Word of Mouth 2.0 : Still Important?
Word of Mouth 2.0 : Still Important?
Word of mouth is massively underrated in so many businesses, big and small. We never go anywhere without checking the reviews first. Unless it comes highly recommended by a friend, we don’t set foot outside the office before Googling. Why go in blind when you could have the internet give you the insider knowledge?
Back in the old days before the internet, it was the reviews that let you know who got food poisoning from which restaurant and where the cheapest dry cleaner was. Now all this information is just a click away and if you’re a business owner, bad customer reviews can really hurt your company.
Every marketing department and consumer assumes that word of mouth plays an important part in any business.
But to what degree? And how much focus, budget, and strategy should be focused on that?
POPULARITY
92% of customers believe recommendations from family and friends beat all other forms of advertising.
Anonymous reviewers have a 70% trust rate when they post online about a brand.
BUT FOR WHO?
Millenials are ranked word of mouth #1 influencer in their decision to purchase specific products.
Baby Boomers are ranked word of mouth the most influential factor in them purchasing larger items in particular.
61% of Tech Buyers stated that recommendations and word of mouth were the most important factor in making a purchase.
Obviously, there are a lot more consumer categories we could look in to, but these three represent the importance of word of mouth in particular.
HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN?
More than 50% of respondents are likely to give a referral if offered a direct incentive, social recognition or access to an exclusive loyalty program. 88% of people say they would like an incentive for sharing a product via social media or email- this number increases to a whopping 95% for those aged 18-35 years old.
REALITY
In a recent study, 64% of marketing executives agreed that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing.
However, only 6% say that they have mastered it.