WOM Research #2.17
- Social Network 'Surfers' Eager to Be 'Shoppers'
- Brains Respond More Positively to Well-Known Brands
- WOM Across the Pond: European Marketers Weigh In
- From the Archives:
Customer-Generated Book Reviews Sway Sales
 Tell a friend: http://www.womma.org/tell/
1> Social Network 'Surfers' Eager
to Be 'Shoppers'
Consumers who use social networking sites to browse for gift ideas would use the sites to find out about upcoming sales or to download coupons if given the option, according to a recent American Marketing Association survey. The AMA contends that survey results demonstrate a "narrowing gap between social networking and e-commerce," which makes a case for the power of product-mentions in reliable social networking contexts.
Survey findings:
* 49% of respondents would participate in shopping-related activities on social networking sites if such activities were available.
* 47% would visit a social networking site to search for gift ideas.
* 29% would buy products directly on those sites if they were able to.
Learn more (PR Newswire)
Learn more (USA Today)
Learn more (BizReport)
2> Brains Respond More Positively to
Well-Known Brands
Whatever the product involved, people's brains respond better to well-known brands than to their less famous counterparts, according to German researcher Christine Born of Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, in her recent presentation to the Radiological Society of North America. Born and her team demonstrated that exposing their 20 test subjects to "weak" brands forced their brains to work harder, causing activation to occur in areas of the brain linked to negative emotions. Strong brands encountered less activation, and the activation that did occur was focused on areas of the brain associated with self-identification, rewards, and positive emotion.
This research makes a case for the importance of word of mouth in both creating and perpetuating brand familiarity. The more familiar consumers are with brands, the less work their brains have to do, and the less negative association occurs.
Learn more (Reuters)
Learn more (The Economic Times)
Learn more (Playfuls.com)
3> WOM Across the Pond: European Marketers
Weigh In
Highlighting some of the differences between word of mouth marketing in the United States versus Europe, the Brand Science Institute's recent survey of 329 marketing executives hits on some of the most current trends and obstacles facing European word of mouth marketers.
According to survey analysis, word of mouth marketing in Europe is still in its relative infancy because marketing managers are weary of using a marketing tactic that "lacks clear and instantaneous measures of success," preferring to use traditional methods with less consumer reach instead. Also, marketers are reluctant to compare word of mouth in Europe to word of mouth in the United States because of cultural and linguistic differences. Those surveyed indicated that there is more fragmentation in the European industry, leading marketers to turn to their advertising agencies for word of mouth campaign design and management -- regardless of whether the ad agency has word of mouth marketing experience -- which leads to weak campaigns and increased failure rates.
Learn more
4> From the Archives:
Customer-Generated Book Reviews
Sway Sales
In their 2003 research paper, titled "The Effect of Word of Mouth on Sales: Online Book Reviews," Judy Chevalier and Dina Mayzlin from the Yale School of Management explore how online customer ratings and reviews affect the sales on Amazon.com and BranesandNoble.com.
Research findings:
* Customer word of mouth (in the form of reviews) has a causal impact on purchasing behavior.
* Customer behavior suggests that the perceived "fit" between the customer and the book is improved by using reviews to screen purchases.
* Longer reviews do not necessarily stimulate more sales.
* At both sites, customer reviews are predominantly positive.
Learn more |
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