Marketing Plan?

[lav]

Im interested in seeing how many small to medium business actually sit down and develop a marketing plan. If so what does it involve and which areas do you emphasise?

After developing your plan did you actually implement it?.........why not?

[Patrysha]

I am a rough draft and outline until something is ready for launch type of planner. I figure out a general marketing funnel and then sort out what goes into which part of the funnel and then I test and then I implement...

There are some things that don't get past pre-testing and there are some that die after implementation because I failed to plan far enough ahead to deal with low enrolment and low engagement. (But I did learn from every flop...every time the lesson was worth the owies to my pride and dignity)

Anyway, that's the way I do it and it has so far worked quite well for me (and my clients). It's really all just a matter of putting together what you know with what makes sense marketing wise...identify your ideal target market and then find them in the marketplace when they are making decisions or thinking about making decisions. Get yourself out there in as positive light as you can and keep servicing your customers with the best in service and value. Those should all be worked into your marketing plan...follow up with good customers and find ways to subtley nudge those who have not purchased or responded in a while. Cull your list every so often and niche your list down with special offers. It's all fairly simple when you get down to the day to day management of a good marketing system and yeah that happens to start with a plan.

It's worth the time (or money if you can afford the research and writing of a pro) that it takes to put together a comprehensive marketing plan.

Of course, I am biased - but I know most successful business owners would agree.

I know that some wrote their entire business plan on the back of a napkin and other amazing tales...but most don't find success by that route.

Anyway, I've rambled enough...it's a topic I'm rather passionate about...lol

[Steve B]

I do and yes I implement it. It involves every way I know of that can possibly make my phone ring with prosective clients and a specific action plan on the ones I will pursue.

[cbscreative]

Like Patrysha, I'm biased, and I also think her statement that successful business people would agree is true. I'm interested in reading success stories or lessons learned in this thread.

If I took you back to about 1990, that's when I really learned the value of good marketing. Many of the members here may be somewhat familiar with my story because I've shared parts of it before. I was running a sign biz back then when computerization introduced a new form of competition we never had to deal with before.

Prior to that, if you had talent and ambition, you made it. Without talent you would crash and burn. Almost overnight us "sign guys" were faced with competition who had no clue about design, layout, color, etc. Most of the people running computerized sign shops had no prior background in signs or graphics. But many of these competitors were franchises with built in marketing plans. Marketing is so powerful that even ugly crap can sell. I found out (as did many sign guys) that talent was not enough.

Most of those sign franchises are long gone, but the sign biz was forever changed. Yes, I learned to form a marketing plan and to implement it.

[huggytree]

first you need to come up with an original idea and be different from the competition....

then you need to 'know' who your customers are...write down all the different people/companies who use your product/service....then figure out how to market to them....

i have 2 different customers...the general public and builders/remodelers.....i chose to market to builders since there's only 400 of them in my area...i can hit them over and over and over without alot of cost....my other market(homeowners) is so large its impossible for a small company to market to them well...

what business are you in? it makes a huge difference when it comes to marketing advice?

[vangogh]

Jason I don't have a formal marketing plan written down, but I do have a plan that's informally made up of notes across a few files. I do have a plan for how to market myself and my business, though it's not written out as a formal marketing plan.


identify your ideal target market and then find them in the marketplace when they are making decisions or thinking about making decisions. Get yourself out there in as positive light as you can and keep servicing your customers with the best in service and value.

This is where it all starts. You have to find a market, and come up with a solution to a problem they have. Figure out where they spend their time and build a brand in those places.

I'm constantly evaluating and re-evaluating my marketing plan. Some of the things I'm always thinking about are:

1. Who are my clients/customers - I want to get to know everything I can about them, mostly about what they want and need and see as valuable. I want to know what will resonate with them and get them to buy. What kind of messages will they respond to.

2. Where are my clients/customers - The more I know about them the more I know where they might spend their time and where my message can reach them. What sites do they visit online? What magazines to the read? What do they watch on tv? What do they search for?

3. How do I reach my clients/customers in the places where they spend time - If my customers are likely to visit a specific site how do build a presence on that site? Is it a site I can join like a forum? Will the site let me write articles/posts for them? Can I get to know the site owner or others with an active participation and get them to recommend me. Basically how to I build my brand in that location.

