Grapevine
How did you choose…..?
… You’re Doctor?
… The school your kid studies in or you studied in?
… The course you studied in?
… Driver?
… The house you live in?
… The lands you have bought ?
… The latest gadget you shopped ?
… An advocate to get an expert opinion?
… The travels or the hotel you stay when you travel?
… A Musician for your kid?
… The restaurant you dined recently?
… The Spa/fitness centers?
… The Music you bought?
… Coach for your kids sporting activities?
… You’re Insurance?
… Your investments?
The questions are endless, but all these questions have just one common answer. If you have not guessed it right…? It is because someone told you the best Doctor in the town, to the school, to the course, to the recent investments you have made…We trust words of people. Word of mouth is the fastest growing marketing vehicle. word-of-mouth recommendation from a trusted source which “cuts through the noise” of traditional marketing methods. Word of mouth marketing: Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easier for that conversation to take place.
Word-of-mouth recommendations can move consumers to make a purchase. Word-of-blog, on the other hand, is far less persuasive.
According to Mintel, 34% of US Internet users who bought a product or service based on a recommendation got that tip from a friend or relative, while one-quarter bought based on advice from a spouse or domestic partner.
Lower on the list were bloggers and chat rooms. 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.The most common reason that Internet users recommended a product or service was price, followed by quality and convenience.
“The sheer number of people that purchase based on recommendations proves marketers need to pay attention to word-of-mouth,” said Mr. Haack of Mintel.
Build a good product and consumers will spread the word—probably to people they actually know.
Do you know 85% of the advertisements are not looked at in spite of them being right about everything? But no one looks, they ignore. The total number of ads on TV, Print and radio together everyday exceeded 65,000 last year. An average consumer is bombarded by an estimated 3,000 advertising messages from all forms of media excluding Internet. So how does your brand win? Well, the simple proposition is that a successful brand belongs to the consumer, not the marketer. Go head create a sense of belongingness. Make them to be your brands spokesperson and for sure they will become your brands evangelists if you make your brand work for them.
Word of mouth marketing: Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easier for that conversation to take place.
It is the art and science of building active, mutually beneficial consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-marketer communications. Word of mouth marketing empowers people to share their experiences. It’s harnessing the voice of the customer for the good of the brand. And it’s acknowledging that the unsatisfied customer is equally powerful. India comes fourth among the top ten countries which trust in recommendations from consumers, with Hong Kong topping the list with 93 per cent. Most of the top ten markets that rely most on “recommendations from consumers” are in Asia. They include Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines. According to Neilson, in the case of India, 87 per cent of those who use the Internet trust others’ advice rather than any kind of advertising, proving that word-of- mouth is the most powerful advertising tool, a press release issued by the research agency found. Newspapers come second in the ‘most trusted list’, with 77 per cent saying so. Opinions expressed online and on brands’ Web sites were the third and fourth most trusted at 73 and 72 per cent, ahead of television, which came fifth as only 65 per cent said they were trustworthy.
With the emergence of web 2.0 ,today marketing dynamics have changed, technology has changed the way we live, communicate. Word of mouth is now word of mouse also and if marketers don’t understand the power WOM, just search for mouth shut .com.
In India new platforms like the Internet are beginning to slowly catch up with conventional media in terms of advertising revenues. The trust in opinions posted online shows that Indians are not averse to new forms of advertising, though in a nascent state and popular with only certain sections of the society, these have the potential to become an interesting advertising avenue for the marketers. It is time brands and marketers start working exclusively on WOM strategy.
Let us speak out…! What was the brand you spoke high/low to someone in the recent past? Just kindle your thoughts and share it, i am sure you would have raved/cursed about something…Let the marketers hear your thoughts.
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The veracity of a recommendation from someone who is a ‘brand’ in your life and who would be harmed if you were harmed was, is and always will be the most incontestable brand recommendation there could be.
Thank you alvin ..you always come up with interesting Insights.
Most youngsters now a days are depending upon the blogs, communities in Facebook, Orkut etc to pursue higher education in various institutions at various places, rather than taking a decision by looking at the rosy pictures shown in the institution’s website, where half of the things will be fake.
People are more open in expressing their views and opinions thru such channels which is equalant to word of mouth.
