Everyone that is in business will always state that the best customers are the ones that come by way of a referral. In fact the least expensive type of advertising that any business can do is word of mouth advertising. So what about word of mouth advertising on the web?
Like most things not all word of mouth advertising gets you the same results.
For example, according to Mintel consumer media and research, 34% of US Internet users who bought a product or service based on a recommendation got that tip from a friend or relative, while 25% bought based on advice from a spouse or domestic partner.
Now when it comes to bloggers and chat rooms the results are much less. It turns out that while bloggers may bring buzz to a product, converting the buzz to sales is another matter.
Unless, of course, the blogger is a friend.
“It’s interesting to find that as much time as we spend online, we still prefer a personal recommendation from someone we know and trust,” said Chris Haack of Mintel. This is why at Bay Area Mastermind we encourage the value of building a collection of testimonials from satisfied customers. We can never talk as well about ourselves as our customers can say about our product or services.
The most common reason that Internet users recommended a product or service was price,
followed by quality and convenience.
The take away here is that as marketers we need to pay close attention to the type of word of mouth advertising that we are relying on. As always, building a sound product and treating your customers like gold will increase the chances of people referring their friends and family. For more information on how to develop a word of mouth program contact Bay Area Mastermind.