The Push + Pull of Word of Mouth (WOM) Marketing

Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing is a channel unlike no other. It’s direct, authentic, and adaptable. 

• 83% of Americans say that word-of-mouth recommendations from friends or family members make them more likely to purchase that product or service. (Talk Triggers - Chatter Matters)

• In the independent school space, 89% of prospective families learn about an institution from another family. (NAIS)

• WOM is the most popular recruitment method for camps. (FJC)

• Inviting donors to share word of their gift with their networks boosted giving by 16.6%. (Northwestern University)

WOM positively impacts an organization in many ways–both tangible and intangible:

Trust and credibility - When stacked up against traditional marketing and advertising, there is an unmatched endorsement

Cost-effective - While you are relying on the satisfaction of your clients/customers, WOM might only cost you some swag and some extra minutes of your time. 

Increased conversions - We already know that WOM recommendations are a likely impetus for a consumer to purchase a product or service. This also lends itself to cost-effectiveness. The conversion rate per customer costs less than with traditional and other forms of advertising.

Additional reach - WOM reaches potential clients/customers that may be unreachable with traditional marketing and advertising tactics. Your happy clients might have large networks, and might even be micro influencers, with immeasurable reach. 

Long-term implications - Happy clients and customers are likely to come back over and over again. It’s easier and cheaper to retain an existing client than find a new one. These satisfied individuals will continue to spread the word to their networks, post reviews, and more. 

This is not to say, however, that WOM marketing can stand on its own. The average consumer needs to see a product or service seven times before a message resonates. (UK IPA) It’s highly likely that you aren’t going to ask your ambassadors to endorse your product or service seven times in a short window. Enter digital, print, and outdoor marketing. 

While it can be difficult to measure the impact of your organic social media, website analytics, traditional advertising, signage, and more beyond views and engagements, these channels are necessary to amplify the WOM message. Digital marketing yields memorable engagement opportunities that aren’t possible with human-to-human interaction. Should a crisis occur (hopefully not), your digital channels are critical for information sharing. They also allow for controlled efforts to building and maintaining brand awareness and equity. 

In a noisy world, where messages need to be seen and heard multiple times, but the personal touch is of utmost importance, the confluence of word of mouth and digital/traditional marketing are complements and truly provide a well-rounded and effective experience for the customer.