What does Word-Of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM) look like today? Has the Internet changed the effect of the most credible form of marketing? Technology has revolutionized the way we do business but has not weakened the power of recommendations. Quite the opposite is the case.
Let’s start our journey with a simple example to showcase the power of referral marketing in our digital age. The timeline could go like this:
Jim sees an interesting ad for a product on TV. He buys the product and loves it. He tells his family and relatives about this new product he brought. He also calls his friends, sends out a couple of tweets and shares a post about the product on Facebook. Some of these people buy the product as well, and tell their friends and families about it. And this process goes on and on and on until the product is a major hit. Sure, this example is an oversimplification, but you get the point.
Word-of-mouth is the most influential and trustworthy form of marketing. According to a Nielsen survey, 92% of consumers around the world trust word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family. The marketing buzz continues to be generated by WOMM and advertising.
Digital Word-Of-Mouth Marketing
Social media is responsible for the evolution of word-of-mouth marketing. Instead of relying solely on face-to face interactions we can share, like and tweet everything we want. The opportunities and possible gains for digital word-of-mouth marketing are gigantic.
The team at Yokoco.com created an interesting infographic that shows how word-of-mouth marketing travels in the digital age. Here are three of their key findings:
- Your website is of crucial importance: A company’s website is a more trusted resource than third party review sites. A website is the preferred platform to research (92%). Given the fact that 9 out of 10 people research the referral before making contact, you need to ensure that your website is up to date and provides relevant, and trustworthy information.
- Leverage the power of WOM marketing to the max: There are people who have never been introduced to a new business via word of mouth. Yes, it’s only 7%, but still.
- Use social media to exchange word-of-mouth referrals: Surprisingly LinkedIn is leading all of the social media categories with 43%. There lies a lot of potential across all social networks.
Word-of-mouth referrals are often based on personal relationships, therefore it’s quite interesting to see what will happen in the years to come. Maximum exposure, digitalization and globalization will certainly help us all boost the pulling power of the most credible marketing format: word-of-mouth marketing.
What about you?
Have you been introduced to a new client via word-of-mouth marketing?
