Telling It Like It Is
The Power of Word of Mouth
Budgets are tight and billboards are expensive. Traditional channels of marketing and advertising are intrusive and fast becoming archaic, so brands have started exploring more engaging methods to garner customer acceptance. With research showing that 70% of customers are doubtful that brands tell the truth in advertisements, it is no wonder that consumers are taking a step back and starting to base their purchasing decisions on the opinions of people whom they know and trust.
Word of mouth marketing, also known as viral marketing is fast becoming an essential ingredient in the recipe for a successful marketing campaign. As a result of the economic downturn, brands are starting to explore word of mouth marketing as an efficient form of generating customer interest and according to research company Millward Brown, 43% of US companies are planning to use word of mouth as a key component of their marketing strategies this year. Formed in 2004, The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), a US based organization, believes that word of mouth marketing is about empowering consumers to share their experiences and harnessing the voice of the customer for the good of the brand. It’s also, as WOMMA points out, about acknowledging that unsatisfied customers are equally powerful.
Earlier this year Ford launched The Ford Fiesta Movement which entailed recruiting 100 Ford Agents from over 4000 applicants to spend six months behind the wheel of their own Fiesta, sharing their experiences and completing monthly missions to show people what experiencing the Ford Fiesta is all about. This marketing initiative links products to experiences, putting the power in the hands of consumers who play an integral role in shaping brand image and opens the door for consumers to participate in a conversation with the brand.
The traditional practice of word of mouth marketing was well entrenched before the boom of mass advertising and it seems as though we’ve come full circle as viral marketing is taking on an online form to speak to tribes through like-minded forums. Online word of mouth platforms are changing the way consumers communicate with each other. Countless social networking and review sites have become breeding grounds for customers to share advice, opinions and experiences. Brands are hopping on board to such an extent that many have created full-time positions that require employees to manage social networking services that encourage communication between brand and consumer, over and above doing a spot of damage control if things get messy.
Generating and monitoring online word of mouth is becoming as, if not more important than its real world counterpart based on the ease with which information is disseminated online. Brand transparency plays a key role in harnessing the power of word of mouth both on and offline. As consumers are sharing more information about themselves through social media, they are expecting their brands to step up to the plate and do the same thing. It’s all about talking to your customers in the language they speak and if you’re clever about it, they’ll only say good things in return.
By Sarah Badat
This “Trend Snack” is part of a series that will be published in the 2010 Flux Trend Review – due in bookstores in October 2009. Register for a newsletter on our homepage to receive more information on the 2010 trend review.
