Word of mouth isn’t just one of marketers’ favorite social tactics, it’s one of the most effective as well. But many word of mouth marketers still simply post content online and hope it'll spread — and this "post and pray" method rarely works. Forrester believes the real key to generating word of mouth is identifying people to speak on brands’ behalf and then motivating those advocates and influencers to action.

To help marketers create more successful word of mouth programs, Forrester is planning a Market Overview report that details which vendorsoffer Word of Mouth Platforms and what specific WOM technologies these vendors offer. Forrester defines Word of Mouth Platforms as “technologies that help brands identify customer advocates, employee advocates, and category influencers, and then activate those advocates and influencers to share messages on the brands’ behalf.”

If you’d like to be considered for this report, please email me at nelliott at forrester dot com, and we'll send you a questionnaire.