WOM Research #2.30
- Don't Get Left Behind: WOMBAT, New Orleans, April 17-18
- 93% of Boomers Name Friends as Trusted Sources
- 92% of Physicians Influenced by Opinion Leaders
- From the Archives:
Online WOM Sheds Light on Viral Marketing Chain
 Tell a friend: http://www.womma.org/tell/
1> Don't Get Left Behind: WOMBAT,
New Orleans, April 17-18
Next week, WOMMA is packing up and heading to the Big Easy for two days of intense word of mouth learning at our annual Word of Mouth Basic Training event. It's taking place April 17-18, and we're sure we'll see most of you there -- either in the sessions, where some of the best word of mouth case studies and how-to's are going to be presented; at one of the networking breaks, schmoozing up your word of mouth marketing peers; or at the traditional, down home New Orleans-style dinner that we're hosting Tuesday night, where good food and good word of mouth conversation will converge.
For those of you who haven't signed up yet, you've still got a few days left to register. Hurry, though, as spots are going fast.
We hope to see you there!
Register for WOMBAT today
2> 93% of Boomers Name Friends
as Trusted Sources
When it comes to making purchase decisions, 93% of baby boomers name their friends as trusted sources of information, according to a March study from WOMMA member company Weber Shandwick. The study, which was conducted by KRC Research, also found that 57% of boomers say they are asked for their opinions about products and services approximately twice a week. Of those who say they are asked to make recommendations, 89% of boomers indicate they give their sage advice to fellow boomers, creating a boomer-to-boomer word of mouth chain that marketers will want to pay attention to.
When it comes to spreading word of mouth, the Weber Shandwick survey found:
84% of boomers say they make recommendations face-to-face
82% say they make recommendations by phone
45% say they make recommendations online
Learn more
3> 92% of Physicians Influenced
by Opinion Leaders
More than 92% of physicians say they are swayed by opinion leaders and social networks, according to a December 2006 research report released by Harikesh Nair, assistant professor of marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; WOMMA Advisory Board member Puneet Manchanda, associate professor of marketing at the University of Chicago; and Tulikaa Bhatia, assistant professor of marketing at Rutgers University. The report, titled "Asymmetric Peer Effects in Physician Prescription Behavior: The Role of Opinion Leaders," indicates that marketing to these physician opinion leaders can boost revenues by an average of 18%.
Other findings:
95% of physicians say they find out what opinion leaders think about a drug from personal contact, 79% by interacting via conferences, 67% by meeting in clinical settings, and 32% by scientific articles published by the opinion leaders.
The 15 largest pharmaceutical manufacturers spend approximately 32% of their marketing on opinion-leader activities.
The industry as a whole is estimated to spend approximately 24% of its marketing budget on opinion-leader activities.
Learn more (Standford Graduate School Of Business)
Learn more (Standford Graduate School Of Business PDF)
4> From the Archives:
Online WOM Sheds Light on
Viral Marketing Chain
When taking action on a viral email, a recipient's relationship with the email's sender influences his or her decision to open, read, click links, etc., according to a January 2003 research paper, titled "Will They Listen Anyway? Viral Marketing and the Effectiveness of Online Word of Mouth Referrals." Written by Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business Administration doctoral student Arnaud De Bruyn, the paper asserts that the closeness, perceptual homophily (a person's similarity of values and experience with another person), demographic homophily, and social overlap between a sender and receiver influence a receiver's response, but that each factor affects the receiver at a different stage in the viral process.
Survey findings:
The closeness of the sender and receiver influences the likelihood that a viral email will be opened and read, but nothing else.
Perceptual homophily influences whether a recipient will click on a link to a website referenced in a viral email.
High social overlap between sender and receiver increases the likelihood that the recipient will open a viral email, but decreases the likelihood a recipient will click on a link to a website referenced in a viral email.
Learn more
Special Call for Content: Northwestern University's Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications (JIMC)
JIMC is inviting industry professionals and academics to share their knowledge and contribute to the marketing communications profession by submitting an abstract for consideration in the 2008 edition. The deadline is Friday, April 20 -- so you have to move fast if you want to contribute!
Learn more
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