Is word of mouth effective

Looking for new ways to grow your customer base? Don’t forget about wowing the customers you already have, to generate word-of-mouth marketing.  Think of the last time you recommended your favorite restaurant, clothing item, or other product to a friend. You probably shared because you loved your experience. The same goes for your company – when customers are wowed by your business, they naturally want to spread the good word.

This excitement to share is what drives word-of-mouth marketing (also called WOM marketing, WOMM, or word-of-mouth advertising). And this sharing leads to new customers, because the people who hear your customers’ word of mouth highly trust the word of their peers. So, word-of-mouth marketing could be your secret weapon for growth – especially because it often happens for free.

Athough word-of-mouth marketing depends on your customers and fans, it’s not out of your control. There are many ways to further your word-of-mouth marketing strategy. Below, we cover everything about the power of word of mouth, from what sets word of mouth apart from all other types of marketing to how you can harness word-of-mouth marketing to scale your own business.

What prompts word-of-mouth marketing?

Usually, word of mouth is prompted by an above-and-beyond positive experience someone has had with your brand. Think about the last time you ate an amazing dinner out, or tried a cool new product that easily solved one of your problems. You probably couldn’t help but share this standout experience with your friends.

Why is word-of-mouth marketing so important?

Word-of-mouth marketing stands out because of its high level of trust.

Why do people trust word of mouth?

Usually, word-of-mouth recommendations come from friends, family members, and others within someone’s close circles. When someone sees a friend or family member raving about a particular brand, they’re much more likely to buy. That’s because peer recommendations are seen as especially valuable.

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Word-of-mouth marketing benefits

According to a Nielsen report, 92% of people trust word of mouth referrals from those they know, more than they trust all other forms of advertising.

Word-of-mouth marketing means your customers and other fans are essentially doing the marketing for you, at little to no cost to your business! They are promoting straight to their network, usually in person or on social media. This makes word of mouth not only cost-effective, but highly valuable.

Plus, thanks to social media, what someone shares can reach millions in mere seconds. And word of mouth doesn’t just stop after one interaction – one person will tell another, and another, and so on. With every share, repost, or retweet, word-of-mouth marketing carries the potential for exponential growth.

All this happens at a very low cost to your business – often, for free.

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Word of mouth statistics: How effective is word-of-mouth marketing?

These word-of-mouth marketing statistics further prove how successful word-of-mouth marketing can be:

• 83% of Americans say that word-of-mouth recommendations from people they know make them more likely to purchase a given product or service.
• According to Nielsen, consumers are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend, so word of mouth produces high conversion rates.
• When it comes to products they have purchased, 74% of people identified word of mouth as a key factor in their purchase decision.
• Marketers rate the quality of leads brought in by word of mouth as a 4.28 out of 5.

Check out more word-of-mouth marketing statistics in the infographic below.

What are the types of word-of-mouth marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing (word-of-mouth advertising) can be divided into two main types or categories: amplified word of mouth and organic word of mouth.

Amplified word-of-mouth marketing is directly encouraged by your business via a marketing campaign. Within the campaign, businesses will usually use some sort of reward to motivate this word of mouth. Amplified word of mouth strategies are also easy to track, since they are tied to a campaign.

Examples of amplified word of mouth include:

• Referral programs
• Affiliate programs
• Brand ambassador programs
• Influencer marketing campaigns
• Other customer endorsements you encourage with rewards
• Other campaigns and contests to encourage social media sharing

In contrast, organic word-of-mouth marketing occurs when someone recommends your brand naturally and without direct prompting from your business.

It is much harder to motivate and track. But this type of word of mouth isn’t fully out of your control. It is usually triggered by an event experienced by the customer. Whether that’s amazing customer service or a free gift with purchase, triggers set your brand apart from the competition and keep you top of mind. Plus, they make for great talking points and organic word of mouth.

We’ll dive into common ways to trigger word-of-mouth marketing in the next section.

Examples of organic word of mouth include:

• Spontaneous social media sharing (user-generated content)
• Reviews and comments from satisfied customers
• Natural sharing of a product through any type of conversation
• “Dark social” sharing in DMs and private emails, that doesn’t have a tracking tag

6 word-of-mouth marketing strategies for any campaign (+WOMM examples)

With the right word-of-mouth marketing campaign, you can successfully create a steady stream of referrals and repeatable word of mouth for your brand.

Fortunately, there are plenty word-of-mouth channels at your disposal: referral programs, influencer programs, brand ambassador programs, affiliate marketing, and many more. Whichever channel you choose, however, it’s important to develop an overall WOMM strategy to encourage organic sharing.

Here are a few proven WOMM strategies to help get you started, along with some word-of-mouth marketing examples that show the strategies in action.

1. Create triggers for word of mouth

Triggers are little cues that remind your audience about your brand, even without any actual advertising.

Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger gives this example: What immediately comes to mind when someone says peanut butter? Was it jelly? In this case, peanut butter acts almost like an advertisement for jelly.

This is the type of association you want to create for your brand. One famous example is a KFC campaign that ran in Japan in the 1970s. Translated to “Kentucky is Christmas,” it promoted a party barrel of fried chicken as Christmas dinner. The campaign was so successful that until today, many families in Japan order Kentucky Fried Chicken when the holiday season rolls around.

Create your own triggers by finding something your audience sees or does on a regular basis. By associating your brand with these, you increase the likelihood of people remembering and talking about you.

2. Appeal to your audience

Like all marketing strategies, word of mouth works best when it puts its audience first. Think of what digital marketing content would appeal best to your audience – would it be an interactive contest, a behind-the-scenes video, or something else? By continuing to give your audience what it wants, you’re able to add to your social currency and generate word of mouth.

Social currency is all about reputation. People share what they think will make them look good in front of others, because every share puts their reputation on the line. They’ll only “spend” their social currency on your brand, and spread the word about you, if they think it will give their reputation a boost. So, make sure you’ve created something your audience loves, and will think it’s cool to share with others.

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3. Provide value to customers

The brands worth talking about are ones that provide value. Whether that means solving a problem with your product or delivering an unparalleled customer experience, a customer that sees value in your brand will both stick with you and share your brand with others.

Providing value is also one of the best ways to gain a customer’s good will. If you can offer value – and in a way that stands out – you may just earn a positive customer review, promote brand loyalty, and maximize your word of mouth.

4. Tap into emotion

Emotional attachments are one of the biggest drivers of word-of-mouth marketing. If people feel strongly about a brand or product, they are not likely to drop it, even if a more logical option comes along.

People respond more to emotions, as well. Whether it’s something happy, sad, funny, or otherwise, they instinctively want to share it with others.

If you can create experiences that result in positive emotions, your word of mouth efforts can go a long way. For instance, think of how Always fought against stereotypes and empowered young women with its #LikeAGirl ads.

And if your brand has a unique personality, this can also stir up emotions. Use your personality for emotional appeal, in a way that stands out from the crowd, and customers won’t be able to stop talking. This works especially well if you’re appealing to humor. Think back to Wendy’s – they went viral thanks to their signature snarky, humorous tweets.

5. Tell your story

Creating a compelling story goes hand in hand with giving audiences what they want, offering value and appealing to emotions. If customers love the “why” behind what you do – your mission and values – and that “why” is packaged in a story that’s moving and easy to tell, customers will share your story with others.

