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Why is word-of-mouth marketing so powerful? This is a common question. And the answer? It’s a form of socialization that attracts people to buy. People want to know from their family, friends, and colleagues where they get the things they enjoy. It is these recommendations that are a powerful way to generate sales.

People like to share experiences with one another, so why not maximize on this free marketing tool that clearly works?

For example, Invespcro estimates that word-of-mouth marketing accounts for 13% of consumer sales. In this article, we go into detail about the power of word-of-mouth marketing and why you should invest more time and effort into this strategy.

Why do people participate in word-of-mouth marketing?

Sharing experiences

When sharing experiences, we talk about products/brands without realizing it. This in turn creates link associations with the product or brand. For example, if you ask someone what they did that weekend, they may share an experience they had (positive or negative). This would subconsciously impact your own opinion on the place/experience, and the likelihood of you trying it out for yourself.

As humans, there’s a reason why we jump on trends. It’s natural to crave a sense of belonging and to experience FOMO, therefore, we often follow trends to fit in and to be ‘in the know’ on whatever is popular.

Social contribution

Contributing to your relationships is important. When socialising, one of the common topics that tend to come up are our experiences with products or brands. However, this only happens if the experience has been memorable in some way. People love to share their experiences, they cherish feeling like they have something to contribute to the conversation. By providing a memorable experience, especially an overwhelmingly positive one, is how you successfully utilize word-of-mouth marketing.

Sharing knowledge

We all love to think that we’re experts on certain things. Whether you’re a foodie, a fitness expert, or really into coffee, everyone has something they’re passionate about and like to think they know about in depth. People who are passionate about certain topics tend to be reliable sources of information on their interests, and are useful to identify for your word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

Businesswoman talking on the phone

Word-of-mouth marketing accounts for an estimated 13% of consumer sales.

Why is ‘word-of-mouth’ a powerful marketing tool?

Trust

People know they can’t always trust reviews from strangers in case they are fabricated or biased. For instance, if your friend recommends their favourite restaurant, you’d be much more likely to go there compared to a restaurant you’ve heard nothing about, right? As a society, we take into consideration what people say. The opinion of others (especially that of our friends and family) has a huge influence on our purchasing decisions.

Also, word of mouth marketing clearly works. A study showed that millennials are influenced by WOM marketing 115% more than by traditional advertising. Also, 86% of consumers trust WOM recommendations and online reviews. Furthermore, an impressive 92% of consumers trust recommendations from family and friends.

Brand Reputation

The reason word-of-mouth marketing is so powerful and you need to get it right is that the bad experiences that customers have can affect your business without you even knowing.

A study by Andy Beal found that 96% of unhappy customers won’t complain to the business, but will instead tell about 15 friends. That’s 15 missed sales. If they had a positive experience, their friends could’ve been possible customers. It’s why you must give your customers good experiences, to prevent this from happening. Take control of your brand and its reputation.

Final thoughts

Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool in attracting new customers, but is woefully underused. Furthermore, it’s not a marketing strategy that people dislike either. People get fed up with seeing too many ads and feeling like they are being sold to. However, as a part of social interaction and staying ‘on trend,’ people discuss brands and products with others quite often, whether they mean to or not. So, by implementing a word-of-mouth marketing strategy, you can boost success in lead generation and gain control of your brand story.