Ben McConnell

Since 2001, Ben McConnell has been researching the effects of word of mouth on customer loyalty. Forbes calls his work (along with partner Jackie Huba) "the word of mouth gospel."

Ben founded the Society for Word of Mouth with Jackie Huba in 2008 as an educational and social network for businesses wanting to incorporate word of mouth into the DNA of their organizations. SWOMfest is their annual conference and party for members and friends of SWOM.

Ben is also the author (with Jackie Huba) of "Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message," for which the Wall Street Journal proclaimed "drop everything and read this book." He is also the author of "Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force," which the New York Times called "the new mantra for entrepreneurial success." He is also the co-author of the Church of the Customer blog.

"Creating Customer Evangelists" has been translated into six languages and "customer evangelism," the term he coined with Jackie Huba, has become a talking point and focus for countless companies around the world.