Today, I attended the Pennsylvania Convention for Women. One of the sessions was presented by Jonah Berger, a Wharton professor and author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On. The main takeaway was that only 7% of word of mouth happens online, and businesses need to be more savvy about how they build their brands. One of his central tenets is that people share positive feedback about a given company when they are made to feel like insiders.
Professor Berger’s remarks today underscored for me how important it is for companies to safeguard their client lists and referral sources. Companies spend significant resources developing their customer base (through social media or otherwise), in part by making them feel like insiders in the same way that Professor Berger suggests is successful. To protect that base, companies should ensure that their employees sign confidentiality agreements protecting the confidentiality of their proprietary business information; utilize non-solicitation agreements strategically and effectively; and enforce those agreements when the companies become aware of a breach.
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