One example is 4Ocean’s story: they pull plastic from the ocean daily to help marine life, and then recycle much of that plastic into bracelets and other products.

6. Create exclusivity

Making people feel like they know secrets or insider information is another recipe for generating sharing. Think of how Starbucks “secret menu” drinks have gone viral on social media, and how In-N-Out Burger got people talking both online and offline with their own “secret menu” items (which were key in driving the brand’s overall success).

Secrets don’t just work for food brands, though. If you share new and exciting products with your most loyal customers first, or create a sale that people can only access with a code you emailed, people will want their friends to get in on the action, too. They’ll tell their friends quickly, meaning more buzz, and more sales, for you.

How do online reviews affect word-of-mouth advertising?

As we’ve outlined above, you can build word-of-mouth advertising in many ways. But one of the best ways is by getting positive customer reviews. A majority 90% of people read reviews before deciding whether or not to visit a business, and 72% will only push through with a purchase after reading positive reviews.

Plus, good reviews help build your brand’s social proof and boost your online reputation – both terrific ways to gain exposure and get even more people talking about you.

Customer reviews also allow you to expand into other channels and platforms. Say, a happy customer writes a review about you on Yelp. That review can then be searched and shared across other channels, as well. You can share some of the best reviews on your own social media accounts, or even post them as testimonials on your own website.

Here’s a step-by-step example of how reviews can play a role in word-of-mouth advertising:

• Winter season is about to start, and Ken and Val are talking about chimney sweeping services.
• Val tells Ken that she needs to hire someone to come to her house some time in the next few weeks.
• Ken shares that he’s also been searching for someone and found a few chimney services with good reviews online (thanks to previous word of mouth). He mentions a few that looked especially promising.
• Val takes a look at a few of the services, and ends up picking one that did an amazing job.
• Val starts telling all her friends, including Ken, and even posts a picture of her cozy fireplace with a newly cleaned chimney (further generating word of mouth!).

How to build word-of-mouth marketing on social media?

Stop collecting and start connecting. This is a key guideline for any strong word-of-mouth marketing strategy these days.

Sure, you can have millions of social media followers. But to effectively use social media platforms to drive word-of-mouth marketing, you have to be active and engaging.

This means providing valuable information, responding to comments and questions, and encouraging and sharing some of your audience’s user-generated content (UGC).

The more connected you are to your followers, the more likely they will become true fans and supporters. And what do true fans usually do? Share your brand with others and increase word of mouth in new markets you may not have been able to reach otherwise.

Social proof and social media: Get others to show, not just tell

People decide what to do based on what they see other people doing. If they hear someone talking about how good your product is, this word of mouth will make them more likely to try the product. But when they see someone using your product in their everyday life, this social proof gives word-of-mouth a bigger boost. And social media shares of your product mean many people see how your product is used, all at once.

Ambassadors’ and influencers’ posts using your product, affiliates’ product reviews on social networks, and UGC images and videos from any customer show off your product and further inspire people to try it for themselves.

How is WOMM different from referral marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing is all about getting people talking about your brand or business. It looks for the best ways to promote sharing, often through general consumer interest or unique content. WOMM is all about spreading brand awareness to your audience. Depending on the types you choose to focus on, though, you may have difficulty tracking and controlling it.

Referral marketing is a segment of word-of-mouth marketing. It’s common for word of mouth to occur naturally in the process of referring others. But at its core, referral marketing is a proactive way to gain new customers, focused on key targets and specific results.

Referrals occur when someone who uses or knows your brand recommends it to others in their network, usually friends, family members, or colleagues. Since they are sharing your brand with others, they are generating word of mouth. But this recommendation is direct and purposeful, not just casually mentioned.

Combining word of mouth and referral marketing

Most types of marketing use word of mouth in one way or another. Referral marketing is no different. In fact, word of mouth helps companies get new customers all the time – which is the main aim of referral marketing.

Instead of doing a mass shout-out, however, referral marketing allows you to get more personal.

Referral marketing is all about motivating individual customers to share a product or service with others they know, by offering incentives whenever these recommendations bring in first-time customers. In time, this type of marketing works to build customer loyalty and establish long-term relationships, both among existing and newly referred customers.

Referral marketing also allows you to monitor your conversions, engagement, and other metrics.

With a formal referral program, businesses can incentivize customer sharing and organize their entire referral process. The right referral software can also generate automatic referral links and track each step of the process, so you know exactly where referrals are coming from.

Using referral marketing with other word of mouth strategies maximizes brand awareness and increases the odds of  creating a viral sharing effect. By integrating diverse types of word-of-mouth marketing into your overall marketing strategy, you increase the odds of achieving success.

To learn more about referral marketing, check out our referral marketing guide or learn essential referral program tips.

Other related word-of-mouth marketing terms

As a major business strategy, WOMM can be seen alongside many other marketing concepts. Here are a few common ones you may come across:

• Buzz marketing: This involves getting key ambassadors or influencers to spread the conversation about your brand. It’s focused on building viral growth around certain products or campaigns, usually using attention-grabbing techniques (i.e., videos, memes) and generating online buzz.
• Viral marketing: This type of marketing relies on one’s existing network to spread information from person to person in a rapid manner. This often occurs online or using social media, with content so compelling that people can’t help but send it with others.
• Blog marketing: When used for word of mouth, blog marketing involves blog posts that an influencer or brand ambassador creates. With a few strategic ads or sponsored posts, bloggers create content that quickly travels to their followers, who in turn, share it with their friends. By recruiting the right bloggers, a business can generate fair amount of word of mouth through their content marketing.
• Social media marketing:  Thanks to hashtags and rapid shares, the content created on social media has a way of reaching people outside of the original group following. And as we’ve seen, shared content has a higher value when it comes from someone people know and trust.

Wrapping up

Don’t sleep on word-of-mouth marketing, because recommendations and referrals are powerful. People trust the word of their family and friends. This makes them more likely to purchase from you when their peers recommend your products.

The best way to use this to your advantage is to leverage multiple types of word-of-mouth marketing, including by encouraging user-generated content, asking for reviews, and starting a referral program.

No matter which marketing tactics you use to generate buzz, it’s key to apply the fundamental word-of-mouth strategies: creating sharing triggers, appealing to your fan base, offering value, and stirring up an emotional response.

Ready to generate word of mouth in a way that’s easy to measure? Check out our complete guide to starting a referral program. 

Have you heard the term «teleconferenced peer influence groups»? If not, you’re not alone. You probably know it by its more common moniker: “word-of-mouth marketing” (WOMM).

The term “Teleconferenced peer influence groups” was originally coined by psychologist George Silverman in the 1970s, after using focus groups to discuss different pharmaceutical products.

His observations indicate the basic tenets behind how word of mouth works: «One or two physicians who were having good experiences with a drug would sway an entire group of skeptics. They would even sway a dissatisfied group of ex-prescribers who had had negative experiences!” (Source: thefreelibrary)

Now, 50 years later, this approach has grown into a widely used marketing tactic — with the data to prove it: 74% of consumers identify word of mouth as a critical part of their purchasing decision. And a whopping 92% of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends.

So what’s the word on word-of-mouth marketing? Read on to find out.

Table of Contents

• What is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

• Why is Word-of-Mouth Marketing Important?

• Types of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

• Why is Face-to-Face marketing effective?

• What are Some Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies?

