“The relative importance of word of mouth today is far greater than other sources of information. It is now 1½ times as important to consumers as it was twenty five years ago and approximately twice as important today as editorial or advertising. So word of mouth is not new, but in today’s environment its importance stands out heads and tails above the other options.”

(Is WOM Just a Buzz? Ed Keller, The Keller Fay Group, Simon Chadwick, Cambier LLC1- MRS 2006)

Rupin Jayal

Why do people increasingly depend on their friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, other associates and peers to find out the “real deal” about products and brands and, even more importantly, is there anything marketers can do to influence or channelize it? Should they even try?

In many markets, the key cause of the growth in the importance of word of mouth (and word-on-net) has been due to the growing disillusionment with the hype indulged in by most seller-generated content. In India it is perhaps more of a way to cut through the cacophony of messages in highly cluttered categories. It is also a way of making tech-driven and new, emerging categories more comprehensible. So it is possibly less about credibility and more about comprehension. However, in more mature categories, such as consumer durables and automobiles, it is a very critical way of finding the most appropriate choice for each individual and whether the product really lives up to the claims made about it.

The logic for word of mouth — To understand and access, To evaluate and discriminate, To reassure, To debate, and To disseminate.

To understand and access
This is especially so of new categories and technologies. A youthful population, fascinated by technology is constantly seeking “newness” as a source of excitement. The rapidity with which mobile phones have become ubiquitous and even more so the speed with which non-voice features are becoming increasingly popular is just one example of this. In automobiles, manufacturers generate a continual stream of new or modified products in order to sustain excitement and ensure a steady flow of potential customers. White good brands (refrigerators, washing machines etc.) keep creating new “hi-tech” features, with acronyms to match, to attract the easily distracted customer. However, the paradox is that while people are continually seeking new “hi-tech” features they often do not really understand what exactly is meant by them. So they seek out “oracles” amongst their friends, peer group, relations or colleagues to understand what this blizzard of tech acronyms, competing claims and promises really mean.

For brands in this space it would be very effective to tap into this oracle group as its ability to influence is significant. Various studies have tried to identify this key influencer group and in categories such as automotive, IT and entertainment electronics it would not be difficult to do so. Even in other categories, such as food products, fitness, recreation, travel and apparel, it would be very useful to create a purposive marketing program aimed at this group. Also oracles like to be ahead of the information and knowledge curve in their area of passion so this becomes a great opportunity to communicate proposed new products to them and “seed” the market prior to launch. Nokia does this by sending details of its latest range of phones to a “chosen few” who then revel in being the first to know, thereby reinforcing their oracle status. Apple is famous for their annual gathering where the “master oracle” announces the latest products to the Apple faithful.

Oracles can be identified through specialist media they may use—automobile Websites and magazines for auto enthusiasts, similarly specialist outdoor and fitness magazines for those involved in fitness, gadget magazines for those obsessed with gadgets, and so on. Also there are events and fairs where it might be possible to identify your particular oracle group. Trade channels are another useful source of information and could help to identify those who are actually engaged with your category rather than being merely users of it.

To evaluate and discriminate
In categories where there is a fair amount of awareness and knowledge and the tectonic shifts in technology are few and far between, most people still seek the advice of oracles or increasingly of Internet-generated feedback, to evaluate the best option for them. In fact, user-generated feedback is often perceived to be even more credible than published information. This is because it is believed that published feedback is often motivated and not entirely objective.

In the future, in many categories, user-or oracle-generated feedback will make or break brands. As people get more involved with costs other than the actual price of the product or service, what they read about, the social initiatives, for example, of the company behind a product or service, may actually impact their choice. Body Shop is one example of this where the lack of animal testing and the fact that the products demonstrably benefit the communities from which they are sourced, becomes a strong reason to choose this brand over other personal care brands.

Similarly, Shell has mounted a sustained campaign to reinforce its environmentally sensitive approach to what is perceived to be an environmentally unfriendly category. In India, the Tata Group is as well known for its social initiatives as it is for being a large business powerhouse. This is partly why the brand itself is held in such high esteem and a potential source of competitive advantage.

So the oracles espousing your brand may not be the actual users of the brand but people who are very driven by social or environmental issues. Their advocacy could actually provide your brand a competitive advantage when people are evaluating you amidst a sea of similar products or services.

To reassure
Many of us suffer from what is known as “post purchase cognitive dissonance.” What this means is that just after making a purchase, particularly a high value one, doubts assail us and we end up asking whether this really was the best choice. This is exacerbated when we do a lot of research and talk to lots of oracles before making a choice. Sometimes the power of this feeling is so great that it results in “purchase dissonance” and we find ourselves too paralyzed to make any decision at all.

