Last week we addressed the WOW! In Word of Mouth Marketing.
 This week we take a look at what some luxury suppliers are doing –or not doing—or saying they are not doing) to generate WHAM! in the luxury sector
But first, please notice all those neat Who’s Doing What That Works stories we  post on our web site. Every one is designed, it seems to us, to generate word of mouth—the buzz that counts among guests themselves,  the consumer press appeal generated by imaginative initiatives, and the stories told back home.

• Sea Dream Yacht Cub, with two small ultra-luxury vessels, is less disdainful. Its ships have their own at-sea bogs, with passengers posting photos on it. CEO Larry Pimentel says that even elderly passengers delight in posting photos so their grandchildren can see them. He said that on a ship with 55 cabins, the blog might get 3000 hits in a day.
• Not quite a luxury brand, Sheraton, a legacy brand if there ever was one, has prominently on its home page photos of recent guest with links to  a photo/journal by those guests.
• Several well-known traditional luxury brands, when contacted, seemed to disdain WOM marketing, while welcoming – well – word of mouth.; Spokespeople for Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Crystal Cruises replied to the effect that “we do not use that technique (WOM marketing),” Typically, at Crystal, a spokesman did say, “We receive a very high percentage of first time cruisers with the word of mouth factor by delivering a superior product, although we’re not making any move per se in that direction.”
• Related—all those Real People, Real Results stories here
• Next Issue-How You Can Win at WOM—Part 3 in our series