The New Word-of-Mouth Marketing

We, as marketers, all know it to be true. It’s the dirty little secret of marketing that most in the business don’t want you to talk about. The truth is: Nothing beats word-of-mouth marketing. Do you really think I (or you) am going to take the word of a television commercial, radio spot or billboard over a product or service that a friend, family member or co-worker recommends to me? Of course not. Though traditional marketing has seen some success over the years, it doesn’t compare to someone you know recommending something to you. I’m sure you, like me, am far more interested in a product or service if a friend suggests it to you.

So what is the genius behind word-of-mouth marketing and for starters, what is it to begin with? Wikipedia states that “word-of-mouth is a reference to the passing of information from person to person. Originally the term referred specifically to oral communication (literally words from the mouth), but now includes any type of human communication, such as face-to-face, telephone, email, and text messaging.”

Wikipedia goes on to say that “Word-of-mouth marketing, which encompasses a variety of subcategories, including buzz, blog, viral, grassroots, cause influencers and social media marketing, as well as ambassador programs, work with consumer-generated media and more, can be highly valued by product marketers. Because of the personal nature of the communications between individuals, it is believed that product information communicated in this way has an added layer of credibility. Research points to individuals being more inclined to believe WOMM than more formal forms of promotion methods; the receiver of word-of-mouth referrals tends to believe that the communicator is speaking honestly and is unlikely to have an ulterior motive (i.e. they are not receiving an incentive for their referrals).”

How does this relate to what we at GTK Solutions do with social media marketing? Social media marketing is the new word-of-mouth marketing. People “like”, “share”, blog and “buzz” about your product or service and thus as they comment on your company via digital means, they are spreading the word about your business via word-of-mouth – even if it’s sitting behind a computer screen.

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