What causes some businesses to succeed and others to fail? Why do some people perform better in certain cultures or regions than others? In this article, we take a look at the pros and cons of word-of-mouth marketing. Business owners are always looking for the right ways to succeed. Success metrics in each business can be different, but the critical success factors are almost the same for most companies. Finding new ways to increase e-commerce sales has become more difficult. The competition is fierce and just having a good online store is not enough to make your business last.

What is word of mouth marketing?

WOMM or Word of Mouth Marketing generally means “actively influencing” and naturally evoking conversations about a brand, organization, product, or event. Simply put, a word-of-mouth marketer seeks to create a controversial topic and then get people eager to talk about it. As we have said, people love to have references and easily trust what their friends say when buying a product. Word-of-mouth marketers seek to create a chain full of references to generate traffic, leads, or sales opportunities for a brand.

In today’s complex world, even a single suggestion can have a tremendous impact. So, this type of marketing is an excellent opportunity to convey feedback. Many of the best marketing research methods and strategies promote word-of-mouth marketing. This is how we end our definition of the method: 92% of consumers believe in the suggestions of their friends or family more than any other type of advertising. This simple statistic contains one of the most influential marketing facts: Your current customer base is your biggest marketing asset.

History of Word–of–Mouth Marketing

George Silverman, a leading psychologist and WOMM marketer comprehended the concept when he assigned a team to talk to doctors about new pharmaceutical products in an innovative way. He called this method “influencing an individual on a group through teleconferencing.” As a result of these conversations, Silverman observed an interesting change; A group of physicians who had a negative opinion of on a drug changed their mind after talking to a group of physicians who had a positive opinion on the drug, or even the words of these doctors altered the opinion of a group of previous users who had negative experiences with this drug.

In October 2005, the Commercial Alert Advertising Observatory of the US Federal Trade Commission issued word-of-mouth instructions to marketers to reveal their relationship to the companies whose products are being marketed. The Federal Trade Commission of the United States announced that it will would examine the relationship between the word of mouth of a product and its buyer. Finally, the Federal Trade Commission of the United States established legal mechanisms for marketers’ intervention and its legal limits, from Trade intervention stop orders to the Definition of crime and punishment of citizenship. Then, The Association (WOMMA), an American business group representing hundreds of reputable companies, has defined a moral code for this marketing in general: Manufacturers should not be obliged to pay consumers to introduce or recommend their product.

PQ media research group estimated that companies worldwide spent more than $ 1.5 billion on word-of-mouth marketing in 2008. Investment in word-of-mouth marketing grew by 14.2% in 2008, while investment in conventional advertising methods was steady; 30% of which was spent only on food and beverage advertising. According to Deloitte research, most promotions of a product or brand are done offline. In another study, the prestigious journal Advertising Research claimed that 75% of consumer conversations take place face-to-face, 15% over the phone and only 10% online. On the other hand, some people find social media events to be strongly linked to word-of-mouth marketing.

Statistics

Nielsen reports that 92% of customers accept offers from friends and family more than advertisements.

Beyond family and friends, 88% of people trust the opinions expressed by other consumers.

74% of consumers have considered word of mouth marketing as the main factor in their purchasing decision.

But only 33% of companies are actively seeking and collecting feedback.

Why should we pay attention to WOMM marketing?

Methods such as launching a social media campaign or testing artificial intelligence in e-commerce may seem more exciting. A strong word-of-mouth marketing strategy in your business center can be the foundation for building anything.

Benefits of word-of-mouth marketing

• The increase in sales without advertising costs: Many brands use word-of-mouth retrieval instead of paying the advertising costs to increase sales and audience.
• Creating a community, not just goods: Word-of-mouth marketing builds more loyal fans and customers. Highly involved customers generally make more purchases and also recommend more to their friends. This process increases the efficiency of the strategy over time and creates a long and loyal customer base.
• More budget, more freedom: Brands with loyal customers have their buying cycle is repeated, which results in a higher return on investment and better marketing services.