By N D Brown
Recently I have become a semi-dilettante of the odd world of determining the value of art. I am fascinated by the enormity of a business that includes the theft of highly valued art and its easy underground resale and the forging of famous name art. Billions of dollars change hands on word of mouth marketing and dubious “expert” opinions. Some estimate around 20 percent of museum art is fake!
These thriving businesses operating in a shady world are built on values set by self-proclaimed experts. Who says they know what they are talking about?
Actually we all do.
We all say we think they know what they are talking about. Or at least we all want to believe they know what real value is. We want to believe they have done the exhaustive research; we want their opinions to be fact. So when a recognized art “expert” says a painting is worth a hundred million someone believes and is ready to write a check.
There is no Bureau of Art Evaluation, the art expert works on the strength of word of mouth communication.
Word of mouth is the most credible marketing medium any business has. In business, as in art, expert opinions help determine value. And the strength of those opinions, when distributed by word of mouth communication, is incalculable. Word of mouth can appear to be a free medium but should be managed.
While information heard from a friend, a colleague, a total stranger can be the best tool for small businesses, it won’t happen without a strategy to take full advantage of its power. Expecting it to happen without a push is like expecting to hit the lottery without buying a ticket, or finding a five dollar Jackson Pollock in a yard sale.
The word of mouth powerhouse starts with what we as consumers want to believe.
When we hear a friend or an associate verbally endorse a product or a company we immediately add a huge dollop of credibility to anything the company says about itself or its products. It is rare for any of us to discount a friend or colleague who says, “I worked with those guys and…” or “We’ve used that stuff and…”
Positive statements like that are bankable. Too many small businesses miss the chance to use their customers as sales people. Those “real voices” can kick start a word of mouth campaign.
Every business needs quantifiable proof of its claims. Amazingly those proofs can be subsumed by the voice of someone the consumer allows to take on the role of an expert.
Large chunks of marketing budgets are spent crafting sales messages, or explanations about why customers will be better off with XYZ and their products than the other guys. That is an important step but there should be more.
A public corporation can spend months preparing its annual report. A team will develop readable graphs and hopefully lucid explanations of what has happened over the past year and why.
It is necessary and valuable work but, if on the inside front cover Warren Buffett is quoted, “This is a great company and I’ve invested in it,” all the graphs and charts and explanations have been subsumed.
If you have been reading these columns you might remember I’ve worked with many retail clients over the years. In my long career, I have witnessed the success of making customers and their opinions an extended part of the sales team.
The next time a colleague “endorses” something – a product, a movie, a restaurant – listen to how they repeat the “sales message;” probably not at all.
What you’ll hear is their personal perspective; what it meant to them. That is a key point to “who says.”
We all accept word of mouth advice because they are “experts” and we want to trust their expertise. To us they are “who says.”
I worked with a client who offered a wider range of merchandise at more competitive prices than any of the competition but research showed prospects did not think my client was for them. By having actual customers make the selling points the trend reversed itself. Once consumers heard it from a source they related to, they wanted to believe the experts.
We’ve all been asked to “tell a friend and get a discount” or ‘”give us five names and…” Those tactics have value but they all require customers to do something for YOU. The spin has to be to get them to “volunteer” their opinions. Today’s social media is your customer’s friend-to-friend tool and while it works for them, it can work for you.
Of course it’s smart to extend your list with the “send five names” tactic but it’s much more credible when your customer thinks it’s their idea. And more often than not all you have to do is ask.
Five things to think about when developing strategies for your word of mouth campaign:
We all want to be part of a cool group.
We all want to be thought of as experts.
We all want to see our name/face among our peers.
We all want to be acknowledged as having power.
We all want to be a hero.
P.S. In my “expert opinion,”
Buy art that pleases you and that you can afford. In that order.
If it appreciates in value isn’t that nice.
If you are investing in art, study, study, study. Learn everything you can about the artist. Make sure you are buying the work of the artist. And if the artist is dead believe scientific evidence that the picture is what it purports to be rather than the opinion of an art expert. Art experts come and go. Science doesn’t.
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N D Brown is the Principal at brownchild ltd inc, located at 3754 Sunset, Houston TX 77005. You can contact him at 713 807 9000 or on by cell at 713 822 8370 or email
