The first annual Word Of Mouth Marketing Summit is being held in Chicago at the end of this month. It’s billed as the first “conference on the art and science of word of mouth marketing.”

The development of new technologies coupled with the medium of the Internet has fueled many new marketing methods. There’s buzz marketing, viral marketing, community marketing, grassroots marketing, evangelist marketing, product seeding, influencer marketing, cause marketing, conversation creating and brand blogging.

And there seems to be evidence that many of these marketing tactics are being employed with great success by affiliates. Be sure to check out the upcoming issue of Revenue (due out April 22) for a story on how offline marketing is boosting online sales.

For my money word of mouth advertising has more credibility than any other form of external marketing. That’s because I’m getting the opinion or “review” from a trusted source – a friend, a family member or co-worker.

Someone I have an established relationship with is unlike to steer me in the wrong direction. Plus, since I know these folks, I have a good idea of how their taste jives with mine - even if we have differing opinions. I have one friend who loves movies, but if he says a flick was hilarious, I avoid it at the theater and wait to rent it on DVD.

For my part, there are few people in my circle that haven’t heard me gush about my favorite restaurants, my fabulous hair stylist, my “secret” bargain shopping spots and what I’m watching on TV.

I’m good at word of mouth marketing. I know who to tell the information to and just what to tell them. I’m aware that telling my best friend, who knows practically everyone in Bay Area and beyond, means that the good word will spread to many, many more people than I could ever reach. However, if I tell my mom in Massachusetts about a great new eatery in San Francisco that really doesn’t help the cause. Though, if I want someone to brag to others about my accomplishments Mom is my go-to-gal.

Word of mouth can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool, but it cuts both ways. Although 96 percent of unhappy customers do not complain when dissatisfied, they do much more do more damage by telling others about their bad experience.

One unhappy customer will tell 9 to 10 other people of their negative experience. In turn, these people will tell more than 20 others. And because it costs up to 10 times more to acquire a new customer than keep an existing one, having a bad buzz about your products or services can really do some damage.

I’ll chat with a few pals and some co-workers about a great new movie, but I’ll recount in great detail, for anyone within earshot, the unsatisfactory customer experience I had at the muffler shop or with the plumber.

But there is so much more to word of mouth marketing than just clueing your friends into the latest indie band that you’re sure will be the next big thing. There is actually a science to it. And like most sciences and disciplines there are larger issues such as ethics, standards and metrics that need to be discussed.

In early February the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) offered the first public release of its “Ethics Code” in an effort to set some much needed guidelines.

The code cannot really be enforced. It’s essentially just a set of ethical guidelines stating that consumer protection and respect are paramount and word-of-mouth campaigns should practice honesty of relationship, opinion, and identity.

This means consumer advocates are encouraged to disclose their relationship with marketers. Consumers should only be asked to share their honest opinions, and no one involved in the campaign should hide his identity. An exception would be if an obviously fictional character were portrayed in a campaign.

Further, WOMMA says, marketers should respect the rules of the medium, whether it’s a website, blog, discussion forum, or live setting. The group also says it opposes involving children under the age of 13 in word-of-mouth efforts and abides by all legal restrictions on marketing to minors. These guidelines have not been finalized and document is expected to continue to evolve based on feedback from consumers, marketers, and other stakeholders.

There has been some early criticism of the WOMMA Ethics Code. Some say it promotes an ethical double standard for volunteer agents and paid agents that are not held to the same set of codes; that there is an absence of real measures to protect minors from exploitation by marketers, and that the organization has a narrow and non-inclusive definition of what constitutes viral, buzz and word of mouth marketing.

Those critics might turn out to be right (only time will tell), but at least this is a small step in the right direction for word for mouth marketing.

Basically, the word of mouth marketers are trying to avoid the fate of email marketers. Email has such a bad rap that most of the general public doesn’t bother to make a distinction between the legitimate and effective use of email as a marketing tool and the hordes of spammers and scammers looking to defraud consumers.

Have a comment on word of mouth marketing. Speak up. Let me hear it.