The main reason why we give credence to a rumor is that it seems to match what we think about the situation or person that the rumor is about. We also tend to believe the person sharing the rumor with us.
I presume having taught Organisational behaviour for the past ten year Grapevine is a term associated with communication. In fact informal communication uses two words interchangeably Rumor and Gossip, though used interchangeably rumors are not quite the same as gossip. Both are pieces of information that can’t be verified but rumors tend to affect organisations or groups of people, while gossip refers to more personal matters.
When gossip is being spread through the grapevine, people’s reputations, careers, and lives can get destroyed very rapidly
Yet we use grapevine communication because it creates a social bond where none existed.- people like to talk to one another. Grapevine fills in a gap when official information is missing especially in chaotic or changing times. It helps keep people honest; it dissuade people form engaging on behaviour that they don’t want others to know about.
May be word of mouth as mentioned falls on the above said reasons for which it brings results as the blog predicts but throw caution on how dependable the person to whom you are relating is influencing your decisions. Law of Averages does not work in favor to many of us at most times. Buyer beware!!!!!
The brand thai i told good was about AMWAY business in india. because the method they adopted was amazing. its basically an american company . where 400 scientists were engaged in researching and ensuring the quality of the product.. they deal all variety of products , and market through their distributors at affordable price. they might be some rumours that amway products are high in price. yes but when we looking about the qualitly and the usefulness of the product its quite affordable. amway Was going to make a trend in india in the comming years.
I just inform my friend about the mobile model nokia E66 to encourage him to take this model. but he didnt agreed because i did not tel more abt the features, qualities and price related things.. But after my research i got so many information about the nokia Eseries and inform all the details to my friend.. And i think the way of speaking or the word of mouth will help everyone to take decisions in a good manner..
The best brand which i felt in the recent past and told to my friend is about HINDUSTAN products..They produce their products with good quality and quantity and with affordable price. though there are some products of HINDUSTAN with high cost there are alternatives for that. hopefully it is also a market leader in the FMCG . The producers of FMCG must be aware of customer satisfaction or else they end up in winding the market. HINDUSTAN I THINK SATISFY CUSTOMER , QUALITY , QUANTITY etc… And finally i would like to say is
GOOD QUALITY + SUFFICIENT QUALITY FOR THE PRICE + CONSUMER SATISFACTION = HINDUSTAN
The brand tat i sugestd 2 my frnds was Tata Docomo.A brand tat redefined the very face of telecom in India
My friend was planning to buy a car.He wants a SUV .He was so eager to buy the Mithsibushi pajero but i insist him not to buy that car because it is so old model with less facilities and ugly look.I told him to buy the Toyota fortuner.I told him about the features of that car and he liked it.Then he bought the Toyota fortuner.Now he is so happy to own a Toyota.I think that because of my speaking help him to take the right decision.
My UG friend was planning to buy a mobile phone. he told me he is planning to buy a low cost china phone. I explained to him about the poor performance of china mobile phones. As a
result of my explanation he took nokia 5330.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is a mobile phone powered by the latest technology with features that were unimaginable to have on a phone even a few years back. Key features of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, almost all of which are trademarked include Timescape, Mediascape, Android Market, and aGPS. The Sony-Ericsson Xperia X10 uses HSPA which provides a broadband like speed on 3G networks. A big touchscreen with auto rotate provides the primary input and display area.
one of my friend was planning to buy duplicate adidas sports shoes at lower price. he came for my opions to buy a duplicate product. i explained to him the demerits of using a duplicate product, i explained to him the benefits of using original adidas shoes. finally, on my words he purchased an original adidas sports shoes.
my friend manu asked about buying a car and he give 2 options fiat palio and maruthi swift i recommended to buy swift car as it has good resale value than fiat ,price and features is almost same
My friend Joseph has a suggestion to buy the laptop.he is willing to pay a amount of 45000.I sugests to buy the dell studio 14.its having good features compared to the rest and afordable price
My friend aravind sugest to buy a motorcycle .He is willing to pay around 60000.i sugest to get hero honda unicorn because of having more resale value and more millage
Grapevine communication is often used with the term informal communication. Informal or so as called Grapevine communication occurs when formal communication is not sufficient. In organization some kind of informal or grapevine communication is needed.
