Cost of a Word of Mouth Campaign

What is the cost of a word of mouth campaign? Nothing if you have a good, buzz-worthy product, good customer service and some very happy customers. But what if you want to actually do a formal, measurable word of mouth effort that will expose you to new markets? I was doing some research, and this is hard to pin down. Consider your options: 1) A formal design and implementation of a Buzz Campaign will cost nearly $100,000 (minimum). This should include the careful crafting of the message, the development of an advocate base and the dissemination of the message in organic ways. (Buzzoodle consulting services can do this) 2) DIY with Buzzoodle is when you create groups, get your employees and other advocates to spread the message, and craft your own message. This is inexpensive but takes a lot of time, careful crafting of the message, and training of the staff. The cost for the word of mouth campaign can be as little as a few hundred dollars a month. 3) Build your own wom campaign and ask people to start talking about you more. This is not much different from referral networking but if you go into it with the idea of creating some buzz and word of mouth, it becomes a little easier. Just ask people to talk about you. Create more stories that will get passed from person to person. You can try asking some employees to do this as well, but we created Buzzoodle because we found employees do not usually participate unless it is a controlled, measurable environment. Of course, the easiest way is to create the coolest, hottest must-have product. Then you just let the world do it's thing.