how they interact and dialogue with consumers. This is especially true for small businesses, which face challenges marketing their products and services and competing with large, often global competitors. O'Leary (CEO, advertising agency) and Sheehan (Univ. of Oregon) successfully take on the challenge of addressing these important how-to issues for small businesses. They establish a basic road map--customers-conversations-community-commitment--as the organizational framework for this useful work. The objective is to help small businesses use customers to talk about their stores and services with others to help build a growing community of customers and increase sales. As a method, this is word-of-mouth on steroids. This well-organized, lucid book sets forth this operating approach with practical marketing suggestions, and ideas that make budget sense and can be quickly implemented and measured. A how-to book doesn't get much better than this....Highly recommended." - Choice

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1:The Importance of Word of Mouth and Customer CommunitiesToday's Retail EnvironmentWhat Are Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Customer Communities?What Customer Communities Will Do for Your BusinessWhy Word-of-Mouth Marketing Is So Popular NowWhy You Should Harness the Power of Word of MouthWord of Mouth and the Local Store AdvantageHow a Customer Community Fits into Your Advertising PlanSumming UpChapter 2:Who Are Your Customers?Getting Started: Defining Your Trading Area by Geography and ZIP CodesMoving Forward: Determining the Demographics of Your Trading AreaTaking It Further: Looking at Your Business by Customer SegmentsYour Loyalty Segments: The Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting the Data About Your CustomersSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 3:Getting Started with Word of MouthGetting Started: Backgrounds, Definitions, and History of Word of MouthJust What Is Word of Mouth?Getting Started: Understanding the Impact of Word of MouthMoving Forward: The Elements of a Word-of-Mouth CampaignMoving Forward: Using Information to Create Word of MouthMoving Forward: Delivering the CommunicationTaking It Further: Working with Traditional AdvertisingTaking It Further: Using Word of Mouth with the Family, Flirts, and PhantomsTaking It Further: Creating and Working with Store ChampionsSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 4:Encouraging and Rewarding Word of Mouth with Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting Started: Asking Your Customers to Talk About Your StoreMoving Forward: Understanding Reward and Loyalty SystemsMoving Forward: Types of Reward ProgramsMoving Forward: Selecting the Best Reward Program for Your BusinessTaking It Further: Creating a Personalized Loyalty ProgramUseful InformationTaking It Further: Personal Communication as Its Own RewardTaking It Further: Turning Loyalty into ReferralsSumming UpChapter 5:How Customer Communities WorkGetting Started: Customer Communities as the Third PlaceGetting Started: Understanding the Customer Benefits of CommunitiesMoving Forward: Best Practices of Customer CommunitiesTaking It Further: Understanding How Communities Pay Off for Your StoreSumming UpChapter 6:Establishing Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Successes and Challenges of Online CommunitiesMoving Forward: Choosing a Format for Your Online CommunityMoving Forward: Identifying Social Glue to Bring Your Community TogetherMoving Forward: Selecting the Best GlueMoving Forward: Involving Customers in Your CommunityTaking It Further: Facilitating and Moderating Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making the Third PlaceSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 7:Growing and Supporting Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Ways to Get Online Members into Your StoreMoving Forward: Creating a Community Space in Your StoreMoving Forward: Involving Your Employees in Community EffortsMoving Forward: Roles Your Employees Can PlayTaking It Further: Reaching Out to Local Organizations to Aid Your Community EffortsTaking It Further: Selecting ActivitiesTaking It Further: Successfully Implementing Community Marketing ProgramsSumming UpChapter 8:Tracking the ResultsGetting Started: Defining Success and Tracking ResultsMoving Forward: Sales Measurements That Track Changes in Your BusinessCustomer Service Measurements That Indicate Changes in Your BusinessIn-Store MeasurementsWays to Measure Word-of-Mouth ActivityMeasuring the Value of Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making Sense of MeasuresSumming UpChapter 9:Keeping Your Community Fresh and VitalGetting Started: The Cluster Effect and Its Impact on Your CommunityMoving Forward: Understanding the Power of Social Networks through MySpaceKeeping Interest and Involvement AliveTaking It Further: Revisiting Your Marketing GridTaking It Further: Clarifying Community RolesSumming UpChapter 10:Ethical Considerations That Will Make Your Community More SuccessfulWhy Privacy Statements Are ImportantSteps in Developing and Implementing Your Privacy ProgramTransparency and How It Effects the Legitimacy of Your CommunityThe Word of Mouth Marketing Association Principles of WOM MarketingSumming UpChapter 11:The Adventure BeginsAppendix:Your Local Store Marketing ToolboxToolbox 1: Developing Your Marketing GridToolbox 2: Creating a Map to Discover Your Trading AreaToolbox 3: Using Zip Code Tabulation to Think about Your Local Market AreaToolbox 4: A Primer on DemographicsToolbox 5: Data-Collection TechniquesToolbox 6: Talking to Customers: What to AskToolbox 7: Analyzing DataToolbox 8: Collecting Data on Your Web SiteNotesIndex

STEVE O'LEARY is CEO of O'Leary and Partners, an advertising agency in Orange County, California. In his thirty-five year advertising career, he has worked on over 20 retail brands that range from single store operations to large chains, and from dry cleaners to fast food restaurants. His clients have included Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing, Century 21 Real Estate, and Taco Bell. He has been a speaker at various industry events and client conventions and workshops, and a guest lecturer at numerous universities.KIM SHEEHAN is Associate Professor at the University of Oregon, where she teaches classes in communications and advertising. She spent twelve years in the advertising industry, working with fast-food clients such as Wendy's and McDonald's, and with retail store clients like Kinney Shoe and Laura Ashley. She is the author of Controversies in Contemporary Advertising, and a coauthor of Using Qualitative Research Methods in Advertising.