• What are Benefits of a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy?

What is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

Word of mouth (WOM) is one of the oldest and most effective forms of marketing. And, it has evolved relatively seamlessly into the digital landscape. At its core, it can be defined as:

A marketing method that relies on casual social interactions to promote a product.

Word-of-mouth marketing involves businesses finding ways to encourage individuals to share recommendations, news, and accolades about their brand, products, and services.

 For example, when was the last time you had an interaction with a brand, positive or negative, and then told someone else about it? Think about a time when the food and service at a new restaurant you tried were so good and unique, you had to tell your friend to go try. Or, maybe it’s a software tool that has greatly improved your team’s workflow, so you left a review on G2 or recommend it to a peer. 

All of these consumer interactions build trust and increase the front-of-mind real estate presence for your business in the ever-crowded ether of messaging bombardment people receive these days. (Of course, it should be noted that WOM can also hurt you based on the sentiment of the discussion).

Why is Word-of-Mouth Marketing Important?

Word-of-mouth marketing is about a face-to-face interaction (or avatar to avatar as the case may be in today’s digital age) that is built on pre-founded trust. It’s a cost-effective way to spread the word about your company and products among online and in-person communities.

If it’s not already top of mind for your marketing, it should be! Word-of-mouth marketing is cost-effective, builds brand loyalty, and reveals new ways you can reach potential customers.

Types of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Referrals from word of mouth can come from several sources, but for marketing purposes, the most important channels to know about include:

• Peer-to-peer
• Face-to-face
• User-generated content
• Social media conversations

1. Peer-to-Peer

• A friend says to a friend “I just had the best meal at a restaurant downtown. I think you’d love it!”

This is arguably the most basic form of word-of-mouth marketing. When you get a recommendation from a peer that you respect and trust, you’re far more likely to check out the recommended product, restaurant, etc., yourself. For marketers, this type of interaction is tough to really measure accurately or influence directly. 

Tip: To improve your reporting, ask new customers how they found out about you. If they say “I heard about you from my friend” you can ask them to expand on what specifically their friend liked. These learnings will help you invest time and energy confidently into brand-building marketing and acquisition efforts.

2. Face-to-face marketing 

• A sales rep is set up at a kiosk in the grocery store and offers you a sample of their new line of cheeses. Mmm cheese….

Face-to-face marketing is usually set up as a more “professional” relationship between the recommender and recommendee. It has a more clear sales factor, but it’s still a 1:1 tactic. 

Why is Face-to-Face marketing effective?

Think of a software product demonstration to a new prospective client, or free samples at a grocery store. In both cases, you may not purchase that day, but you’ve had a face-to-face interaction with someone who is passionate about what they’re selling. They had the opportunity to tell you about their brand, and offer a business card. So they’ve had that extra touchpoint to remain memorable when it comes time to make your purchase decision. 

Face-to-face marketing tips: Let your personality shine, and incorporate brand values into your selling story. Today’s consumers gravitate heavily towards authenticity and shared values (such as eco-friendliness and inclusivity). Highlighting these during your product pitch will help you stay top of mind.

3. UGC (User-generated content)

• You go to the restaurant your friend suggested and liked it so much you hit the Big 3 of UGC: posted a picture of your meal to Facebook, added a video to your Instagram Story (tagging the restaurant), and wrote a 5-star review on Yelp.

UGC (User-generated content) is what marketers like to refer to as “low hanging fruit” — once it’s created that is. And, brands can use this content in their own content marketing strategy to (1) show off an unbiased testimonial and to (2) build an even stronger relationship with the customer who posted. Much like peer to peer recommendations, this content can reach a larger audience that the poster may or may not know directly. 

If you can figure out how to cultivate user-generated content, you’ve unlocked one of the quickest and cheapest ways to grow your online presence.

Tip: Respond to both positive and negative online reviews. Be honest, appreciative, and genuine, and more people will want to publicly share their experiences!

There are components of social media in all of the above marketing options, but it’s so important it deserves its own call-out. Social posts on any platform that mention your brand are powerful instances of social proof.

To put some numbers to the value of WOM on social media: over half of purchases inspired by social media sharing occur within 1 week of sharing or favoriting, and 80% of purchases resulting from social media shares occur within 3 weeks of sharing. [Source: VisionCritical]

It’s important to think of social media in a broad context here: consider everything, from the major channels like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to the new and exciting like TikTok, to forum-based platforms like Trip Advisor.

Tip: Engage when you’re tagged! Consumers love when brands respond so encourage your social media manager to like, share, and comment when posts tag you or use an official brand hashtag.

What are Some Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies?

• Create a Conversation
• Use Influencers & Brand Ambassadors
• Encourage UGC
• Social Media Listening

WOMM is ultimately quite ubiquitous, which is what makes it so incredibly valuable — but it’s also what makes it incredibly difficult to control.

How do you measure success? How do you implement a strategy for improving and increasing your face to face recommendations? How do you swiftly find and address negative reviews or comments and protect your carefully crafted reputation? Let’s explore how to implement these tactics into your marketing strategy.

1. Create a Conversation

Word-of-mouth marketing is about real people sharing their thoughts about your brand and products, thereby indirectly encouraging more sales and recommendations for you — like a ripple effect. 

But how do you keep the conversation going? Chatter matters so you need to help generate that buzz!  

Find out where conversations are happening

This comes from understanding your audience. Where do they hang out? Jump in on forum discussions around related topics to your industry, products, and services. Facebook groups are another great place to start.

Be sure to adhere strictly to any forum guidelines in place (which often include no advertising). Otherwise, your words will be swiftly removed by moderators.

Appeal to Your Audience

You can’t market unless you understand who you are talking to, right? And in today’s ever more complicated world, the psychosomatics of your customer base go far behind the demographics data.

Tip: Gather the data from previous campaigns, email sends, and social interaction to analyze what type of content your audience reacts positively to, such as discounts, contests, or polls.

Maintain your online reputation

If you start seeing a lot of negative word-of-mouth buzz, you’ll want to address it swiftly and professionally. Don’t let it fester. Not only does this go a long way toward solving the issue, but it also leaves a very positive impression for current and potential customers. 

So, rather than recording their frustrating conversation trying to cancel their internet service and posting it for millions of people to share in their misery, you instead have someone posting “I just had a surprisingly pleasant customer service experience with XYZ. I’d highly recommend them!” If someone was thinking of switching, this could be what helps convince them.

Having a comprehensive crisis communication strategy is essential for any marketing team. But especially important when you’re prioritizing your WOMM efforts. To get help monitoring and responding to these types of situations, get a free tour of our real-time alerting tool. 

2. Encourage UGC

The Drum found that 75% of people feel user-generated content makes a brand more authentic.

So how can businesses encourage people to create content? Here are some tips:

• Create a brand hashtag to invite participation
• Jump on a trending topic and apply it to your brand
• Run a contest — you can always offer incentives here too
• Ask for feedback so you can hear straight from customers what they want 

Customer reviews are a great tactic and should absolutely be part of your word-of-mouth marketing strategy. 

70% of people trust consumer reviews online according to HubSpot. That’s actually huge if you think about it. Thousands of strangers are trusting what thousands of other strangers say about a product online.

Accolades can be featured on your website, social platforms, in campaigns, or 3rd party sites. They can be written statements, quotes, video interviews, or a comprehensive story in a blog article.

