• Use of Media Channels
  Nicholas Scibetta
• Media Preferences
  Gur Tsabar
• Consumers in Emerging Markets
  Wallace Baldo
• Personal Experience in Decision Making
  Paul Rand
• The Way Professionals Communicate
  Susan Brophy

People Rely Most on Personal Experiences When Making Decisions

Ketchum’s 2006 media usage survey underscored the importance of word of mouth in today’s marketing mix. Now the 2007 survey has confirmed a growing need for marketers to help spark and sustain conversations and recommendations.

Consumers reported that their own personal experiences trump all other sources of information when they are making recommendations about a product or service to others. That isn’t a big surprise, but it is worth noting that influencers—that 10 percent to 15 percent of the population who exercise influence and control the levers of change in society—value advice from family, friends and co-workers even more than the general population does.

That makes it that much more important for companies to build positive word of mouth (WOM) about their brands. And while just one in four professional communicators say they have a strategy that focuses on either WOM marketing or the identification and management of key influencers, more companies are starting to get it.

Just within the past year, marketers have begun to embrace and support WOM as a distinct marketing discipline alongside public relations and advertising. WOM is the fastest-growing segment of advertising and marketing, with spending having increased by more than 35 percent in 2007, according to industry statistics. That figure is projected to increase to $3.7 billion by 2011.

We’ve certainly seen this increased interest in WOM at Zócalo Group—a Ketchum company and Omnicom’s only dedicated word-of-mouth agency. One of the key things we counsel clients on is that while WOM is more effective when it is combined with other marketing efforts, it should not be a byproduct of other activities.

Communicators can manage the influencers and even provide forums to help them share their best personal experiences with other consumers.

Click here to see an issue of Perspectives that offers more insights on word of mouth.