Word-of-mouth marketing -- Smart or sneaky?

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I hadn't thought of what I was doing as selling. I was just sharing my opinion, wasn't I? I asked my husband. “But before, you used to wait for someone to ask for it,” he answered.

While the companies encourage me to be honest in my opinions, I receive “reward points” for each report I submit (whether positive or negative). The points can be cashed in for small items, like travel mugs, or donated to charity. So if I tried to tone it down, my ability to earn points (and be viewed as a top-rated agent) would diminish.

Separating life from advertisements
On a sunny afternoon my friend Tamara and I enjoyed tea on her patio.

“I don't know which preschool to choose for next year,” she said, referring to her three-year-old son.

My internal buzzing-opportunity alarm bell rang: “too many choices” is a perfect lead-in for the vacation-planning website. I bit my tongue.“What do you think?” Tamara asked, mistaking my silence as deep thoughts about early childhood education.

“You know what's best for Lucas. Here, try these cookie bars,” I said, grabbing some from the handy supply in my purse.

Maybe I'd been pushing the word-of-mouth marketing envelope, trying to link regular conversations to courtroom drama shows and the reduced need to floss. Had I crossed the line?

But in order to earn more points I need to have something to report, which means I have to take my buzzing to the next level: mere acquaintances and perfect strangers.

Oct. 12: There were four of us jammed into the bus shelter while waiting for the bus during a chilly downpour. Two were young punks donning headphones, but the older woman to my right appeared friendly enough.

“Doesn't this type of weather make you want to take a holiday?” I asked, fully prepared to tell her all about the cool vacation website. She gave me a smile and said, “No speak the English.”

Instead of asking an attractive man on the elevator for the time, I asked him if he had tried a sonic toothbrush. He had five more floors to go, so what did I have to lose? He stared at the floor numbers and ignored me.

Approaching people I didn't know took me so far out of my comfort zone I felt I should be carrying my passport. It was one thing to share a smile or comment on the weather, but to recommend products and services out of the blue, no matter how much I liked using them, just didn't feel right. Public spaces would be safe once again — I was going to stick to buzzing the ones I know and love. Or just eating the cookie bars myself.

Nov. 6: This week I passed on a campaign for whole grain cereal. I just couldn't see myself talking about fibre in a positive way. My friends wouldn't believe me, no matter how hard I tried.

I've been buzzing for 14 weeks now — a veteran. My campaigns (some of which ran over a two-month period) total five: four products and one service. And I've talked to approximately 176,000 people about these items, give or take. But some of the conversations I'm having with close friends and family have become a trifle strained.

'I came over to talk to you, not a spokesperson'
It was after my third unsuccessful cookie-bar trial attempt when my friend Joanne finally came right out and said it.

“I came over to talk to you, not a spokesperson,” she said. “Zip it or I'm outta here.”

Then we started talking, for real. Apparently my “helpful” suggestions weren't ringing true. Sure, I'd told her about great stuff before (we've known each other a long time), but it was without a need to get all my facts straight and explain why I was talking to her about it in the first place.

“It's just not like you,” said Joanne. “But I did appreciate the toothbrush coupon.”

I've learned a lot about buzz marketing and about me. Being a buzz agent was fun (especially when I got to try new products), but it definitely felt awkward sometimes.

Typically, the kind of people buzz marketing companies are after are “key influencers” — those who identify trends and spread the word about them. Buzzing comes so naturally to these people that their friends and family expect to hear about new stuff, simply because that's the way they've always behaved. I know now that I'm more of a trend follower than a trendsetter.

When I confessed my discomfort in buzzing to Kim and Larisa, the friends who got me into this mess, they told me I could be trying too hard.

“I file only one or two reports a week,” said Kim. “If you don't like doing it, don't,” added Larisa.

That's when I discovered my mistake: I was taking this too seriously. Instead of just spreading the word about cool products, I had turned it into a job. While I'll miss the free stuff, word-of-mouth buzz is better left for others to do.

Has my experience made me more cynical of conversations in which products are mentioned?

Not really. All our lives we've had to deal with one another's opinions, whether we agree with them or not. It's just now that word-of-mouth marketing is more popular, we can expect to hear a lot more of them.

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This article was first printed in the April 2008 issue of Homemakers Magazine. Click to subscribe online and don't miss an issue.