Here’s an example of a quote from a Meltwater customer that we may choose to share on our homepage or in other key customer journey locations because we think it accurately represents our solution and who we are: 

If you haven’t invested in 3rd party review platforms, here are some popular ones to get started:

• G2
• Yelp
• GlassDoor
• Reviews.io

Do note that you need to ask permission to re-share anything. 

3. Utilize Influencers and Brand Ambassadors

An influencer or brand ambassador is an individual with a significant following who works with brands to promote products and services. As of 2021, the three biggest social platforms for influencer marketing are Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. (Source: Business Insider)

Influencers are powerful in that they are another trusted source for consumers, but unlike a 1:1 connection, they are speaking as a “friend” to a much larger audience. And the best part is, the ROI is far more trackable if you’re working with them in an official partnership capacity.

Tip: Bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to follower count. Ask prospective influencer partners about their engagement metrics to get a sense of how active their audience is.

Example: If you are vegan and struggling to find everyday recipes or are seeking a community where you can connect with other like-minded vegans, you may follow someone like Michelle Cehn a micro-influencer and founder of World of Vegan.

Influencer marketing is deserving of its own blog post altogether, and we just happen to have one, but here are some of the main points to consider:

There are roughly 4 different levels: 

• Nano: 500-1K followers 
• Micro: 1K-100K followers
• Macro: 100K — 1M followers 
• Power / Celebrity: 1M +

Questions to keep in mind:

• Do they fit our brand image?
• Have they worked with your competition?
• Who is their audience?
• Does this make sense for our budget? 

Lastly, take a step back and really listen. 

Look at how people are talking about your industry and pay particular attention to their pain points. This will help you both drive social conversations and implement solutions based on what people are talking about in your space. 

This will also help you track the type of content your audience enjoys (photos, videos, Instagram Stories, etc.,). These all provide clues to help you maximize return on building an engaged following that will continue to spread the word to their friends.  

Gain valuable audience insights with Meltwaters social listening tools. Don’t forget the invaluable information you can glean from tracking your competitors as well! Request a demo to learn more.

What are Benefits of a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy?

To wrap it up, let’s review the main benefits of using word of mouth as an integral component of your marketing:

1. Low Cost

Because you’re not paying for true word of mouth, this type of marketing strategy contributes to lower costs, as others are doing most of the work for you. It helps influence sales with little to no advertising spend.

2. Builds Trust, Brand Reputation & Loyalty

Developing trust is not only one of the first steps in a relationship marketing strategy, but it’s also one of the most difficult.

Since word-of-mouth recommendations are coming from a peer that you trust, a familiar face, or online reviews, they are inherently trustworthy — especially in comparison to a brand simply shouting into the void about how great they are.

3. Creates Long-term Value

Gaining consistent, positive buzz around your products through word-of-mouth marketing will help you maintain repeat customers and make it easier to approach influencers for brand advocacy partnerships. 

Referrals like this are invaluable to grow your loyal customer base, ensuring the snowball keeps rolling — as a study from the Wharton School of Business found: customers referred by people they know and trust are between 16% to 24% more loyal to that brand on average.

What is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) is when a product influenced the customers so much that it becomes their routine dialogue. The customer keeps on sharing his experiences with others and advertises the product in the disguise. Companies and businesses encourage word of mouth marketing by organizing events, where customers communicate with other customers and influence their decision.

Who Uses Word of Mouth Marketing

Word of mouth marketing is when customers share their product experience with their friends and relatives. According to an estimate, 92% of the people trust their friends rather than media. That’s why companies and businesses encourage WOM marketing by providing a quality product to the customers.  

By encouragement I mean that companies provide new insightful information about the product that customers aren’t aware of. They also teach customers the new techniques and methods of sharing information about the product to influence their decision.

How Effective is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Here are some of the statistics of the word of mouth marketing that will help you to analyze its effectiveness.

• According to a study, 13% of the total annual consumer sale comes from WOM marketing with the worth of 6 trillion US dollars.
• WOM marketing generates 5 times more sales than the paid media campaigns, and people trust and buy recommended products 90%.
• 88% of the people put a high level of trust in the people that they know.
• A company that emotionally connects with customers generates 3 times more sales than the brand that does not.
• 28% of the customers say that WOM marketing is a significant factor influencing their brand affinity.
• 64% of marketers believe that WOM marketing is a very effective marketing tool.
• 70% of the marketers are planning to increase their spending on online WOM marketing, and 29% of the marketers are planning to spend on offline WOM marketing.
• 80% of the advertisers use WOM marketing for brand awareness, and 43% of the marketers use WOM marketing for direct sales.

Word of Mouth Marketing Strategies

Here are some of the following word of mouth marketing strategies that you should use;

Offer Something Unique

You should come up with something unique and different and offer it to the customers, that would amaze people and they would share their experience with others. It doesn’t mean that you have to redo everything again, just work on some old ideas and present it differently. Or you should follow some different marketing strategies.

Rating and Reviews System

Sometimes people like your product, but they won’t recommend it to dozens of their friends and family members. It means that you can use their feedback for your marketing purposes. According to a study conducted by Bright Local’s Customer Review Survey in 2017;

• An average person studies at 7 reviews before trusting any brand.
• 85% of people trust online reviews like real-life recommendations.
• 49% of the people think that a 4-star rating is a minimum requirement for the purchase decision.

Tap into People Emotions

Emotionally connecting with your customers is a very powerful tool that would make customers talk about the company’s product. It could be a common belief that the company’s product and customers have in common.

For instance, e-commerce retailer ‘Ben & Jerry’s’ emotionally connect themselves with customers by showing them that they’re environmentalists.

Referral Program

A referral program is a great idea of convincing people to refer the company’s product with their social circle. But if you attach rewards with more referral and successful conversion, then people would take it seriously to win the rewards because they are a great source of motivation. Rewards could be in the form of bonuses, cash prizes, gifts, or discounts. Referring programs should be simple and done with few clicks.

Offer Incentives

If you offer incentives to the customers that would do WOM marketing for your brand, then more and more people would be willing to do it. It doesn’t matter that incentives are big or small; customers would do WOM marketing for you if they get something in return.

You should offer discounts to your customers if they do refer.

Connect with Industry Influencers

You should connect with those people that have a great influence over the public and also have a plethora of following. It means that their platform is well established, if they do WOM marketing for your brand, then it would have a major influence.

Mention, tag, and feature those influencers in your content, and provide them free services that they would actively engage.

Focus on User Generated Content

User-generated content means that the content relevant to your product generated by customers. It could be random and poorly worded, but honestly that would attract customers. You can identify customers’ content by using the hashtag, offer rewards to those who would create content like social media post, picture, or gif, and make them feel that you are a part of their community.

Advantages of of Word of Mouth

Some of the advantages of word-of-mouth marketing are as follows;

Trust

People are willing to trust something when they see other people happy using the same product. According to an advertising report prepared by Nielsen Global Trust that 92% of the people follow the recommendation of their friends and family, rather than traditional marketing. Word of marketing takes a turn in the age of science and technology by forcing marketers to rely on the referral of their customers.

Lost Cost

The marketing and advertising budget of companies comprise of hundred and thousands of dollars. WOM marketing and referral programs don’t have any cost compare to them. Like email marketing or social media marketing, you just have to create engaging content and send it to the customers.

