Sometimes it’s nice to hear your favorite band stripped down of all of the production and amplification often heard on recordings and in concert. This is how you really get to know their talent; it’s the most authentic performance.

We’re always searching for authenticity in marketing. Sometimes the best way to find it is to pull the plug on your marketing efforts as well. Finding the ways to generate offline word of mouth can be the trickiest, but also the most valuable. It starts, of course, with offering an amazing product (or service). It continues with high quality customer service. And, it all comes together by being different than the rest. If you can offer your customers a unique, easy, exceptional customer experience, they will talk.

Last week, I began to talk about a company that didn’t even finish the job. Efficient Attic Systems provided me an estimate for adding much needed insulation to my hot Phoenix home. The installers showed up the next morning ready to tackle my historic home. After spending some time in my attic, they came down and explained that due to the old design of my home – particularly the low pitch of the roof – they didn’t believe they would be able to properly install the insulation in a way that would offer me a reasonable benefit for the cost. They sent a manager out to inspect and confirm, apologized profusely, and left.

Now, I know next to nothing about insulation. They could have spent a couple hours in my attic, sprayed some foam around, collected their money and left. I never would have known the difference. Times are tough, and I know the company lost money spending half a day at my house for no payment. They showed great integrity in their honesty, and although I’m disappointed that the job couldn’t be completed, I find them incredibly worthy of my praise and recommendation.

They earned Word of Mouth simply by offering a unique experience – a home improvement company more concerned about treating their customers fairly than their bottom line.

Here’s the catch, though: If U2 only performed unplugged for small crowds – no albums, no sold-out arenas – they wouldn’t have the success they have today. Bands need to turn up the volume to build support. And so it goes with Word of Mouth marketing.

Using social media shouldn’t be the reason your customers are talking about you. Social media is the amplification that helps them get heard by a broader audience. When combined properly, on- and offline Word of Mouth efforts generate authentic, positive experiences, and expand their reach further and faster than ever before.

What kind of customer experiences do you provide to encourage offline Word of Mouth?

Below, enjoy an “Unplugged” performance, courtesy of The Office’s David Brent:

This weekend, I went to visit my buddy Gordon who recently moved to Napa. Gordon works in the wine industry, so he planned a weekend of wine tasting and great food. In three days, I tasted more than 96 wines. (I say “more than,” because, although I took copious notes, there came a point Friday evening when my note taking skills became a little fuzzy. Ninety-six wines were documented, and I paced myself better on Saturday.)

For the meals, I tried Oysters at Bouchon the first night. We also ate at Bottega, Redd, Ad Hoc, and local burger hangout, Taylor’s Automatic Refresher. Every meal was incredible. If you get to Napa, don’t miss Bottega’s Wood Roasted Octopus or Shaved Brussels Sprout & Asparagus Salad. (And, before my brother Gregg makes a comment below, I weighed myself and actually dropped a pound over the weekend. Maybe all of the walking.)

Here is a list of the wineries we visited, and some highlights:
Grgich Hills – I really liked their Fume Blanc (2007).
Corison
Salvestrin – Very nice family-owned winery with a great Cabernet Sauvignon (2005).
Alpha Omega – Nice label and beautiful tasting facility, but wines didn’t blow me away.
Judd’s Hill – They’re doing some interesting stuff with social media, including online video.
Pine Ridge – Try the 2005 Cabernet Franc. Seriously.
Robert Sinskey Vineyards – They serve a little food with their tasting. Just a couple of small bites to compliment an incredible Cab from their Vandal Vineyard.
Plumpjack—Founded by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, they sampled some great wines, including the 2008 Cade Sauvignon Blanc.
Darioush – Housed in a Persian palace in Napa, don’t miss the “Fine Wines, Artisan Cheeses” tour to learn about and taste their great wine paired with the perfect cheeses (pictured below).
Z.D. – Their 2007 Rosa Lee Petit Sirah is worth the visit.
Trefethen – After tasting a strong Cab poured by Hailey Trefethen the night before at Cheers St. Helena, we visited her family’s winery to taste some more consistently delicious wines.