I truly believe in what you have said above. Word of Mouth certainly does wonders to a brand. I personally checked out blogs before I bought my laptop and my mobile. As people give their experiences with a product, we generally tend to take their words into consideration than the company’s before we buy it. I believe that their customer would be a better judge of the product as he has already used it. My thought is taking up their views would definitely benefit me.
Many colleagues of mine have said and done the same before buying anything. It has become very common these days.
Amazingly true ! WOM is the most important factor that influence consumer, inspite of the clutter of advertisements and other promotional techniques that v come across everyday. For instance, v defintely would go for the opinion of our peers rather than taking chance by deciding upon the innumerable choices that are around us today . Thus technological advancements will never be a hindrance to the most striking factor to the consumers , ie the WOM..
Afterall , its the consumers who ‘promote’ a brand or ‘kill’ a brand !
After listening to one of my friend’s suggestion i had bought the Sony LCD TV and the Home Theater 2 years back……i was really happy with these products…..though it was costly after comparing to other products in the market but it didn’t matter to me at all….. after that i got Sony PSP….now using these products i blindly trusted SONY ….. Recently i got Sony VAIO Laptop….!!! 🙂 Now i always suggest SONY products to my friends, relatives etc…….its all about WOM!!!!
Customer always like to play on safer side. Eventhough these ad’s influences them, the buying decisions will be based on previous experiences and detailed enquiry . People tend to share their experiences on brands and products through these channels and this prove to be a effective two way communication for enquiring about a brand.
Consumer satisfactionis what every consumer needs.this topic is very interesting and i also share it with my friends.it was very useful topic and i learned much from it……thank u very much sir for such a wonderful topic
The best brand which i like and using is sony. I like sony because of its features which i was looking for
I recommended apple iphone to my friend,coz its the brand with perfection.its does every work with perfection….every aspect of the brand is just perfectectly suited for its consumers……price is little high but its definetely worth its price……fully value for money
sir, the information that i got from the above topic is word of mouth communication. Here i like to discuss about a woodland product that i bought recently. The product is a shoes. Most of my friends and relatives recomended that shoes. It is a trademark of the woodland company. Its soal is very hard and it is a long lasting one. It gives a guarantee of one year also.
sir,i think the topic you discuss in this is about word mouth communication. Here i like to discuss about Dell vastro laptop that i bought recently. I search in market about its features. Its cost around 28,000. But i think it is worth for that amount. Most of my friends also recomended it. They told me it provides very good service and all most essential features also.
sir,i think the topic you discuss in it is about word mouth communication.
I took airtel broadband connection as the Word of Mouth about it was impressive.Trust me there is no exaggeration when I state that ,they just dont conveniently forget you and provide an excellent customer service.They are at your beck and call.
Personally I vouched for airtel to my friends and they opted for it
Recently I was discussing about Samsung corby with my friends.It has some good features and very sensitive in touch
I recently took airtel Broadband connection as the word of mouth about it was impressive.Trust me there is no exaggeration,unlike manyother firms they just dont conveniently forget you and provide excellent customer service.They are at your beck and call.
I personally have vouched for airtel broadband services to my pals who are enjoying the services at the moment.
I took airtel Broadband connection as the word of mouth about it was impressive.Trust me there is no exaggeration,unlike manyother firms they just dont conveniently forget you and provide excellent customer service.They are at your beck and call.
I personally have vouched for airtel broadband services to my pals who are enjoying the services at the moment.
I suggested casio digital calculator to a friend.i suggested its features and + points and negative points.and to my surprise my friend took that
Sir, I recently purchased Airtel wireless internet service where the sales person guided me in buying this service. He was honest about the speed and accessibility. Although he mentioned few drawbacks along with a positive marketing technic, I was able to make my decision in buying it inspite of knowing about the slow access during the busy hours.
Спасибо! Супер статья! Блог в ридер однозначно
i have plan to buy a laptop but i am in trouble which brand want to select. I discussed with my friends about this. everyone has suggest various brands like sony,lenovo,dell etc. finally i decided to buy dell. beause it has its own features like good brand,affordable price.
one of my friend to know about the investment proposal .she ask my opinion. we discuss about different proposals like investment in icici,bajaj aliance,lic. finally i suggest lic because one of the reliable insurance company , owned &controlled by govt.
