Bookshelf: The best advertising is ___ __ ____.

Trader Joe's knows that the best advertising is word of mouth. We all know what word of mouth means, but it's easy to assume that this kind of organic advertising just happens.

Click this image to go straight to Amazon and buy this book. 

Andy Sernowvitz' book, Word of Mouth Marketing doesn't take that for granted. In this book, Andy provides a structure you can use to really understand the situations that enable - and prompts that trigger - enthusiastic customer referrals. Then, he lays out dozens of practical techniques you can use to build buzz about you and your company.

As I read WoMM, I realized Andy could have used Trader Joe's to illustrate many (most) of the ways successful companies turn customers into fans (or even fanatics.) Like me, Andy wants your company to turn customer service into an ultimate sport. There were a number of times I thought, "Damn, I wish I'd thought of that when I was writing, Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's; I would have included it in my own book." No wonder his WoMM blog is found at: www.damniwish.com.

This morning as I was walking back from the farmer's market, it occurred to me that in the current efficiency-obsessed downsized and outsourced economic environment, word of mouth is more important than ever. In old corporate America, a small number of large corporations each employed lots of people. Big companies had big budgets, large-scale communications opportunities and, often, messages suited to mass media. Big companies had a few marketing specialists, but most employees had other responsibilities.

In new, outsourced America, millions of us are independent contractors. We don't have marketing departments; each of us is his or her own director of marketing. Nor do we have advertising budgets. That's why Andy Sernovitz' advice in World of Mouth Marketing is so relevant right now. This book is full of stuff you can do that won't cost you a cent, and will help you to build invaluable brand equity.