But, the highlight of wine tasting came at our very last stop, Elyse Winery. I liked many wines at each of our tastings, but Elyse was the only winery where I LOVED every single wine I tasted. We visited with Ray Coursen, winemaker and owner, a down to earth, fun guy who really, really knows how to make wine. They were all amazing, but the standouts for me were a 2007 L’Ingenue (Viogner) and the 2005 Jacob Franklin Cabernet Sauvignon. If you are anywhere that is pouring Elyse (or their other label Jacob Franklin), don’t hesitate ordering any of Ray’s wines. You won’t be disappointed.

So, that’s what I did on my summer vacation (or at least one of them). If you try any of these wines or visit any of the wineries, let me know what you think.

“Fine Wines, Artisan Cheeses” at Darioush

I created this video for Entrepreneurship at ASU. It’s a really great program that helps student entrepreneurs succeed by providing resources, including access to business veterans, office space, startup grants, and more.  Not enough students and faculty at ASU know the great opportunities available through this initiative, so please share with your friends.

Also, find Entrepreneurship at ASU on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

I’ll admit to having a major bias toward Childsplay. I was an actor there for 7 years, some of my closest friends work there, and I maintain a great relationship with the company; they are like family to me. But, there are plenty more reasons for having a Childsplay bias. Arizona residents don’t really know this like they should, but Childsplay is acclaimed for being one of the best theatres for young audiences in the world.

You have two more weekends to see Childsplay in action this season; The Never Ending Story is running at the Tempe Center for the Arts through May 17.  I saw the show earlier this week. I should let you know off the bat that my actor friends don’t always like me to come to their shows; they always tell me: “You don’t like anything.” I really liked The Never Ending Story, and my eight-year-old niece, Carly, LOVED it. So, I recommend you see it with or without some little ones… and I can help make it a little more affordable for you.

Childsplay is offering $12 tickets to the readers of the BlabberBlog. Seriously, for just a little more than the price of a movie ticket, you can see an internationally acclaimed theatre company. To reserve discounted tickets, click here to send an e-mail to Rosemary. Put BlabberBlog in the subject line and let her know which performance you’d like to see and how many tickets you’d like, and she’ll hook you up with $12 tickets.

I hope you go see this show. Let us know in the comments below what you think of it.

One of the best parts of starting Blabbermouth and working for myself has been the opportunity to decide which clients to work with. There is no better example of this than the opportunity to work with Expect More Arizona, which officially launches today. This client is truly a pleasure to work with, and allows me to play a small part in tackling a very important issue.

Expect More Arizona is a non-partisan public-private partnership with the uphill mission of working toward strengthening education in Arizona.  As you may know, Arizona ranks toward the bottom of most education categories, including 49^th in per student investment in K-12 education. We’re letting our students down. This isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue; we simply must do better for all Arizonans.

So, I urge you to become involved with Expect More Arizona today. Visit their Web site to learn how you can become active in the cause. And, of course, Word of Mouth will help too. Tell your friends, and share with your social networks.

Find and follow Expect More Arizona on these social networks:
Facebook
MySpace
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube

Join me in telling our state that we expect more. Let’s hold ourselves, our state, and our students to the highest standards.

In yet another example of how President Obama is pioneering the use of social media in politics, the White House has announced that the President will be answering questions in a live online town hall meeting tomorrow (Thursday, March 26, 2009). You can submit questions here and vote on the ones you would like to hear answered. Like him or not (I like him), you have to admit that he is continuing to use social media as a tool for transparency and participation.

Part of using social media to its fullest extent is not only sharing information, but using it as a tool to listen and respond. To create dialogues, not simply monologue and rants. This is what President Obama does time and again using online tools. Not to bring up an old rivalry, but Arizona Senator John McCain could learn a thing or two from his example. He’s received press and commendation for his use of Twitter, particularly after being mocked for not knowing how to use a computer during the campaign. But, he’s not using Twitter in the best possible way. He’s using it to rant and promote his agenda, but he’s not using it to listen and respond. Twitter is supposed to make users accessible. He ignores replies and doesn’t ever respond. This truly isn’t partisan criticism; I think he would actually benefit from taking my advice. His agenda and overall brand image would be much better served by allowing the type of openness and transparency social media expects and deserves.

