Remarkability Word-of-Mouth Test
Build a story people share because sharing advances their identity
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
Products tell stories through design, environment, behavior, price, and experience, even when no formal narrative is spoken. The Remarkability Test asks whether that story is worth making a remark about and why a customer benefits from sharing it. People often recommend something because the act raises status, deepens affiliation, or signals membership in a culture—not merely because they like the creator. Build a distinctive experience that helps customers tell themselves a useful story, then give them a concrete detail worth repeating. If the intended audience does not talk, the remedy is not louder promotion alone. Improve the product and its story until sharing becomes a natural extension of the customer's identity.
Origin
Godin connects product stories with Purple Cow and explains how Young and Profiting grew through status- and affiliation-driven word of mouth.
Core principles
- 01Every product communicates a story
- 02Remarkable means worth making a remark about
- 03People share to advance status or affiliation
- 04Better product design precedes stronger word of mouth
How to run it
- 1
Read the existing story
Describe what the product's setting, design, price, behavior, and experience already communicate without marketing copy.
Pro tip Use sensory and social details, not only stated values.
Watch out The story customers experience can contradict the story the brand declares.
- 2
Connect identity
Identify how using and sharing the product affects the customer's status, affiliation, or desired self-image.
Pro tip Ask what recommending it says about the recommender.
Watch out Liking a product alone may not create a reason to share.
- 3
Create the remark
Build a specific, valuable, and repeatable detail into the experience that people naturally mention.
Pro tip Remarkable means worth discussing, not merely strange.
Watch out A gimmick without value produces attention without durable advocacy.
- 4
Observe transmission
Track whether customers tell others, what language they use, and which details survive retelling.
Pro tip Use the customer's repeated phrase as evidence of the real story.
Watch out Do not count paid reach as word of mouth.
- 5
Improve before amplifying
When sharing is weak, strengthen the experience, distinction, and identity benefit before buying more promotion.
Pro tip Build the thing people would miss and mention.
Watch out More distribution magnifies an unremarkable product; it does not repair it.
In the wild
Listeners recommend a valuable podcast because sharing a useful episode raises their status and strengthens affiliation with peers. The show reaches millions through remarks rather than mass advertising.
→ The audience grows through a product story listeners are motivated to carry.
Common mistakes
Mistaking a gimmick for remarkable
Novelty without useful meaning may attract attention but gives customers no durable story to share.
Blaming the audience
If people are not talking, first improve what was built and the identity benefit of sharing it.
Is it for you?
Best for
Products, services, and media that depend on trust, culture, or organic discovery.
Not ideal for
Invisible commodity purchases where customers have no reason or context to discuss the choice.
From the transcript
“remarkable doesn't mean a gimmick remarkable means worth making a remark about”
“if you're not building something that people are talking about build something better”
From the episode
Seth Godin: How to Build a Business Strategy That Actually Works
Seth Godin