It comes down to you having something to sell. Figure out who would be likely to buy what you have and how you can make what you have more like what that person wants to buy. Find out where that person spends time and figure out a way to reach them so they know you have what they want. And build your brand so they trust it and are willing and wanting to do business with you.

[KristineS]

I think the biggest thing you have to know is who your target customer is. I get so frustrated when I talk to people and they say their target customer is "everyone". It is also sad to see people wasting money marketing to groups who have no interest in their products. A marketing plan can help you avoid that. It is also a great way to figure out where your target customers are located. Developing a plan forces you to do research, and research is often invaluable.

[theDIfellas]

Im working on one right now for my small company. I took a couple business writing and marketing courses in school but it was longgg ago.

Id say, keep it concise and focus on your target market. And think outside of the box too, little things help like swapping business cards with a friend and cross-marketing. It doesnt all have to be expensive.

[theDIfellas]

^^ haha i say long ago, Im class of 2009!!

[vangogh]

I think I still remember 2009. It was so long ago though :)


I get so frustrated when I talk to people and they say their target customer is "everyone".

Absolutely. I understand how people might think that at first, but it's really about the most important thing you can you need to get past if you want to be successful. Very few businesses (if any) and no small business has a market of everyone. You have to understand who is and isn't your customer so you can tailor your products, services, marketing, etc. If you're goal is to appeal to everyone, you'll ultimately appeal to no one.

[Harold Mansfield]

I can honestly say that I have no marketing plan at all written down. Since I don't exactly target locally, I don't do anything in the local market, although I have begun networking with small local web design people and companies that don't work with Wordpress, or Social Media ...anything that I have done so far has been web based with limited results, but then again, I really just started offering services recently.

This past weekend, my Mom was in town so we hit quite a few casinos..since I don't gamble and sitting and watching someone play slots is about as boring as it can get...I took my netbook with me and a pocket full of business cards and sat in areas of the casinos like coffee shops and also casino bars and just talked to people. Most times if you pull out a netbook or laptop somewhere, someone is going to strike up a conversation with you to see what you are doing, and I was able to pass out quite a few business cards to people that were thinking about dong something, or knew someone that was.

I do that kind of thing often, kind of ground floor bum marketing the way an escort goes into a busy casino and sits at the bar with the most men at it (remember I live in Vegas, so excuse the analogies).

But mostly my marketing plan will probably consist of articles for start up small businesses, web tips, and bidding on freelance work on the different job boards and fine tuning my online profiles, and working the referrals once I get a client base built up.

I don't really have a budget to do anything and marketing and promotion was not something that I considered outside of what I already do to drive traffic to my websites, so I am really just getting into it.

[billbenson]

No marketing plan here. I got plunged into self employment because of unemployment. While I was job hunting I started selling my current product line on line. In about 6 months I was making as much as the jobs that were out there, even though I only had one offer. So I quit job hunting and continued selling on line.

Other than weekly or monthly objectives I still have no plan.

[lav]

Thanks everybody for the replies, I am surprised, I thought more of us would have some sort of marketing plan mapped out on paper or on file. For those who have it "in their head" Is your marketing plan this week the same as it was last week?

I made the original post because about 6 months ago I sat down and marked out (on paper) a detailed marketing plan. In theory I was very pleased with it and confident it would make a huge difference to my business. I began implementing it but after 3 months although my sales had increased they had not increased sharply. I lost faith and discontinued my marketing efforts (still marketing but not with the same effort or following the game plan). To my surprise though we are now past the 6 month mark since I started implementing that plan and I am now seeing sharp increases in sales as a direct result of my strategies implemented about 3 or 4 months ago (I am tracking it as much as I can). It seems it has taken about 3 or 4 months for my original promotions and marketing efforts to kick in and I am now "kicking myself" that I did not have more faith in my plan to continue implementing it. I am back into it again though as the job was only half done and it was a lesson well learnt and it reminds me of something my schoolboys football coach used to say all the time.... "It doesnt matter if you are winning or losing just stick to the game plan"

I had always had the same ideas as to how to market my business But i think writing it all down (I did it as a tree graph) allowed me to do it more strategically and in more detail.

I think it was Patrysha who said it would benefit a business more by hiring a professional to help with your marketing, I would agree with this 100% as one of the things I have struggled with is finding the time to implement the plan although in my case Patrysha I have a keen interest in marketing and might possibly be able to make a career out of it so I consider everything I do myself is training :)

[vangogh]

But i think writing it all down (I did it as a tree graph) allowed me to do it more strategically and in more detail.

