If you are interested in generating more sales through word of mouth programs, there is a research paper that is a MUST read.

"Firm Generated Word-of-Mouth Communication: Evidence from a Field Test" by David Godes and Dina Mayzlin. Marketing Science, 2009, Vol. 28, No. 4. 19 pages.

I found this paper when I was referred to a peer review on the Web Analytics Association website, written by Jim Novo, who also blogged about this fascinating piece.

We occasionally (and happily) hear exponents of social media remind us that marketing cannot actually make up for poor products and services - (for any length of time of course), customers eventually and inevitably wake up to shonkey products. In the past, the lag between marketing claim and customers voting in mass with their wallet was often long enough for snake oil salesmen to make a good living - as long as they kept moving, negative communication was inefficient and they kept finding new customers. They don't make markets like that anymore.

When we first started managing online communities for our clients we were often confronted with the question; "But how many customers will want to come online and have a conversation about _____ (insert your category here)?" mmmmm.... 'There must be some, you have customers right?"

As we help our clients participate with their customer communities, we rely on our experience, the experience of colleagues in the US (who have been at it longer than the Aussies), some hard numbers coming from the marketing research organisations and sometimes trial and error. All the while keeping an eye on the literature in order to capitalise on what the collective industry and academic communities can teach us.

"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious."

- Oscar Wilde

Are there "bad" customers to target when you attempt marketing with & through virtual communities? Are there "good"?