We now complete our two-part review of one of the more overlooked marketing books of the past five years: Emanuel Rosens The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word-of-Mouth Advertising.

"Stimulating Buzz" is the third of Rosen's three themes, and takes up the second half of the book. Many of Rosen's subjects in this half of the book touch on marketing topics we've visited in previous articles.

Chapter Nine, Working with Network Hubs, is devoted to this vital subject. Many of the themes Rosen covers are topics which our articles have visited during the past several months, including: "Letting Network Hubs Identify Themselves" (p. 136). See our earlier article for our comments on spotting the "Mavens" among your customers. In Keeping Track (p. 143) Rosen points out the importance of capturing contact information on the Network Hubs. See our earlier article on database marketing for more insights into this vital marketing component.

"The Elements of a Good Story" is the title of Chapter 11. Rosen devotes an entire chapter to this critical topic. We of course feel it is crucial, as we have devoted several articles to the importance of story. But Rosen has a good twist on story, since each of the elements he describes specifically targets how to entice people to talk about your company. Here, Rosens work is a nice complement to Laurence Vincents Legendary Brands.

Another great insight that Rosen provides for small business marketers is the idea that one must "actively seed" the "dead networks" (p. 165). This is an important concept for small businesses, which usually have only time to listen to the customers that are doing the talking. In other words-there are potential customers out there yet to be discovered, but you probably will have to scout them out in some other places you aren't searching now.

Finally, you'll find two more excellent resources at the end of this work. Rosen provides us with a glossary of buzz marketing words, as well as an exhaustive listing of the sources he utilized, in the Notes and the References section of the work.

Today, six years after The Anatomy of Buzz was published, concepts like viral and buzz marketing may seem common. But, most small businesses are only now beginning to learn how to use them. The Anatomy of Buzz is a great fit for small businesses that rely on word of mouth as their number one advertising tool.

Remember: Brand (who you are) + Package (your Face to the Customer) + People (customers and employees) = Marketing Success.

2006 Marketing Hawks