Word of mouth (WOM) is the most powerful form of marketing. It builds brands, drives sales and sparks conversations. It’s been doing so for as long as humans have made discoveries and shared them with others.
Look at the facts. More than seventy-five percent of consumers believe companies are untruthful in their advertising. According to Nielsen, 92% of us believe and trust recommendations from family and friends—even people we’ve never met—aover all other forms of advertising.
The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), in coordination with the American Marketing Association (AMA), recently studied what brands are doing to exploit that. The outcome: 64% of marketing executives agree that word of mouth IS the most powerful form of marketing, yet only 6% believe they’ve mastered it.
Analytic Partners conducted an independent study that yielded three key findings: 13% of all consumer purchasing—$6 trillion—is driven by WOMM. Two-thirds of the sales impact created by word of mouth comes from offline conversations, mostly face-to-face. And one offline WOM impression will drive sales AT LEAST five times more than one paid-media impression. High consideration categories are driven up by 100 times more!
This isn’t rocket science, friends. It’s human nature. The further the message is distanced from the voice of the brand and the more it’s shared by the voice of the consumer, the more believable, impactful and effective it becomes. Experian’s 2011 Digital Marketer Report revealed that 54% of U.S. adults considered word of mouth as the “most important influencer” of purchase decisions.
Those of you who hang fiercely onto traditional forms of paid media will discover bigger wins with WOMM, too. The Analytic Partners study confirmed that WOMM amplifies paid media by 15%. Case studies demonstrate that WOMM accounts for about one-third of the sales impact, acting as an “amplifier” to paid media, like television. That adds efficiency and power to the mix.
WOMMA defines word of mouth marketing as “any business action—product, service or experience—that results in a customer recommendation.” I like to say that it’s turning routine touch points into remarkable talking points. It’s about being credible, respectful, relevant, social and engaged—online and offline.
Brands that get it are moving from marketing’s traditional four “P’s” (Product, Place, Price and Promotion) to the three “E’s” (Engage, Equip and Empower).
• Engage—Know your talkers. Get close to your customers and fans. Show them you know them in ways that others don’t! Listen, hear what they’re saying and harness what you hear. Keep communications open and transparent.
• Equip—Give them something to talk about. Share an amazing product, extraordinary service, insider information, awesome stories or something going on within the community. Enter real-time conversations and add content that’s valued and shareable.
• Empower—Make it easy to share. Enable your fans, customers and consumers to relay your message. Tell them they’re important to you and help them discover ways to share within their circle of friends.
The typical American mentions specific brand names 60 times per week in offline and online conversations. Two-thirds of those mentions are mostly positive, with only 8% considered negative. It’s no surprise that the greatest influencer of a brand mention is the consumer’s own experience with that brand. WOMM impacts sales and customer experience impacts WOMM.
Embracing the power of WOMM is no longer an option. For successful brands, it’s something that must be done.
PEMCO has a social-engagement mantra that, in the voice of the customer, says: “PEMCO’s success depends on the positive opinion of people like me. They listen, participate, encourage and enable me to share with others.”
Our goal? To never have to advertise for a lead again. Here’s to the power of WOMM!
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Rod Brooks is the VP/chief marketing officer of PEMCO Insurance. You can reach him at rod.brooks@pemco.com.