Reassurance from those we respect, post purchase, is very important. This applies equally to products and services. We might have fixed up a delightful holiday and are about to pay for it when we meet a seasoned traveller who convincingly shows us that we have just let ourselves in for a holiday from hell. Or that audiophile who has a mildly concealed sneer when we show off our recently acquired hi-fi music system. Or that automobile enthusiast who is completely underwhelmed with our gleaming new car. So while supporting sales through word of mouth is important, it is equally important to build conviction with those who have bought our product. It is not unusual to ruin a wonderful pre-purchase experience with a lousy post-purchase experience.

Possibly the best place to actually influence and build favorable word of mouth is just after a person has bought our brand. Instead of moving on to the next prospective buyer, it might actually be better to use the opportunity of a recent purchase to convert a customer into a brand advocate and to convert preference into conviction. Sometimes even a defect or problem can actually do more to build conviction, instead of disdain, in our customers. A routine purchase experience sometimes does not allow us to forge a deeper relationship. A problem solved, with delight thrown in for good measure, could create a customer advocate.

A person I know bought a car that had some niggling problems. Instead of asking him to bring the car to the dealership his car was collected from his home, a standby car provided and when the car was returned to him the basic stereo system had been upgraded to a CD system. And no, this was not a super luxury brand. Even though he wasn’t a car enthusiast, his enthusiastic recounting of this wonderful experience won that car brand quite a few converts. So capture the moment when someone buys your product and service and seek ways to delight them and make them oracles of your brand.

To debate
If your brand becomes a subject for debate that truly is the ultimate form of word of mouth. There was a time when the cola brands actually had separate camps and people in opposing camps would debate their latest advertising and poke fun at each other. If your brand is debated (but not derided) then it does hold a position far above that of more “ordinary” brands. Apple versus IBM, Harley Davidson versus Japanese/Italian brands, Swatch versus conventional watches, Pulsar versus Karizma, Bullet versus “the rest,” Old Monk versus other brands, examples abound. Favorable word of mouth as brand advocacy is very precious, but word of mouth as hotly debated conviction is priceless.

There is just one very important caveat. To be able to attain a level where your brand becomes a subject for debate implies that it has to have those who passionately advocate it. This also means that there will be those who oppose it. This is the price for building brand conviction and not just loyalty. For those who are true “Bulleteers” there is no other motorcycle like it. For those who are not, it is an unreliable, noisy, sluggish and obsolete bike. But the power of the Bullet brand is this white hot debate. Without it Bullet may just have gone the way of its peers—do we even remember them anymore?

To disseminate
One of the most important roles for word of mouth is to feed those who power it—the oracles. They gain their standing from being able to know first and know more. Thus, brands must ensure that their Website is current and has lots of information, not just of the brand, but of the category and possibly competing categories as well. The Website must be a fountain of knowledge for the oracles. It is equally important to know where the debates are, which sites are getting the maximum hits in terms of customer feedback and what is being said. Often you have people who ask and you have those who answer—the latter clearly see themselves as oracles. It is important to identify these people and possibly seek to start a relationship with them based purely on information and knowledge sharing. Any attempt to influence or “sell” to them, however, would almost certainly generate a backlash and that would make word of mouth your worst enemy.

Both good news and bad news gets rapidly disseminated in today’s highly networked world. The power of an oracle comes not just from advocating the good but from also “protecting” people from the bad. Also, it is likely that a satisfactory experience will not get reported but almost certainly a bad one will. And many of the bad ones make for more entertaining reading! There is nothing like a bad experience to bring out the hidden poet, author or anarchist in all of us.

Word of mouth is the most powerful tool with which to build brands. As people-to-people networks keep growing and communities increasingly become global, word of mouth will only become more important. Whether it is directly or through the Internet, people who know will significantly impact the decisions and opinions of those who are ambivalent and the latter will ever increasingly seek out the former. No one can afford to ignore such a powerful force.

Words are loaded pistols. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980) French author, dramatist

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The author is Director-Strategic Planning at M&C Saatchi.

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Word of mouth is indeed the best form of marketing
written by Neeraj, August 06, 2009

Absolutely, I cannot agree with you more. I feel word of mouth is actually democratizing of the marketing process, in other words, WOMM is of the consumer, by the consumer, and for the consumer.
Nice post.

Cheers!

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