That's why I write things down too. Something about the act of committing things to paper or a text file makes me thinking it out more clearly and follow it too. Like I said I don't have something formally written in the sense of what you'd probably see recommended for a marketing plan. What I have is more informal.

I tend to write down whatever thoughts come to mind and then keep writing and writing over the course of a few days or weeks. By the end of the document there's an actual plan for what I want to do. I then revisit and rework the plan every few months. I also think it's important to at least create the informal plan. Same thing for general business plans. It helps to create a coordinated strategy as opposed to just trying a few random things.


To my surprise though we are now past the 6 month mark since I started implementing that plan and I am now seeing sharp increases in sales as a direct result of my strategies implemented about 3 or 4 months ago

That's why it's important to stick with things. A lot of things you do in business won't pay off for awhile. A lot of people give up before there efforts have had a chance to work.

[Patrysha]

Oh I think if you have an interest in it then you should do it, you're going to know your product and market better than anyone that can be afforded on the typical start-up budget.

Marketers are for people who want to market well but don't have the time and inclination to put into all the learning and testing and tweaking and measuring and...

It's not hard to do, just time consuming to do well when it is not all you do.

As a side note, writing things down makes a huge mind body connection that you just don't get from thinking about something. The act of writing makes it "real" to your mind...tons of studies have shown writing things down increasing the odds of achieving goals.

[vangogh]

writing things down makes a huge mind body connection that you just don't get from thinking about something. The act of writing makes it "real" to your mind...tons of studies have shown writing things down increasing the odds of achieving goals.

Yep. I've written things done that I know I'll never read again just for that connection. Just writing something down helps me remember it better.

[KristineS]

Writing something down can be a big help, if you follow through with the plan. Half the job is writing what you want to do down, the other half is doing it.

[cbscreative]

No marketing plan here. I got plunged into self employment because of unemployment. While I was job hunting I started selling my current product line on line. In about 6 months I was making as much as the jobs that were out there, even though I only had one offer. So I quit job hunting and continued selling on line.

Other than weekly or monthly objectives I still have no plan.

Bill, your situation reminds me a lot of how I started this company. I was frustrated with a job I had and began taking university classes in the spring of 01 with the intent of getting a BS degree in computers and networking. It wasn't all that much more to know than what you ned to know as a graphic artist, but a huge pay difference.

Shortly after starting school I lost the job and was mostly glad of it. After much frustration of looking for work, and having been self employed in the past, I decided that the effort required to start a business would be better than the frustration of looking for a job. So in the spring of 02 I launched this company and have never regretted that.

I kept doing the classes until the end of the 2006 school year. The nice thing was, I could take classes that directly benefitted my business and put the learning to immediate use. When I got to the point of only needing the gag me classes that they torture students with before issuing a degree, I reevaluated the need for a piece of paper and became a college dropout. Bill Gates is a college dropout too, so I'd say he did OK.

One area of that experience that keeps this thread on track is that I took marketing as an elective in school. That really helped me too.

[huggytree]

one thing i found when i started is that your initial ideas of business in general are completely wrong....it took me 6 month to a year to get a real idea of how to run things correctly....my concepts on marketing and sales keep evolving and fine tuning themselves....my advice is to keep track on paper your sales % and try different things and see how it is effected...i used to get 1 out of 10 bids, now i get 1 out of 3 and spend 1/2 the office time i used to by qualifing customers.

i still dont know what your business is?

[vangogh]

my concepts on marketing and sales keep evolving and fine tuning themselves

Very true. We're all learning as we go. It's one reason I revisit my informal marketing plan and business plan every so often. You always have to be watching what's going on in your market and keeping track of what is and isn't working for you so you can adjust.

[veles]

I think the marketing plan should have 2 kinds of the purposes
Strategic and tactical
The strategic purposes are long-term objectives which you put before the business and serve for some years forward. These purposes seldom require revision.
The tactical purposes are necessary for achievement of fast success and can serve as short-term methods. They depend on a small time interval and consequently can vary if the situation in the market varies

[handprop]

Some use software but I use hardware.:D

Many years ago I watched a marketing executive use index cards and it was amazing to see. This was before computers were mainstream so I adopted it and use it to this day.

