Marketers talk about creating 'buzz' - something which always threatens to fade away as soon as the next sound bite arrives to take its place - but only the smartest of marketers realize that to be effective, word-of-mouth has to have the right message attached to it: the kind that gets people talking and results in real communication. "Beyond Buzz" shows readers how to listen to customers, identify what is important to them, and then craft the kind of message that will truly resonate...and not just fade away.

Gold prize winner for best marketing book (tie), 2008 Axiom/Inc Magazine awards

Finalist, 2008 Berry-American Marketing Association Book Prize

It’s official: the old marketing model is dead, and word of mouth is king. But while a lot of attention has been paid to the mechanics of creating buzz, only the savviest of marketers have learned to focus on crafting the right kind of message -- because without it, even the loudest buzz will soon die down. Beyond Buzz shows readers how to listen to customers, identify what is important to them, and then craft the kind of message that will truly resonate and spark conversation.

Filled with insightful examples of conversational marketing at work, Beyond Buzz gives readers the tools and inspiration they need to create an effective and interesting conversational theme that will engage their customers and take their marketing to a whole new level.

Without the right message in place, word of mouth marketing will never live up to its promise. This innovative and practical book shows readers how to ignite people’s interest...and generate much more than buzz.

When I got this book I read it from front to back. A lot of the content is how the author creates buzz and how you should do it their way. Really I didn't buy a book to be told how to go beyond buzz, I bought a book to understand what I can do to go beyond buzz.

I'm not saying this is not a good book, by all means it is, I think I had a expectation for it. That expectation was lost when the author was telling me how to do it, which in the long run doesn't help.

Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes the way we view the world of business, and marketing in particular. Lois Kelly's "Beyond Buzz" is a smart and practical primer on the power of conversational marketing. Turn the first page and you discover the big idea - "Marketing is about having conversations and engaging with people in interesting discussions, through new and traditional channels." While the big idea isn't anything new, especially in today's YouTube generation, the greatest insight for me was the ability to design a message that inspires and empowers consumers. Peter Drucker once said that "Business is marketing and innovation, and nothing else", in that vain, this could be one of the most important marketing books to come along in a long time.

Lois Kelly has taken the seemingly elusive art of leading and stimulating compelling conversations about your products and services and distilled it into a series of practical skills that anyone can acquire and master. It is clear that this book is the result of much real-world experience.

Lois Kelly has written a book about a compelling and exciting subject, namely using conversations as a method of mass marketing. Unfortunately, "Beyond Buzz" fails to explain how to implement this revolutionary idea.

The book attempts to explains how and why humans engage in conversations. I found these explanations confusing, poorly organized, and often repetative. There were precious few case studies of actual use of conversation in marketing. Most of the examples offered were taken from the world of politicians.

Missing was any usable program on how to implement conversation in a marketing plan. There was also no analysis comparing the costs and expected benefits of conversation vs. more conventional marketing techneques.

There was advice on introducing "conversation culture" into an existing marketing organization. Good luck on that.

The author deserves credit for attempting to construct a conceptual framework for a revolutionary marketing technique. However, I would recommend looking elsewhere for a usable program.

Lois Kelly has truly made a difference. Her suggestions about how to engage our clients via "pattern making" is timely and right on target. Her book has helped me to increase my awareness and understanding of the most meaningful ways to share and market my book LifeChimes: A Collection of Simple Truths, with my audience. Because of Lois, people are telling me that they enjoy talking to others about my book!LifeChimes: A Collection of Simple Truths