Understanding how and why messages work allows marketers to craft a coordinated, consistent response that reaches the right people with the right content in the right setting. We believe that word of mouth can be dissected to understand exactly what makes it effective and that its impact can be measured using what we call “word-of-mouth equity”-an index of a brand’s power to generate messages that influence the consumer’s decision to purchase. But measuring and managing it is far from easy.
Some customers even create Web sites or blogs to praise or punish brands.Īs online communities increase in size, number, and character, marketers have come to recognize word of mouth’s growing importance. Today, it also operates on a one-to-many basis: product reviews are posted online and opinions disseminated through social networks. And its influence will probably grow: the digital revolution has amplified and accelerated its reach to the point where word of mouth is no longer an act of intimate, one-on-one communication. Its influence is greatest when consumers are buying a product for the first time or when products are relatively expensive, factors that tend to make people conduct more research, seek more opinions, and deliberate longer than they otherwise would. Is the primary factor behind 20 to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions.
The sender may, however, reap social gratification or rewards. The term word of mouth, as used in this article, means consumer-to-consumer communication with no economic incentives.
McKinsey’s Ole Jørgen Vetvik explains a new way to measure the impact of word of mouth, and how marketers can use it to influence consumer behavior.
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