Hi friends, I have been using BSNL broadband for past 5 years and BSNL internet for more than 2 years now. Here is my sincere and honest review about BSNL’s broadband service .Very Good connectivity and at max 1 or 2 failures. currently i am using the plan Home unlimited 1350 ( 512Kbps ). It is one of the best and the highest speed unlimited plan offered by BSNL yet .Great for heavy Internet users and for downloading HD stuff and watching youtube videos. No other telecom services provide such facilities in lower rates.
I maself own a TVS Apache RTR n i feel more comfortable drivin it n its sporty design makes d drive much easier n traffics.. 1 of ma frnd was vry much eager n buyin BAJAJ pulsar but i suggested RTR n he got interested n realised d diff b/w 2 blkes n now njoyin drivin RTR.. its oly bcoz word of mouth n its oly d consumers mouth tat rules d brand…………..
Sir i always my frds to prefer to buy reebok produCts anduse i
When we prefer laptop we can choose dell because when comparing to others service is good and it wont get heat if we are using for long time.Even in cheaper costs we can get dell.
Even i had good talks on various topics, and recent details i gave to my friend is about my new laptop- DELL. I explained him about the important features and advised him to buy Dell by comparing other companies. He is about to buy the same model… and of course it works well…..
My brother have planned to get me a laptop (Hp or dell) from abroad…. if i get any problem in hardware or software can i get it serviced here..?or can i buy it from here….
Sir, recently i shared my opinion about Samsung touch screen mobile to my friend. I explained about important features. I also told about the award “Best Manufacturer” to Samsung twice by the Mobile News Awards, an award that was previously given to Nokia and Ericsson…. It also has Wi- fi connection and it is very useful… and now she has planned to buy it…
I have a great trust towards WORD OF MOUTH. This concept passes through each and every person’s life. This word of mouth may happen through friends,relatives etc… Recently i had bought a laptop and a mobile. It took really a week to analyze the company of lap to be bought, features of the product etc… Finally, i bought a laptop of dell company. Thus, word of mouth helps to make the best decision. And, now i suggest dell company to my friends circle…….
Sir as u said word of mouth communication has changed to word of mouse communication as all youngsters now rely on blogs for almost everything..i would just suggest Nokia touch screen 5230 than the other models on market which has gud features like GPRS,3G its also has extendable memory of about 8 GB…the display screen is bit wider and the cost of the model is very reasonable too…….
True that 2day WOM has a lot of impact on what 2 purchase,but on the other side, a single person’s bad experiance may create a huge impact on a particular product’s market…….
Hai friends,here i like to discuss about the DELL INSPIRON 15R laptop which my friend purchased it last month.it costs around 39,000 and it has 15.6″ widescreen high definition display,4gb ram and 1gb graphic card.The design is just greatb and the performance is really fast.The motion webcam is really interesting and the sound is also amazing.Overall i think its a great laptop with exciting features so if ought to buy one i would definitely recommend it to you.
Sir as u said WOM has its power always…but in this technologically fast world “WORLD OF MOUSE” takes away all prides….
When talking abt BRAND,even educational institutions has its power…we very well can understood if we remember our MBA admissions….In all social communities,lots nd lots of forum blog etc….all discussed abt brand colleges for MBA….
As far as i concerned,BRAND is the word which makes a lot of MAGIC in the lifes of people….
Sir i prefer to tell about how much hospitals acquire brand name…..even WOM make wonders in this area…as far as CBE is concerned,there are many hospitals,each specialised in respective fields….some of htem are PSG,GKNM,Ramakrishna,Eye Foundation and so on…
hi friends i like to share my views on the apple ipod mini which my brother purchased a couple of months ago .The cost of the ipod is 20,500. The features in it is that it can hold upto 1000cd quality songs, ultra portable & user friendly.The mini weighs just 3.6 ounces & has 4gb storage capacity.It can be charged with either firewire or usb 2.0 cable. It has several attractive colours & the sound is really amazing .finally i think it is one of the best ipods recently sold in the market.