Long-term Value

According to a study on integrated marketing and sales conducted by the University of North Carolina that the people who purchase your brand’s product through referrals are more likely to purchase it again than those who are through media and advertising. It is because referral marketing attaches a memory of a referring person. Therefore, referring memory lasts longer than an ordinary advertisement.

Branding

A market comprises a lot of big competitors; it becomes difficult for a small business owner to establish his brand. However, WOM marketing and referral provides a unique touch to your brand. It could be in the form of tips, articles, or other materials that interest people, and they would share it with friends.

Disadvantages of Word of Mouth

Some of the disadvantages of word-of-mouth marketing are as follows;

Slow & Limited

WOM marketing is good, you can’t expect it to reach and influence everyone through it. It works slowly and it has a limited reach. The electronic version of the referral program is much faster, and it doesn’t guarantee the conversion. There’s a limit to one’s contact, and it would work in the beginning but not in the long term.

Time is very important for new businesses. If your business doesn’t produce something in the beginning, then it would keep on accumulating expenses. WOM marketing works, but it is slower and you never know whether it works or not.

Difficult to Track

It’s difficult to track the conversion rate from the referrals. Small businesses don’t have the expertise of whether the converts are either from the referral or the new ones. George Silverman said that you would need to know not only what is said but who said it, and the sequence of information should continue. The reason that you require such information is that you would it for planning in the future.

Bad reviews

Bad reviews and negative feedback of unsatisfied customers can badly impact the overall performance of your business. It would also discourage and create doubts in the minds of new customers. They would run away before even check it out your product/service, and they would also share the bad experience among their social circle.

Word of Mouth Marketing Examples

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

ALS launched a challenge of pouring ice bucket over you in 2014, the participant has to make a video and send it to them. The purpose was to raise funding, people across the world participated in the contest. The campaign was a great success over social media and it collected 115 million US dollars in 8 weeks.

Netflix

Netflix studies the pattern of shows that people watch and then recommend similar shows to them. The regular watchers of Netflix share their experiences over social media, and Netflix targets the social circles of its followers.

Slack

Slack is a great tool for small businesses that they can use it for free in the beginning, but it depends on the referrals and WOM marketing. Now, slack has a much wider audience because of its referral programs.

Conclusion

If you are a small business owner, then word of mouth marketing is a great tool for you to reach more people. But you can’t rely on them forever because it has a limited range. Eventually you would need paid media to go beyond. Most importantly, you should be certain about the performance of your product, because negative marketing spread much faster than positive referrals.

What Is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing (or WOM marketing) is when a consumer’s interest in a company’s product or service is reflected in their daily dialogues. Essentially, it is free advertising triggered by customer experiences—and usually, something that goes beyond what they expected.

Word-of-mouth marketing can be encouraged through different publicity activities set up by companies or by having opportunities to encourage consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-marketer communications. Also referred to as «word-of-mouth advertising,» WOM marketing includes buzz, viral, blog, emotional, and social media marketing.

Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing differs from natural word-of-mouth references to a company’s products and services in how it may come as the result of a promotion, encouragement, or other influence by a company, otherwise known as «seeding.»

When a diner has a wonderful time at a restaurant because their expectations were exceeded and later tweets about it, or when someone had a great experience using a product in a new way and tells everyone they know about it, those are examples of word-of-mouth marketing. Also, word-of-mouth marketing does not stop at the first interaction; it tends to lead to a cascade of follow-on interactions.

The encouragement on the part of a company may take one of several forms. The best way is to give them a reason to talk, such as exceeding expectations or providing insider skills or information about a product.

Other strategies include offering consumers new ways to share information about a company’s products and services, and engaging and interacting with the consumer, such as through exemplary customer service. This is especially valuable with social media-based customer service, which provides for seamless sharing and promotion.

Benefits of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Eighty-eight percent of people around the world said they trust recommendations from friends and family (earned media) above all other forms of advertising. This shows just how effective word-of-mouth marketing can be.

Consumers are more emotionally bonded to a company when they feel they are listened to by the company. That is why many companies will have sales representatives discuss their products and services with consumers personally or through a feedback phone line. This kind of interaction, as well as promotional events, can stimulate conversations about a company’s product.

There is a significant temptation to fabricate word-of-mouth marketing. Accordingly, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) crafted a code of ethics checklist for the industry, advising that the best word-of-mouth marketing strategies are credible, social, repeatable, measurable, and respectful, and there is no excuse for dishonesty.

WOM marketing expert Andy Sernovitz has boiled down WOMMA’s code of ethics into three key rules to avoid issues:

• Say who you are representing (always disclose a relationship)
• Say only what you believe (be honest with an opinion)
• Never lie about who you are (be honest about your identity)

The Bottom Line

Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is when a consumer shares a positive experience with their peers about a good or service. WOM marketing is great for businesses as it generates business without incurring additional marketing costs. Businesses can, however, purposely contribute to word-of-mouth marketing efforts.

WOM marketing is usually experienced over dinner parties, texts, and casual encounters between friends and family. It can also be set through buzz, viral media, blogs, and social media marketing.

Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM). Isn’t this really the original social media platform? I grew up with the famous Faberge commercial that showed a woman who “told 2 friends” about the product and how “they told 2 friends … and so on … and so on”. Hasn’t WOM always been a powerful way to influence business results?

I attended a conference where I heard several experts on different types of social and mobile marketing present. Suzanne Fanning, President of WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association), gave a very interesting, data-based presentation on the power of WOMM and contemporary efforts to create experiences worthy of being passed from person-to-person. What follows are thoughts she shared with me regarding the importance of WOMM and examples of how marketers are taking advantage of its power.

Why should Marketers care about WOMM?

If you could master what has been identified as the most valuable form of marketing—the one that consumers trust above all others and the one that is most likely to drive sales for your company — would you instead choose to ignore it or leave it to chance?

Why would you simply choose to sit back and hope conversations will just happen organically about your brand? If you want to win the marketing race in 2015, you need to unleash the power of word of mouth.

Let’s look at the facts. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising. WOMMA and the American Marketing Association (AMA) decided to find out exactly what brands were doing about that fact. In a recent study, 64% of marketing executives indicated that they believe word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing. However, only 6% say they have mastered it.

If consumers value word of mouth and marketers believe it is effective, then why aren’t marketers more focused on it?

The problem is that for the last few years, marketers have been focused on “collecting” instead of “connecting.” In other words, brands are too caught up in collecting social media fans and they are forgetting to actually connect with them. Having 100 really passionate fans that love your brand or product is exponentially more effective than having 10,000 “fans” who signed up just to win a free iPad from you.

Just like in life—if you have to buy your friends, are they really your friends?

And why should we stop at likes anyway? Why not shoot for LOVE.

Marketers used to focus on the 4 P’s. You probably had them drilled into your head as you pursued your marketing degree. Well, now marketers need to focus on the three E’s: Engage, Equip, Empower.  If you can master these, you can become the most beloved and talked about product in your category, which will ultimately lead to increased sales. We’ve seen a good WOMM campaign generate thousands of conversations, recommendations and triple sales in just a year (yes, even for the boring products).

Can you explain the Three E’s in more detail?

