Word of Mouth Marketing

11 Key excerpts on "Word of Mouth Marketing"

• 

  eBook - ePub

  Word of Mouth and Social Media

  • Allan J. Kimmel, Philip J. Kitchen(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  Over the years, an impressive body of evidence has accumulated demonstrating how WOM plays a significant role in shaping consumer attitudes and behavior (e.g.. Brown and Reingen 1987; Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955; Rusticus 2006). However, as the term 'word of mouth' has entered widespread parlance, various conflicting assertions and exaggerated claims have

  Table 1. WOM: some representative definitions.

  'Word of mouth is defined as oral, person-to-person communication between a receiver and acommunicator whom the receiver perceives as non-commercial, concerning a brand, a product, or aservice' (Arndt 1967, 3)

  'Word of mouth is the act of a consumer creating and/or distributing marketing-relevant informationto another consumer' (WOMMA 2006)

  'By 'word of mouth,' I mean positive or negative communication of products, services, and ideas viapersonal communication of people who have no commercial vested interest in making thatrecommendation' (Silverman 2005, 193)

  'Word of mouth (WOM) is a message about an organisation's products or services or about theorganisation itself. Usually WOM involves comments about product performance, service quality,trustworthiness, and modus operandi, passed on from one person to another' (Charlett, Garland, andMarr 1995)

  'In a post-purchase context, consumer word-of-mouth transmissions consist of informalcommunications directed at other consumers about the ownership, usage, or characteristics ofparticular goods and services and/or their sellers' (Westbrook 1987, 261)

  'Conversations motivated by salient experiences are likely to be an important part of informationdiffusion' (Higie, Feick, and Prince 1987, 263)

  'Word of mouth refers to informal communication between private parties concerning evaluations ofgoods and services' (Anderson 1998, 6)

  'Word of mouth is the interpersonal communication between two or more individuals, such asmembers of a reference group or a customer and a salesperson' (Kim, Han, and Lee 2001, 276)

  appeared about the concept and its functioning. Even within the marketing discipline, definitions of the term vary (cf. Goyette et al. 2010), with some conceptualizing WOM as an activity (e.g., Arndt 1967; WOMMA 2005), and others as the result of such activity (Charlett, Garland, and Marr 1995) (see Table 1

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  eBook - ePub

  Social Media Marketing

  Theories and Applications

  • Stephan Dahl(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  10 Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) Chapter Overview Word of mouth is central to many social media marketing activities, as user-generated and brand-related messages are a highly valued and strongly encouraged outcome of social media engagement, particularly as recommendations amongst friends are the most trusted source of brand-related information. This chapter looks at word of mouth from various perspectives. Firstly the chapter defines what word of mouth is, and how it is essential to, but differentiated from, related terms such as viral marketing or buzz marketing. The chapter further explores why individuals engage in word-of-mouth activity, suggesting ways in which word-of-mouth activity can be encouraged, which factors influence the perceived credibility of the message and finally what effect positive and negative messages have for organisations. Learning Outcomes On completing this chapter, you should be able to: critically discuss word of mouth and delineate the term from associated terminology discuss the motivators for engaging in word of mouth, and the different motivators for positive and negative word of mouth critically evaluate the effectiveness of word of mouth, including the effect of negative word of mouth. Word of Mouth The previous chapter already hinted at word of mouth (WOM) as the most valued outcome of engagement, i.e. a scenario where brand users are becoming, in an ideal case, brand ambassadors and endorse the product amongst their social network. WOM has been linked with many positive outcomes, including product preferences, purchase intentions, and financial performance of organisations being talked about (Chen and Yuan, 2020). In fact, WOM has long been recognised as an efficient and effective marketing tool (Berger, 2014), even before the adoption of the Internet or social media – or even widespread mass-media usage

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  eBook - PDF

  Marketing Communications

  An advertising, promotion and branding perspective

  • Geraldine Bell, Babek Taheri(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Goodfellow Publishers

    (Publisher)

  The modern communications environment now includes, with the multi-step interactional approach, customer responses , and it is up to the company to turn this into a positive form of communication. „ Word of Mouth Marketing There is a new topic within marketing communications which needs to be considered, due to the prominence of the interactive form of communications enabled by new technologies. This is word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM). Understandably, this topic has gained significance since the advent of the internet and the resultant usage by both marketers and customers alike, leading to conversations being accelerated by customers themselves, hence the notion of amplification where customers can accelerate the chat – the degree of accel-eration depending on the level of relationship with the brand, with the most intensive amplification coming from the ‘tribal fanatic’. WOMM is where firms deliberately shape consumer-to-consumer commu-nications with purpose and intent. On its own, word-of-mouth is seen to be an 11 1 Introducing Marketing Communications organic activity because there is no “prompting, influence or measurement” by marketers, and is thus considered to be a naturally occurring phenomenon (Kozinets et al, 2010: 72). However, with intent, comes an active attempt by marketers to affect and change WOMM through deliberate marketing com-munications strategies. This links directly to the previous discussion on the two-step influencer model of communications, whereby unwilling consumers are socially engineered into buying through OFs and OLs as a persuasive means of marketing practice. Following on from this is Kozinet et al’s “network copro-duction model” which draws on the multi-step model discussed previously (see Figure 1.3) but which has one key element of importance within the topic of WOMM, and that is ‘seeding’.