All I have is a metal box that uses 5 x 8 index cards and a bunch of dividers. The dividers never change but the index cards do. The box is my complete system (sort of) and in the front is all the brainstorming ideas and the back is full of conclusions from all the efforts made as it evolves. The middle is like a giant flow chart and contains all the nuts and bolts of the complete marketing process.

Some day I might consider changing to a spreadsheet but I doubt it. I can take the box in my car, airplane, and any meetings I have. When an idea, question or task comes up I just open it and grap the right card. When driving I always take it with and driving is boring so I normally grab a card i'm working on and set it in my dash where the gauges sit and keep thinking and staying on task. The cards are always changing because as the marketing process takes shape I keep removing cards and re-writing them improving the content every step of the way.

This all sounds crazy but it works great and I wouldn't change a thing! One reason it works so well is simplicity, something that was pounded in my head for years. It's not for everyone but some folks may like it.

Oh, I should mention the guy that gave me the idea was the senior marketing executive of Kimberly-Clark.

Mike

[vangogh]

I can take the box in my car, airplane, and any meetings I have

You do realize digital files like spreadsheets and documents travel well too. You can even carry them with you on your phone :)

I do agree though about the tools. The most important tool is your brain. If that's not working well then no software or other tool is going to help much.

[veles]

I do agree though about the tools. The most important tool is your brain. If that's not working well then no software or other tool is going to help much.

I agree brain is principal tools for business generaly! It make idea for business and strategy of development. But a lot people not know how to write business plan or marketing plan correctly. For example you need a credit for own idea and want to take money at bank or finanance company. They ask you usually to show your business plan for 3 years minimum and this business plan need to be in standard form! So you need tool for business plan or pay for expert which write it to you. If you buy software it will cheaper than to employ expert.
Other examples - you use all internet. It software too becouse it more cheaper then telephone calls and have more tools, skype - the same you can speak free with any person in world who have skype too.

[handprop]

I have looked into software and electronic devices but it's kind of like my favorite pair of shoes!:D

On the subject of banks, most of the big banks have rules and guidlines they follow but local banks are a very different. I play an active role in the community and bank at 3 local banks. They know me and years of producing great results allows me the ability to get money when I need it, no questions asked. I always tell people to bank with people you know in the community and life becomes a lot easier. If you have a new business and are new to the community go talk to the president of a local bank and keep him informed during the process and ask him for advice, make him part of the team. Banks only make money when they lend and they want to feel comfortable when the do. Nothing beats a great relationship with a bank. I was told once by the president of one of the banks I bank at that a business plan or marketing plan is for people who the bank doesn't know. That doesn't mean you should not have a plan but explains how relationships are so very important.

For me personally, I visit and eat lunch and go flying with my banker buddies every week and they know just as much about my business and marketing plan as I do. Most of my sucess is the result of great relationships......

Mike

[greenoak]

ours has grown over the years mainly guided by what has worked...
its 4 events....monthly email newsletter....and billboards..and the website..earlier we did more long running newspaper ads......
i really work on this in january and fine tune and look back on what worked....then i do totally follow thru with the new years plan.....of course i always leave room for the new ideas...like the email newwsletter a few years ago....
every year i try something diferent, some new list, some targeted thing..a good idea i picked up somewhere..then, if it worked i keep it,,,if not i ditch it...we have a pretty big list of ideas weve discarded....
after all this effort....word of mouth and the pictures on the website seem to be the best thing...
its a serious part of my job...
i take marketing very seriously.and spend lots of time and money on it......but i do think success comes from the quality of your idea and if the market wants it......many marketers make it sound like thay can save you, or make ALMOST any idea work...SO WRONG..IMHO some business ideas are just so much better than others...its not all equal.... .......if your idea is not right no marketing will really make it work for long...
ann

[handprop]

I know nothing about antiques but a few months ago I talked to a lady who ownes an antique store at a convention that told me her best marketing idea was to convert people who normally would buy new furniture. She explained that for the money the quality is much better and she gears her marketing to target those people. From what she told me it sounds like she was having great success. That's what I can recall, I wish I knew more about it but I talk to so many people that everything becomes a blure.

I thought it made sense. My wife and I spend $1,800 on a new dresser last year and now that we own it the quality doesn't seem to match the price.