Engage—Give your fans the gift of you. Engage with them. Listen to what they are telling you. Be part of the conversation about your brand. Be a presence in your fans’ lives. @NikeSupport is a prime example of customer service done well. They constantly respond to followers on Twitter, whether it’s about their apparel, Fuel Band or other products. Every few minutes, you can watch them respond to someone new.

Equip—Give them reasons to talk. It can be amazing products, great service, insider knowledge, social elevation, incredible stories, unbelievable facts or even funny disclosures. It’s on you. It really depends on you understanding your consumers and what they like about you and providing whatever it is they need from you. Apple revolutionizes technological devices and delivers amazing products to its consumers, allowing them to naturally raze about the newest iPhone. Another area to excel in and that’s on the rise is social customer service.

Empower—Give consumers different ways to talk and share. Let them know that they are important to you and that sharing their opinions is important to you. Help them find ways to share within their circles and find ways to help move their conversations around. Lay’s is an excellent example to highlight how they empowered their fans to “Do Us a Flavor,” and allow consumers to create a new flavor of potato chips to hit store shelves. Over 3.8 million submissions were sent in 2013 making it one of the biggest marketing campaigns for PepsiCo owned Frito-Lay.

If WOMM has been around for a long time, why should it be a focus now?

You are right. It has been around, well, since cavemen roamed the earth. It’s likely that one caveman told another about a popular hunting area (… and so on and so on) and ultimately that turned the site into the most popular hunting area in their cave community.

It worked then, and it will work now. However, technology has increased social connectivity making it easier than ever for consumers to do your marketing for you. A post that takes just a few minutes for a fan to write will be seen by hundreds of friends who trust them, and it can rapidly travel out to thousands more. Very well planned messages have been shared by millions within the span of days. Look at the Epic Split video by Volvo featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, the video was released on YouTube on November 14, and on the first day the film was viewed over 6.5 million times and shared over 32 thousand times. Then in four weeks it was shared over 6 million times across social networks. It quickly became the most shared film on YouTube. The clip has received extensive media coverage from all over the world as well, and has been the subject of approximately 20,000 editorial pieces online thus far. No disrespect to our cave friends, but it was not possible to achieve those kind of results without technology. You should also consider the fact that those who read the post could potentially have millions of offline conversations with friends, families, acquaintances or even consumers looking perplexed in store aisles.

Fueling conversations and driving passion will make a huge difference for your brand.

Are there any consistent characteristics that successful WOMM campaigns tend to have?

Keep in mind that a good WOMM strategy is credible, social, repeatable, measurable and respectful. Dishonesty is NEVER acceptable.

Do you have any case studies you can share?

These three unforgettable WOMMY winners can help showcase the power of word of mouth.

Marina Maher Communications won a WOMMY in the Influencer category for their Kimberly-Clark campaign. The Depend team created The Great American Try On to take the issue out of the bathroom into the most public of places, recruiting celebrities and football players — who don’t need Depend – to try it on, tell America how they felt, and ask them to try it too and support two relevant charitable causes. Sampling requests increased by 720% vs. sample requests for a new product launch a year prior.

M Booth received a WOMMY in the Introduction category for their work on Canvas Lands’ End. The brand launched Canvas Lands’ End — a new collection geared to the younger millennial segment of the population by partnering with eight established bloggers to create the first-ever virtual «blog-up shop» series. The campaign earned $105K in sales and generated 60 million earned media impressions on blogger partner sites.

WOMMA recognized Zeno Group with an Engagement award for their Seattle’s Best «Black Friday Coffee Break» campaign, which focused on a segment of the target — retail workers — by offering free coffee to those working on Black Friday. Consumers leveraged the program through an interactive Facebook application. New fans were encouraged to «like» the page and choose from the following options: Have a free sample of Seattle’s Best Coffee sent straight to your mailbox, stop by a participating retail location for a free cup of brewed coffee on Black Friday, or print a $2 off coupon. The brand received 125 million total impressions in two weeks and 6 million YouTube impressions.

Being talked about requires a strategy and a plan that goes beyond “likes”.  It requires deeper insight about your customers. As John Moore, marketer for Starbucks and Whole Foods says, “If people are not talking about you, they are forgetting about you.” The WOMMA’s mission is to help marketers master this method, so take advantage of their expertise. To get you excited, take a look at this video montage WOMMA put together.

If you have a great example of a successful WOMM activity, please leave a comment or tweet it @KimWhitler

Suzanne Fanning is the President of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), the official trade association for the word of mouth and social media marketing industry. Her social strategies have been featured in Advertising Age Magazine, Fast Company, Forbes Magazine, and PR Week. 

When was the last time you asked for someone’s opinion before buying a product?

In the current digital age, the incessant amount of advertising is to be expected, but luckily, we’ve trained ourselves to block out the noise. When it comes down to it, the entire buying decision process has changed over time. We often do our own research before purchasing a product, ask around to get opinions, or take the advice of influencers we trust.

A suggestion made by a friend means a lot more than some dude on the TV telling you how great x product is. People like authenticity and will more likely trust their peers or family members before a marketer whose job is to sell you a product.

This is where the magic of word of mouth marketing comes in.

These customers are considered brand evangelists and openly recommend a brand to their friends, family, or even strangers online. This is incredibly helpful to any company trying to reach more people organically.

In this article, we’ll talk about the reasons why word of mouth marketing is so effective and how you can implement it into your marketing strategy.

Word of mouth marketing: the importance

The core reason marketers and companies seek word of mouth marketing is because of how powerful it is.

If your customers are talking about a brand without provocation, that brand’s market presence, reputation, and customer base skyrockets. No work must be done when word of mouth marketing is at play. The brand can pull away from trying to get their name out there and focus more of their time on nurturing the customer/brand relationships that already exist.

Why word of mouth marketing is so effective

Before we can understand why word of mouth marketing works so well, we need to look at the trust consumers have in brands. An overwhelming 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over advertisements. In fact, studies show that when asked where they get info on potential purchases, 46% of American consumers said they ask family members, 45% said they ask friends, and only 37% said they get info from TV or radio advertisements.

The only answer that received a higher score than asking family or friends was the 66% of consumers that said they conduct their own online search. This data is essential to understand the shift that has happened in the past 50 years. Consumers have less trust in brands and instead turn to people they trust in real life.

Because trust keeps dwindling, word of mouth marketing is the one avenue that will always be in style. Let’s talk about what makes this marketing technique work so well.

1. Establishes brand loyalty

When someone is a brand evangelist, they go out of their way to recommend your brand to everyone they can. They love what you bring to the table and believe in your mission. Imagine how powerful it is when someone talks highly of your brand to their friends, family, and followers online. Eventually, those people will favor your brand over others. It creates a domino effect.

That’s the power of word of mouth marketing.

2. Increases brand awareness, sales, and market presence without ad spend

Every business wants to get the best bang for their buck when it comes to budgeting.

According to Bain & Co, it’s estimated that a 5% increase in customer retention can boost a company’s profitability by 75%. How does one increase customer retention? It usually has a lot to do with being transparent about what your brand stands for.

If you can hook customers with your mission, a creative campaign, or a memorable event, you’re golden. Instead of having to spend some of your budget on placing ads on social media, you can strengthen the relationship you have with your customers. The simple act of replying to their tweets or liking their posts can go a long way. Take Wendy’s Twitter account for example.

