With so much buzz about the rise of social media and how important it is for brands, it’s too easy to forget the importance of offline conversations. According to stats mentioned recently by WOMMA there is a 90% to 10% split between offline and online Word of Mouth. It also shares that three quarters of this offline brand chat takes place face-to face and 15% by phone.

When you add to these stats the fact that Nielsen research shows that personal recommendations are the most trusted form of marketing, with 90% of people trusting the recommendation made by a friend, then having a plan and an integrated PR programme to actively stimulate these offline conversations is a must.

One issue raised by marketers is that it is hard to measure or track the impact of offline WOM. But is that really true?

If you have a smart plan to create positive recommendations for people to engage with your organisation or buy your products or services, then it’s completely possible to identify the way to track the impact of your programme. The consumer engagement initiative we created for Simple is a good example. By involving brand advocates with a product ahead of launch we stimulated the desire for over 8000 more people to sign up as advocate advisers – in just 5 days. The only way these new recruits would have heard about the benefits of becoming an adviser was from their friends. When you consider that these 8000 recruits were stimulated by just 4000 existing advocates, you can see the cause and effect and the power of offline WOM. Is your organisation using the 90 to 10 ratio to your advantage?