"The Web has caused a redefinition of business systems and how they interact and dialogue with consumers. This is especially true for small businesses, which face challenges marketing their products and services and competing with large, often global competitors. O'Leary (CEO, advertising agency) and Sheehan (Univ. of Oregon) successfully take on the challenge of addressing these important how-to issues for small businesses. They establish a basic road map--customers-conversations-community-commitment--as the organizational framework for this useful work. The objective is to help small businesses use customers to talk about their stores and services with others to help build a growing community of customers and increase sales. As a method, this is word-of-mouth on steroids. This well-organized, lucid book sets forth this operating approach with practical marketing suggestions, and ideas that make budget sense and can be quickly implemented and measured. A how-to book doesn't get much better than this....Highly recommended." - Choice

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1:The Importance of Word of Mouth and Customer CommunitiesToday's Retail EnvironmentWhat Are Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Customer Communities?What Customer Communities Will Do for Your BusinessWhy Word-of-Mouth Marketing Is So Popular NowWhy You Should Harness the Power of Word of MouthWord of Mouth and the Local Store AdvantageHow a Customer Community Fits into Your Advertising PlanSumming UpChapter 2:Who Are Your Customers?Getting Started: Defining Your Trading Area by Geography and ZIP CodesMoving Forward: Determining the Demographics of Your Trading AreaTaking It Further: Looking at Your Business by Customer SegmentsYour Loyalty Segments: The Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting the Data About Your CustomersSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 3:Getting Started with Word of MouthGetting Started: Backgrounds, Definitions, and History of Word of MouthJust What Is Word of Mouth?Getting Started: Understanding the Impact of Word of MouthMoving Forward: The Elements of a Word-of-Mouth CampaignMoving Forward: Using Information to Create Word of MouthMoving Forward: Delivering the CommunicationTaking It Further: Working with Traditional AdvertisingTaking It Further: Using Word of Mouth with the Family, Flirts, and PhantomsTaking It Further: Creating and Working with Store ChampionsSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 4:Encouraging and Rewarding Word of Mouth with Family, Flirts, and PhantomsGetting Started: Asking Your Customers to Talk About Your StoreMoving Forward: Understanding Reward and Loyalty SystemsMoving Forward: Types of Reward ProgramsMoving Forward: Selecting the Best Reward Program for Your BusinessTaking It Further: Creating a Personalized Loyalty ProgramUseful InformationTaking It Further: Personal Communication as Its Own RewardTaking It Further: Turning Loyalty into ReferralsSumming UpChapter 5:How Customer Communities WorkGetting Started: Customer Communities as the Third PlaceGetting Started: Understanding the Customer Benefits of CommunitiesMoving Forward: Best Practices of Customer CommunitiesTaking It Further: Understanding How Communities Pay Off for Your StoreSumming UpChapter 6:Establishing Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Successes and Challenges of Online CommunitiesMoving Forward: Choosing a Format for Your Online CommunityMoving Forward: Identifying Social Glue to Bring Your Community TogetherMoving Forward: Selecting the Best GlueMoving Forward: Involving Customers in Your CommunityTaking It Further: Facilitating and Moderating Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making the Third PlaceSumming UpResource ToolboxChapter 7:Growing and Supporting Your Online CommunityGetting Started: Ways to Get Online Members into Your StoreMoving Forward: Creating a Community Space in Your StoreMoving Forward: Involving Your Employees in Community EffortsMoving Forward: Roles Your Employees Can PlayTaking It Further: Reaching Out to Local Organizations to Aid Your Community EffortsTaking It Further: Selecting ActivitiesTaking It Further: Successfully Implementing Community Marketing ProgramsSumming UpChapter 8:Tracking the ResultsGetting Started: Defining Success and Tracking ResultsMoving Forward: Sales Measurements That Track Changes in Your BusinessCustomer Service Measurements That Indicate Changes in Your BusinessIn-Store MeasurementsWays to Measure Word-of-Mouth ActivityMeasuring the Value of Your CommunityTaking It Further: Making Sense of MeasuresSumming UpChapter 9:Keeping Your Community Fresh and VitalGetting Started: The Cluster Effect and Its Impact on Your CommunityMoving Forward: Understanding the Power of Social Networks through MySpaceKeeping Interest and Involvement AliveTaking It Further: Revisiting Your Marketing GridTaking It Further: Clarifying Community RolesSumming UpChapter 10:Ethical Considerations That Will Make Your Community More SuccessfulWhy Privacy Statements Are ImportantSteps in Developing and Implementing Your Privacy ProgramTransparency and How It Effects the Legitimacy of Your CommunityThe Word of Mouth Marketing Association Principles of WOM MarketingSumming UpChapter 11:The Adventure BeginsAppendix:Your Local Store Marketing ToolboxToolbox 1: Developing Your Marketing GridToolbox 2: Creating a Map to Discover Your Trading AreaToolbox 3: Using Zip Code Tabulation to Think about Your Local Market AreaToolbox 4: A Primer on DemographicsToolbox 5: Data-Collection TechniquesToolbox 6: Talking to Customers: What to AskToolbox 7: Analyzing DataToolbox 8: Collecting Data on Your Web SiteNotesIndex