People love tweeting the Wendy’s account because they know they have a good chance of getting a reply. The snark of their social media team has captured the attention of thousands online and created loyal customers (not to mention a constant stream of mentions). They’ve capitalized on their Twitter persona and in-turn, boost their brand awareness ten-fold.

One sassy comment can really make a difference, so don’t underestimate engaging with your audience online.

3. It’s authentic

Now more than ever, people like authenticity.

When a company capitalizes on word of mouth marketing, a community is being created around trust and authenticity rather than pressuring people to buy because it’s what everyone else is doing. It’s much more valuable to foster customer relationships that people that are genuinely interested in your product or service than to advertise to the masses in hopes that you’ll see an increase in sales.

Building a community of dedicated customers works wonders when you launch new products. They’re more likely to buy it just because they already love your brand. Brand evangelists will buy more often, speak highly of your brand, engage with you on social, post about you organically, and in the end, give you a better return on your investment for the time you spent on your strategy.

In short, word of mouth marketing is worth it.

How to use word of mouth marketing

There are a plethora of ways to use word of mouth marketing, but some may work better for you than others.

To even be able to use WOMM, you have to establish a good relationship with your followers first. You may have millions of followers, but do you talk to them? Are they engaged with your brand? Do you know what interests them?

The first thing you should do to get to know your audience is digging into your analytics. Knowing where your audience lives, their age, and the topics they enjoy consuming content about can really help you out when you’re planning your next campaign. Think about your audience and create for them.

You can put all of this into practice by choosing the right social media tools. You can use social media monitoring tools to tune into the conversation and track your engagement with social media analytics software. These tools can turn your data into actionable items for your marketing and sales teams.

Related: Ready to put it all together? Browse the best social media suites according to real G2 users.

User-generated content

Content created by your followers and customers can be much more powerful, sharable, and engaging than your typical company posts and updates. Having open communication with your audience can open the door for them to start repping your company online without you even having to ask.

According to Adweek, 85% of users find user-generated content more influential than brand photos or videos. When you see someone standing behind a company online, chances are you’re going to be interested in it and check it out for yourself.

You can encourage your audience to create their own content by holding a contest. For example, say you’re a small ice cream shop that needs designs for t-shirts. Instead of hiring a designer to do the work, holding a t-shirt design contest that offers a prize to the winner can be some of the best engagement you’ll see. It brings the customer/company relationship to the forefront and everyone wins.

Sharing the designs on social is another great idea. The designers will get a shout out and feel even closer to your company. Repurposing content, no matter where it comes from, is a genius way to get people talking about your product while you enjoy the free engagement that comes along with it.

Your customers may be creating content for you without even knowing it. Their positive (and, if you have a great marketing team, negative) reviews of your company can be used to further justify what you’re saying in your blog posts, marketing materials, and advertisements. 

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is the digital age’s best invention. The younger generation is more likely to listen to and take advice from their favorite YouTuber or Instagram influencer than they are a commercial on TV. Integrating influencer marketing into your strategy will widen your reach and boost your reputation.

Running a small business and don’t think you can land a major celeb for a collaboration? Micro-influencers are perfect for companies that are just starting out and looking to get their name out there.

Influencer marketing is a win-win situation. Before reaching out though, make sure the collaboration makes sense. If you’re a sportswear company, you wouldn’t see great results pairing up with a foodie Instagram influencer. Pair with an influencer that would use your product without the partnership deal. If all goes well, both your company and the influencer will see a boost in engagement.

Pop-up shops

Another great way to use word of mouth marketing is to run a pop-up shop.

Brick-and-mortar stores may be the norm but there is an air of exclusivity that comes with organizing a pop-up shop. But it doesn’t offer just that. One of the main reasons a company decides to run a pop-up shop is because of customer interaction. Seeing your customers in person gives you the chance to talk to them one-on-one and give them an experience they’ll never forget.

Another key benefit of pop-up shops is the design of the shop. If the shop looks cool, people are going to take photos and post them on social media. Create a hashtag for the event so you can go back on social later and collect photos that your customers posted. The social aspect is just another reason why this technique is so effective.

Talk it out

No other marketing strategy can match WOMM in terms of social engagement, cost-effectiveness, and viral content potential. Although the techniques mentioned in this article are a great way to boost your brand within the market, at the end of the day it comes down to offering your customers a good product or service and building a strong connection with them.

If you can nail both, people are bound to talk about you.

Want to learn more about different types of marketing? Click through to read up on content marketing or field marketing.

People often wonder whether word of mouth is better than advertising. The answer? Yes. But not always.

A great deal of research finds that word of mouth is more effective than other types of marketing. Whether compared to traditional advertising, media mentions, or promotional events, word of mouth is more useful in creating new users and customers. Indeed, McKinsey suggests that “word of mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising in categories as diverse as skincare and mobile phones.”

Why is word of mouth more effective? Two main reasons.

1) Trust

Not surprisingly, we trust our friends more than we trust ads. Ads always say the product is great. “Nine out of ten dentists prefer new Shiny White toothpaste.” “Critics agree that Blastoids 7 is the best movie of 2013.” But because ads always say the product is wonderful, we tend not to believe them.

Our friends, however, will tell it to us straight. They’ll tell us if the product is good, or bad, and as a result we’re more likely to believe their recommendation.

2) Better Targeting

Word of mouth is also more targeted. Say your company sells golf clubs. To target your message at potential customers, you might advertise in a golf magazine. But while some of the magazine’s readers might be in the market for clubs, many may not be. So in the end, some of the ad dollars are wasted.

Word of mouth is much more focused. No one’s going to talk to you about a great baby clothes website if you don’t have a baby. People only tell you about things that they think are at least somewhat relevant to your interests. Word of mouth is like a searchlight that goes through a social network, finding the most interested receivers for a given piece of information.

So is word of mouth always better?

Well, not quite.

First, it’s slower. Think of a long line of people playing a game of telephone. Social media and online communication have definitely sped the diffusion of information. But word of mouth still moves from person to person, sequentially, so it takes time to spread. The first person tells the second person something, who tells the third person, etc. It takes a while for information to go from one end of the line to the other.

Advertising, however, tends to be more simultaneous. It’s like a broadcast that reaches everyone in line at once. It is less persuasive than word of mouth, sure, but if the goal is to quickly increase broad awareness, advertising can be a better way to go.

Second, the effectiveness of word of mouth depends on getting people to talk. Word of mouthcan be highly effective, but whether it is or not depends on whether people actually spread the word. It’s not enough just to be on social media or post things once in a while. To get people to talk about you, your business, or your idea, you need to understand why people talk and share in the first place. How to make yourself part of the conversation.

Advertising and word of mouth can also work together. Ads remind people about the brand which encourages them to talk about it. Someone hears about a product from a colleague and then sees an ad which seals the deal. The two can act as complements rather than as substitutes.

So which is better, word of mouth or advertising?

It depends.

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Want to get more people talking about your product or idea? Check out Jonah’s New York Times bestseller Contagious: Why Things Catch On.

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Word of Mouth marketing impression results 5x more sales than a paid media impression and people are 90% more likely to trust and buy from a brand recommended by a friend. Check out our new post on the importance of word of mouth marketing for latest word of mouth marketing statistics and trends.

What is word of mouth recruitment?

Word-of-mouth recruiting is simple enough. The recruiting process happens naturally when company employees narrate the merits of joining their company to their friends and acquaintances. Word-of-mouth recruiting is said to be an effective recruitment tool to create a superior workforce.