Mike

[vangogh]

@veles - I agree with you about tools. I didn't mean to imply the only tool you need is your brain. I certainly use a lot of software in my business and I have very clear preferences for the specific software I use.

I think with business planning software it depends on the person and why they're writing a business plan. If your goal is to secure a loan from a bank or investor then spending money on software that will help might make sense. If you're writing an informal plan for yourself it's probably not necessary. Just depends on who you are and why you're writing. Makes sense for some and not for others.

[greenoak]

mike....thats about how we market now....generally the old stuff is made much better...imho...
vg...i would like to keep track o things like you do.. those skills are just not there for me...so im more like mike... by gut by notebook, by paper.... and pretty happy with it...i might try his box method tho!!!!
im trying to learn a bit as i go along .
ann

[handprop]

Ann, I went to your website and blog and i'm very impressed. From what I see you have done what Harley Davidson does, build a culture and a lifestyle....great job.

On the subject of antiques I don't know much about them but I have always admired them. Living history...what a cool business.

Carefull with my box idea........once you start you will be hooked for life.:eek:

Mike

[vangogh]

Ann believe it or not I also use pen and paper and sometimes even index cards. There's something to the act of writing more than typing that promotes memory and creativity.

I do use a lot of software tools, because they have a lot of advantages over pen and paper and index cards. You can search and sort and they don't take up any physical space. Many also have the ability to connect to each other and work together.

But I still like pen and paper a lot and use it all the time.

[AdamG]

Picking up o Mike's comment on relationships with your bank a little while ago I had to make a presentation on getting finance and gave my draft to my bank manager for comment. Part of her response said:

“Don't forget to tell us about you and your business! This is effectively who we are lending too. I tell my customers that their business plan is their stage - its their opportunity to take the floor and convince me as to why I should "invest" in them and their business. I know what the economy is doing. I know what different industries are doing in the market. What I don't know is why their business is different to Joe Bloggs down the road. I don't know why their life experiences will make this business a success. I don't know what gives their business that competitive advantage. I don't know them, I don't know their business. And don't assume! I'm a banker, don't assume I know what the business does specifically!”

There's some marketing issues in there as well.

[vangogh]

its their opportunity to take the floor and convince me as to why I should "invest" in them and their business...What I don't know is why their business is different to Joe Bloggs down the road.

That's an interesting parallel to making a sale too. Customers have a lot of choices. If they land on your website or see an ad for your company or even walk by your store, you need to convince them why you. Why you and not that other store 2 blocks from here? Why you and not one of those other 9 sites I saw listed in the search results page.

It's one of the essential questions you have to answer if you want to be in business. Why you?

[Paul Elliott]

ours has grown over the years mainly guided by what has worked...
its 4 events....monthly email newsletter....and billboards..and the website..earlier we did more long running newspaper ads......
i really work on this in january and fine tune and look back on what worked....then i do totally follow thru with the new years plan.....of course i always leave room for the new ideas...like the email newwsletter a few years ago....

Ann, you illustrate three very essential elements in any marketing: testing, testing, and testing.


every year i try something diferent, some new list, some targeted thing..a good idea i picked up somewhere..then, if it worked i keep it,,,if not i ditch it...we have a pretty big list of ideas weve discarded....
after all this effort....word of mouth and the pictures on the website seem to be the best thing...

It would appear that your best business comes from the relationships you develop with your customers. Voila! You have validated that age-old principle! It's a people business.

In 2010 work on techniques that stimulate that WOM advertising.

Your email newsletter is nice and informative. Have you tested a twice-monthly newsletter?

I suggest you add elements to your newsletter that engage us (thanks for the Facebook link on your blog), your readers. This is part of "pull" marketing, the new standard, rather than "push" marketing, the old standard.