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  eBook - ePub

  Connected Marketing

  • Justin Kirby, Paul Marsden(Authors)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Despite the many things we know about word of mouth, and the implication we can draw from this knowledge, there are significant white spots on our knowledge map.There is no academic knowledge available, for instance, on the effectiveness of the many forms of buzz and viral marketing campaigns, the conscious and organized efforts to influence the occurrence or content of word of mouth directly. Research should continue in these areas to produce relevant, consistent and reliable knowledge for marketers seeking to understand and manage word of mouth. This closer partnership between academic knowledge and marketing practice will also help increase the credibility of marketing as a profession.

  Takeaway points

  ■  Word of mouth is oral, person-to-person communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives as non-commercial, concerning a brand, a product or a service. ■  Word of mouth is important because it is much more effective than sponsored messages. ■  The main reason for seeking input word of mouth is the perceived risk of the purchase decision. ■  The main causes of output word of mouth are opinion leadership and satisfaction/dissatisfaction. ■  The main effects of input word of mouth are higher levels of awareness, attitude change and purchase behaviour. ■  The main effect of output word of mouth is that communicators feel better about themselves. ■  Marketers should be aware that word of mouth occurs naturally and should monitor it closely.

  ■  Marketers can influence positive word of mouth through targeting messages at opinion leaders, incentives and product sampling; and prevent negative word of mouth by creating platforms for consumer complaints with the company.

  ■  Marketers may also stimulate word of mouth by the services of buzz and viral marketing specialists. Marketers should be aware of the ethical questions some of these practices may pose.

  Notes and references

  1 Abbott, Andrew D. (1988) The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor . Chicago: University of Chicago Press; MacDonald, Keith M. (1995) The Sociology of the Professions . London: Sage.

  2 Kover, Arthur J. (1976) ‘Careers and Noncommunication: the Case of Academic and Applied Marketing Research’, Journal of Marketing Research

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  eBook - ePub

  Customer Service Marketing

  Managing the Customer Experience

  • Edwin N. Torres, Tingting Zhang(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Figure 7.1 )

  FIGURE 7.1 Electronic word of mouth is an important source of information for consumer decision-making. Source: Shutterstock.

  What is electronic word of mouth?

  It is human nature to share feedback concerning many of our daily choices. When those choices involve the purchase of certain products and services, they’re called WOM communications. Formally defined word of mouth are: “Informal communications directed at other consumers about the ownership, usage, or characteristics of particular goods and services and/or their sellers” (Westbrook, 1987 , p. 261). WOM differs from other forms of communications which are directed by marketers. For instance, when a marketer creates an advertising campaign, he or she will choose what to communicate, how to transfer the information, and where to relay the message. Consequently, advertising is within the full control of business marketers. In contrast, WOM is not initiated or controlled by the organization. While a company might try to influence these communications, they are initiated by individuals and their content and delivery rest within the discretion of consumers.

  Traditionally, WOM was delivered through live interactions. A friend might tell another friend about a certain product or service while attending an event or taking a walk through the park. With the advent of the internet, the potential to communicate and spread WOM communications grew exponentially. Online review sites, blogs, and social media platforms are among some of the main ways in which customers can express their message to the world. When a consumer uses technology to spread their message regarding products and services, it is called electronic Word of Mouth . Much like traditional WOM, eWOM is within the control of the consumer, not the marketer. Unlike WOM, eWOM has the potential to reach an audience that surpasses the consumer’s inner circle. The same message can be read by thousands or millions of other consumers, which can then utilize this information to influence their decision-making process. In addition to using the term eWOM, several industry professionals use some related terms, including user-generated content

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  eBook - ePub

  The Customer Advocate and the Customer Saboteur

  Linking Social Word-of-Mouth, Brand Impression, and Stakeholder Behavior

  • Michael W. Lowenstein(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • ASQ Quality Press

    (Publisher)
• As reported elsewhere in the book, Keller Fay Group studies reinforce the finding that, depending on the product or service category involved, up to 90% of peer-to-peer dialogue takes place off-line. It believes marketers should actively keep this in mind when designing programs to reach influencers.
• Word-of-mouth is, most typically, positive. Research conducted by Keller Fay, Weber Shandwick, and others shows that the vast majority of off-line and online product- or service-related word-of-mouth is neither neutral nor negative. Keller Fay has also found that positive word-of-mouth carries greater credibility, though negative word-of-mouth tends to get more attention.
• Connecting with influencers requires a blend of old and new techniques. Some organizations are targeting influencers and other early adopters for word-of-mouth programs, or product development initiatives, recognizing that these individuals, in parallel, are also seeking information in areas of interest to them and sharing it with peers. Nestle, for example, has done this with influencers in the fitness community for its Power Bar brand products, utilizing both off-line and online means. Other companies have recruited influencers to take leading roles in online communities, using them as hosts to solicit feedback. Couponing, public relations, and specialized events—all marketing tools that have been used for decades—can be applied with influencers to begin word-of-mouth communications.
• Traditional advertising and promotional programs can also help leverage word-of-mouth activity. In fact, Keller Fay studies have determined that, overall, one in five peer-to-peer conversations about brands makes reference to advertising; for influencers, this ratio is even higher. They have found television, print media, and the social and viral elements of the internet most effective at doing this.
This last insight is, we believe, perhaps the most important observation because it marks a point of inflection, or connection, among advertising and promotion, word-of-mouth influence, and customer advocacy behavior.
Influencers, like advertising and promotion, have a role in customer advocacy. They certainly help shape impressions. Moreover, influencers are considerably more active than the general public in creating word-of-mouth about products and services, whether they have personally used them or not. So, though some—such as Duncan Watts of Columbia Business School in Small Worlds (2003), and Dave Balter and John Butman in Grapevine: The New Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing (2005)