The cover article of the current Fast Company highlights Chris Hughes, cofounder of Facebook and architect of Obama’s use of social media on the campaign trail. In so many ways, Barack Obama is President because of what Hughes did for him during the election. It’s so refreshing to see them continuing to utilize social media now that Obama is in office.

People are always asking me what I do at Blabbermouth, and – to be honest – I’m not great at answering that question yet. Blabbermouth is not even a few months old, and I haven’t figured out the best way to tell my story. Yet.

I came to the Ragan Social Media conference in Las Vegas to learn some more tactics to use in getting out the word about my clients. But, thanks to Blend Tec VP of Marketing George Wright, the best thing I learned today has me closer to answering the “What do you do?” question. 

Surely, most of you are familiar with Wright’s Will it Blend campaign, which has become one of the most viral marketing efforts in history. With a budget of $50, Wright created a campaign that has seen a 700% increase in sales of the Blend Tec consumer product.

Will it Blend was born like many great marketing ideas, by paying attention to what makes the brand unique. Blend Tec CEO Tom Dickson is diligent about testing his products. Regularly, he would take a 2×2 board to one of his blenders to make sure it was strong enough. Wright really wanted to watch his boss shove a board into a blender, and the light bulb went on over his head. If he wanted to watch that bad, surely others would too. It was an idea that was compelling and reinforced what made their products great.

The idea had been right there all along, with the sawdust all over the floor, but it took Wright’s vision to realize it. George Wright says, if you are looking for your next big marketing idea, ask yourself, “What’s the sawdust on my floor?”

That’s what I do at Blabbermouth. I help my clients figure out what their sawdust is, and then create ways for their consumers to tell others about it.

On another note, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, gave a very inspirational opening keynote speech. In Hsieh’s opinion, there is no such thing as social media – it’s simply about creating a great culture and amazing customer service. The rest will follow. If I hadn’t just started Blabbermouth, I’d definitely be trying to get a job at Zappos right now. And, if I got hired, I most certainly wouldn’t accept the $2000 he offers new hires to quit!

While state budget cuts pose a major challenge to Arizona State University President Michael Crow’s vision for the New American University, ASU continues to find ways to innovate and work toward building a stronger community. One way in particular demonstrates a keen understanding of using the power of consumer participation to drive communication efforts and – ultimately – shape the scope and direction of an organization. ASU recently launched its Community Connect Web site to pool the minds and resources of its students, alumni, and community partners.

The site describes itself as “new pathways to information about programs and partnerships and services connected with ASU. And we designed the site to function as a tool for individuals to use to meet their objectives. The result is a link-based site, with very little rhetoric and a lot of choices. We hope this allows users to find what they want efficiently.”

This is a very cool example of how the internet and social media change, not only the ways we receive information, but how we share information, and most importantly collaborate with others we may not otherwise meet. I’m excited to watch the progress of ASU’s Community Connect Web site and see what it leads to for the university and the community. 

Introducing a video that attempts to answer the months-old question: What’s a Blabbermouth? To find out, we consulted a Blabbermouth expert by the name of Olive. The adorable Olive is the daughter of my good friends Cyndi Coon and Jeremy Briddell, both amazing artists.

Enjoy and… (PSST, PASS IT ON).

The second in my growing list of things that bug me on Facebook:

When you are labeling a picture of yourself and your mother, the correct caption is NEVER “Mom and I.” That’s bad grammar that was incorrectly jammed in your brain as a child. Subtract your mother from the equation, and it’s just a picture of you. Would you label it simply “I” if mom weren’t there? Of course not, you’d say “Me.” The picture of you and mom should be “Mom and me.” The exception is, “Mom and I went to the Eiffel Tower.” Again, subtract Mom. “I went to the Eiffel Tower.” See, it’s easy.

Okay. There, I’ve said it. I feel better, and I do have to say… That was a really nice picture of you and your mom at the Eiffel Tower.

Is there a Facebook Pet Peeve you’d like to get off your chest? Vent in the comments below.