Have you considered adding your Facebook and other links to your Magpie site?


its a serious part of my job...
i take marketing very seriously.and spend lots of time and money on it......but i do think success comes from the quality of your idea and if the market wants it......many marketers make it sound like thay can save you, or make ALMOST any idea work...SO WRONG..IMHO some business ideas are just so much better than others...its not all equal.... .......if your idea is not right no marketing will really make it work for long...
ann

Hmmm. So you've figured us out, huh? <rats><note to self: avoid Ann, she's onto you!> :D

Paul

[greenoak]

hey paul..!!!..what could i do more of on the blog for facebook? i have a link...did i miss something? ...
.thanks for the nice comments.....
im really interested in facebook....and trying to learn it as fast as i can....its fun....i dont do the games!!!! what do you see working for stores?
i just joined giftbeat, its a forum for retail stores ....and one of their experts said that word of mouth was the top and best thing in marketing....but its so hard....its up to the customer..
when i think of word of mouth things...i think of wow displays.... and good relationships...

my goal this year is to learn how to do files on my computer....dipping a toe into the hi tekk world!!!..
...and .i like mikes box idea....i get way too many ideas...
i always get inspired on here......its nice to hear from people who dont have the total retail store mindset......i think you limit yourself just talking to people in you r own field with your fields set of assumptions....thats why i like it here....and reading ittybiz... shes so good!!!!
..........
ann

[cbscreative]

I agree, Ann, that keeping only within your industry limits your insights. That's one of the strengths I think we have here is a lot of diversity.

[Paul Elliott]

hey paul..!!!..what could i do more of on the blog for facebook?

There is a way you can link your blog and your FB page. I've not done it in a while, but it's simple and you should be able to find the tool easily enough. When you blog it will also be an entry on your FB page.


i have a link...did i miss something? ...

No, I did. :o I was looking for the FB logo that signifies where I should click. For those of us who are not very observant, you might put the logo up closer to the "complete profile" and take it out of your menu.

You might also set up a Fans page, e.g., Fans of Green Oaks Antiques. That will allow you to put up more AND message all your fans occasionally with special notices and offers.

You can invite all your personal friends to become fans of your Fans page.


im really interested in facebook....and trying to learn it as fast as i can....its fun....i dont do the games!!!! what do you see working for stores?

Do it with a strategy in mind remembering that it is "social" networking. Do it regularly adding content to your posts that are more than simply "follow this link to see what I want to sell you" posts. Approach it as you would getting to know someone you just met in town. You would do it gradually.

Don't play the games, but DO build your relationships. As you get friends, write them to thank them for the friendship. Then go to their page and comment on some of their entries. Soon they'll be doing the same on your comments. Learn about them, their families, their interests particular their decorating and antiquing interests. ;)

You can make "Note" pages where you tell us about antiques and how we should shop and what we should look for. Tell us how you educate your customers, etc., etc. One of my favorite titles is, "The Ten Most Common Mistakes People Make When Buying Antiques And How To Avoid Them." --or however many you wish to discuss.

When you are putting up a Note page that you know will interest some of your friends, tag that note with their FB names. That way they'll be notified that they have been tagged in a note.

You can do the same thing with pictures.


i just joined giftbeat, its a forum for retail stores ....and one of their experts said that word of mouth was the top and best thing in marketing....but its so hard....its up to the customer..

NO, it is not all up to the customer. YOU can and should influence it. If you haven't looked up my "7 Ways to Stimulate WOM Advertising" linked to below, start there. You can lead a horse to water AND make him want to drink by salting his oats! Work salting methods! :D

And there are tons of other ideas, IF you are thinking that way.


when i think of word of mouth things...i think of wow displays.... and good relationships...

IF you have done the relationship part well, the display matters little. On the other hand, if you do the display REALLY well, a relationship will still not develop UNLESS YOU work on it!


my goal this year is to learn how to do files on my computer....dipping a toe into the hi tekk world!!!..

It's not nearly as hard as it looks from the outside.


i always get inspired on here......its nice to hear from people who dont have the total retail store mindset......i think you limit yourself just talking to people in you r own field with your fields set of assumptions....thats why i like it here....and reading ittybiz... shes so good!!!!

It's called cross-pollination. ;)

Paul

[greenoak]

thanks paul...im going to your site now....i was on it a bit last night and saw some goodies....
im home with the sniffles today...
i think i will put the facebook tab back the way if normally looks for a facebook tab...
ann

[Paul Elliott]

Glad to help, Ann. I want to see you succeed massively!

BTW, I like your employee group picture, but I notice there is no real branding. Have you considered uniform Ts or Sweats with your logo and taglines plus large, easily read name tags. The branding of your business across platforms is very effective in stamping your business into the psyches of your customers.

Paul

[Paul Elliott]

Ann,

Here is an excellent resource for WOM marketing (http://gaspedal.com/blog/). You will notice you can follow them on Facebook, too.

Paul