Word Of Mouth Advertising: Advantages and Disadvantages

Word Of Mouth Advertising: Advantages and Disadvantages

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of advertising. It is also one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business. We are going to tell you about these two, and several other advantages today, as well as their disadvantages.

You know, you can spread the word about your company without spending money on paid media, but you must be careful with pros and cons.

Let's see…

Advantages of Word Of Mouth Advertising

Word-of-mouth marketing has many advantages over other types of advertising…

Word of Mouth Marketing is Effective

Word-of-mouth marketing is much more effective than traditional forms of advertising such as TV commercials because people trust real people over actors playing characters on television.

According to a research by Chatter Matters, 83% of Americans say that a word of mouth recommendation from a friend or family member makes them more likely to purchase that product or service. In another study, 94 percent of respondents said they believed recommendations from people they know are trustworthy, while only 38 percent said the same about advertisements:

Impactful

According to a 2012 study from Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, ninety-two percent of consumers around the world say they trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth or recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising—an increase of 18 percent since 2007.

Word of mouth marketing is a powerful tool for brands. It can be used to create brand awareness, increase sales and build customer loyalty. The key is ensuring that your marketing campaign is effective in engaging customers in conversations about your brand.

Brands can engage with customers on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by sharing interesting content that encourages engagement with their brand. This could include behind-the-scenes photos or videos, coupon offers or product launches.

Social media provides an opportunity for brands to respond directly to customer queries which further enhances their relationship with the customers.

Free

Word Of Mouth advertising is relevant for each business, as each happy customer can bring dozens of new ones your way. And it's one of the most credible forms of advertising because a person puts their reputation on the line every time they make a recommendation, just looking for the appreciation of those who are listening.

People want to know that what they're buying is going to be good and if they hear about it from multiple sources (their friends), then they're more likely to purchase it themselves because they trust it more than something that only one person has recommended them (and could have been paid off by the company).

Trust

Word of mouth (WOM) marketing is the most trusted form of advertising. In fact, it’s the best way to generate leads and build customer loyalty. It’s about connecting with your audience in a genuine way, so that they become advocates for your company.

When people recommend a product or service, they are telling others about their own experience. This can include sharing photos and videos on social media or simply sharing their opinions with friends and family.

Word of mouth marketing is not just about good reviews from customers; it’s also about helping customers find great products and services based on what they hear from others they trust. So how do you build trust with your customers? Here are three tips:

• 1. Be transparent and honest in everything you do — especially when things don't go as planned

• 2. Respond quickly and appropriately to any customer issues or complaints

• 3. Offer real value for money

Relationship

Word of mouth marketing has always been important. In fact, it's been around since the beginning of time.

Think about it: People have always talked about what they liked and didn't like. And if one person told another person about something good, then the other person would be more likely to try it out for themselves.

We're talking about word of mouth marketing that happens organically between real people — friends sharing information with each other in a natural way because they want to help each other make better decisions.

Fast

Word of mouth marketing is fast. It doesn’t take weeks and months to get the word out about your product or service. Word of mouth marketing can happen overnight if you have a great product that people like, and it can also spread very quickly if you have a bad product or service that people don’t want to use.

What you say today can be heard by thousands of people in a matter of minutes. Word of mouth marketing is viral and it works fast.

Word of mouth marketing has staying power. Word of mouth doesn't just disappear when the sale is made; it stays with the customer throughout their experience with your brand.

Offers Amazing Short-Term Scalability

The power of word of mouth marketing is that it offers immediate scalability. You can start small and see results quickly. If you have a good product or service, word of mouth can help you grow your business and reach new customers quickly.

Word of mouth marketing provides an amazing short-term scalability because if you create a product or service that people love, they will tell other people about it. This may happen through social media or by talking to their friends, family members or colleagues about their experience with your product or service.

The beauty of it is that people say it to their friends and family without being asked to do so. They tell people because they care about them and want them to enjoy whatever it is you're doing or selling. If you've ever been at a dinner party where someone talked about something new that they discovered and loved, you know exactly what I'm talking about — it's almost impossible for a person not to be drawn into this kind of conversation!

Word of Mouth Recommendations Are Highly Valued

Word of mouth is one of the most trusted sources of information. When someone you know recommends a product or service to you, it’s usually because they have first-hand experience with the brand and know it will meet your needs.

Word of mouth recommendations are trusted more than any other form of advertisement — even celebrity endorsements!

In fact, the average consumer is willing to pay 20% more for products recommended by someone else vs. a celebrity endorsement.

Easier to kickstart

Word of mouth marketing is the most natural, authentic and effective way to market your business. But how do you get started?

The first step is to create a great product or service that your customers love. You need something that people want to share with their friends – whether it's a new Facebook game, a new iPhone app or a new handbag.

Then, make sure that you have your social media strategy in place so that you are ready to spread the word when the time comes.

The key is to find ways of encouraging people to talk about your brand – from free samples and competitions, to customer service and giving back to your community.

One of the best ways to encourage people to talk about your business is by providing them with something they will enjoy. This could be anything from a discount voucher or free sample, to an interesting blog post or newsletter that makes people think “This is something I want to tell my friends about”.

Disadvantages

Also, Word-of-mouth marketing isn’t perfect and has some disadvantages over other types of advertising…

You Can’t Control People Thought

In this world, you can’t control what people are saying because it depends on their expectation.

If a customer expresses his negative view about your company product everywhere on the internet, then it will be tough to control. The best possible way is to contact him and solve the problem very soon.

Results Are Unpredictable

The results of this marketing method are unpredictable. This makes them non-viable as a launch strategy, as the fate of your business is too important to rely on just customer word-of-mouth. Better strategies include Kickstarter and similar platforms, social media ads, etc.

Also, even if people talk about your business, there’s no guarantee that people will check it out.

It’s better to use other marketing methods for people to find out about your brand.

It’s Easy to Get Bad Press

A bad aspect of WOM is that it’s hard to trust people with your business, because they can praise your business as fast as they can ruin it.

Some people can give your business some bad press for no reason because of the internet. People with malicious intent can leave unfair reviews when they don’t get what they want. The good thing is that you can dispute these reviews acting very fast.

Even Employees Can Turn Against You

When your employees are displeased with something like their paycheck or how you micro-manage them, it can bring a bad picture of your business to your business, because they can post complaints on social media to make sure people see it.

So, this can paint a bad reputation. Also, a good enough reason to stop supporting your business.

Ok, you can report it like these posts seeks to defame your organization, leaving a comment explaining your course of action. Prioritize correcting your image with what you say.

Enemy Use WOM as a Weapon

A review website like Yelp helps to know more about business and where word-of-mouth marketing is the main key.This type of review site common people visit to know about your business condition.

So, if your enemy knows that he/she can easily use it and your whole branding can be crushed. Your competitor can be your enemy or another person as well who doesn’t love to see your success.

Also, if there are plenty of bad reviews in Yelp then it will affect the customer’s mind.

You Can’t Get The Accurate Data of The Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Like the last point, you can’t get the perfect data to track those customers in the word of mouth marketing.

In addition, you can’t be remarketing as there is no perfect date on there and it is quite impossible to track.

Bottom line

Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool for brands. It can be used to build brand awareness, increase sales and build customer loyalty. The key is to make sure your marketing campaign is effective in engaging customers in conversations about your brand.

However, as with any marketing strategy it has its advantages and disadvantages, as we have listed above.

Whether you stick with one or the other, we hope you now have a better picture of what to expect from word-of-mouth marketing for your project.

Speaking of word of mouth marketing, have you already downloaded Mouth 2 Mouth, the app where everyone wins doing this kind of marketing? If not, do it here.