What Is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing (or WOM marketing) is when a consumer's interest in a company's product or service is reflected in their daily dialogues. Essentially, it is free advertising triggered by customer experiences—and usually, something that goes beyond what they expected.

Word-of-mouth marketing can be encouraged through different publicity activities set up by companies or by having opportunities to encourage consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-marketer communications. Also referred to as "word-of-mouth advertising," WOM marketing includes buzz, viral, blog, emotional, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:social media marketing.

Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing differs from natural word-of-mouth references to a company's products and services in how it may come as the result of a promotion, encouragement, or other influence by a company, otherwise known as "seeding."

When a diner has a wonderful time at a restaurant because their exp🌠ectations were exceeded and later tweets about it, or when someone had a great experience using a product in a new way and tells everyone they know about it, those are examples of word-of-mouth marketing. Also, word-of-mouth marketing does not stop at the first interaಞction; it tends to lead to a cascade of follow-on interactions.

The encouragement on the part of a company may take one of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:several forms. The best way is to give෴ them ꦯa reason to talk, such as exceeding expectations or providing insider skills or information about a product.

Other strategies include offering consumers new ways to share information about a company's products and services, and engaging and interacting with the consumer, such as through exemplary customer service. This is especially valuable with social media-based 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:customer service, which provides for seamless sharing an🔥d promotion.

Benefits of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Eighty-eight percent of people around the world said they trust recommendations from people they know (earned media) above all other forms of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:advertising, according to a 2021 Nielsen study. This shows just how effective word-of-mouth marketing can be.

Consumers are more 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:emotionally bonded to a company when they feel they are listened to by the company. That is why many companies will have sales representatives discuss their products and services with consumers personally or through a feedback phone line. This kind of interaction, as well as promotional events, can stimulate conversati🍰ons about a company's product.

There is a significant temptation to fabricate word-of-mouth marketing. Accordingly, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) crafted a code of ethics checklist for the industry, advising that the best word-of-mouth marketing strategies are credible, social, measurable, and respectful, and there is no excuse for dishonesty.

WOM marketing expert Andy Sernovitz has boiled down WOMMA's code of ethics into three key rules to avoid issues:

• Say who you are representing (always disclose a relationship)
• Say only what you believe (be honest with an opinion)
• Never lie about who you are (be honest about your identity)

The Bottom Line

Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is when a consumer shares a positive experience about a good or service. WOM marketing is great for businesses as it generates business without incurring additional marketing cos🌄ts. Businesses can, however, purposely contribute to word-of-mouth marketing efforts.

WOM marketing is usually experienced over dinner parties, texts, and casuaไl encounters between frieꦐnds and family. It can also be set through buzz, viral media, blogs, and social media marketing.