How does word of mouth help businesses?

Word of mouth has always been an important tool for small businesses because when someone speaks positively about what you sell, it helps build the buyer’s confidence and trust that their purchase won’t be a mistake.

How can word of mouth be used to improve sales?

Quick word-of-mouth wins:

1. Identify and nurture your top customers.
2. Ask for reviews/ratings when things are going well; don’t wait!
3. Use social media as a referral channel.
4. Go above and beyond with unexpected customer service gestures.
5. Use tools to automate the process.
6. Make sure you have amazing service, staff, and support.

What is word of mouth strategy?

Word of mouth definition: Influencing and encouraging organic discussions about a brand, organization, resource, or event. To put it most simply, word of mouth marketers and advertisers seek to create something worth talking about and then actively encourage people to talk about it.

How successful is word of mouth advertising?

In a recent study, 64% of marketing executives indicated that they believe word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing. However, only 6% say they have mastered it. If consumers value word of mouth and marketers believe it is effective, then why aren’t marketers more focused on it?

Why is word or mouth so important for marketers?

The importance of word of mouth. WOM recommendations are a crucial marketing tool for any brand. This is mainly because since they come from sources familiar to us already, i.e. friends and family, and due to the ‘buzz’ user-generated content can induce, they’re more trustworthy and valuable.

Why word of mouth is bad?

It can spread misinformation. And the only thing worse than a bad review is an untruthful one. Word-of-mouth marketing can trigger a release of inaccurate information that’s misleading at best and reputation-damaging at worst.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of word of mouth marketing?

One drawback of word of mouth marketing is that businesses have little control over when and how it occurs. Lack of control makes it difficult for a company to increase word of mouth marketing: Customers are free to choose whether they tell friends and family about their experiences.

What are the benefits of word of mouth in consumer Behaviour?

Word-of-mouth marketing helps build positive feelings about products and services, and that helps build a company’s brand. So what provides the “word”? Resources such as tips and how-to articles as well as customer videos. Together, they can give consumers an easy way to share information they like about a company.

What word of mouth means?

(Entry 1 of 2) : orally communicated also : generated from or reliant on oral publicity word-of-mouth customers a word-of-mouth business.

What companies use word of mouth marketing?

Check out how top brands get customers talking with these brilliant word-of-mouth marketing examples.

• Pinterest. Pinterest thrives on user-generated content.
• Threadless. Growing a community is an invaluable way to gain insight about your audience while grooming brand advocates.
• Coca-Cola.
• Dropbox.
• Casper Mattress Company.

Is Word of Mouth valuable?

Consumers trust their friends. This is why word of mouth marketing is the most valuable source of marketing. According to a Nielsen study, 92% of consumers believe suggestions from friends and family more than they do advertising – this stat alone solidified the word of mouth use case.

Is Word of Mouth traditional marketing?

Traditionally, word of mouth marketing was spread from one person to another based on recommendation. Modern word of mouth marketing describes both targeted efforts and naturally occurring instances where users share their satisfaction with a brand.

What is a good example of EWOM?

An example of use EWOM on Instagram is the #MyCalvins campaign. The campaign allows consumers to submit photos wearing Calvin Klein products with the hashtag #MyCalvins on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and their website. The campaign has seen celebrity endorsers such as Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar and Kendall Jenner.

Is a form of online word-of-mouth?

Online or electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has been defined as “any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet” (Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh & Gremler, 2004, p. 39).

What is social marketing strategy?

Social marketing aims to develop and integrate marketing concepts with other approaches to, in turn, influence behaviors that benefit individuals and communities for the greater social good. Social marketing campaigns use multiple media channels to reach and saturate a target audience bringing about behavior change.

How does buzz marketing work?

Essentially, buzz marketing is a viral technique used to maximise word-of-mouth potential of a campaign or product. These conversations can happen online or offline. When done right they can massively increase online traffic, social following, and of course, sales and leads.

What is an example of Buzz Marketing?

A buzz marketing example would be if a company decides to promote a product through some type of event centered around a show or stunt of some kind where consumers can try the product and are encouraged to share their experiences through everyday conversation or online. Another term for buzz marketing is astroturfing.

How do you generate buzz marketing?

10 Buzz-Generating Social Media Tactics for Product Launches

1. Research your audience. Before you market your product, you must have an active plan.
2. Share teasers.
3. Start a blog.
4. Create branded hashtags.
5. Strike a chord.
6. Produce videos.
7. Find influencers.
8. Don’t reveal too much.

What does it mean to generate buzz?

Meaning – to draw positive attention and interest in something, to create interest in a product or service. In Context – The new Google glasses are generating a lot of buzz on the internet. Idioms with a synonymous meaning – to cause a stir.

What all the buzz is about meaning?

The “Buzz about something” phrase is usually used when we talk about the “latest bit of news” about someone or something. Thats how we would all sound when we talking / gossiping about the latest news.

What is buzz agent?

The buzz agent is any consumer perceived by others as a source of product referral. Results show that buzz agents are popular in their social community (friends and tech experts), carry dissimilar brands as target consumers and are product experts.

How can a company create a buzz online?

But every company, no matter what its size, can take a few simple steps to boost the buzz around its product or service.

1. Tweet a Great Offer.
2. Blog on the Subject.
3. Grab Some Space on Other Blogs.
4. E-mail Potential Fans.
5. Find Fans on Facebook.

How do I get buzz around my startup?

What the PR Experts Have to Say on Preparing for a Startup Launch

1. Engage Other Communities Too.
2. Contact the Media, but Share the Right Stories.
3. Find Your Angle.
4. Build out Your Network, and Give More Than You Take.
5. Hold an Event but Don’t Call it a Startup Launch Event.

How do you build hype around a product?

7 ways to build excitement about a new product on social media

1. Create a hashtag.
2. Get creative with your promotional deals.
3. Tell a story.
4. Give a sneak-peak.
5. Team up with local artists or businesses.
6. Have a giveaway.
7. Video teasers.

What creates hype?

Hype refers to the attention and excitement you build for your product or service. While hype typically extends from marketing and advertising efforts, it also arises from word-of-mouth campaigns. Creating a demand for products and services that you can’t deliver can backfire and end up costing you more in lost sales.

How do you build a single hype?

How to Build Hype for an Upcoming Single

1. Give Progress Updates. As you’re working on new music, take time to build hype for your upcoming single.
2. Set Your Release Date.
3. Update Your Bio and Create a Press Release.
4. Get Visual.
5. Remember Social Media is Your Friend.
6. Create a Countdown.
7. Mirada Media.

How do you hype a business?

7 Ways to Build Hype Months Before Your Business Launches

1. Explain how your product or service changes lives. Think back to the reason you started a business.
2. Pinpoint interests of your target market.
3. Find the right influencers.
4. Create a webpage with a sign-up form.
5. Hold contests with giveaways.
6. Track and analyze everything.
7. Keep audience in suspense.

How do you make an event hype?

Utilize the power of social media to get your attendees to market your event for you.

1. Run Teaser Campaigns.
2. Build Up the Hype with an Awesome Blog Post.
3. Buzz Away with Social Media.
4. Interact with Your Audience.
5. Make Good Use of Video.
6. Put in a Word on Podcasts.
7. Don’t Overlook Good Old Email Marketing.