Word of Mouth Advertising with a BIGGER Mouth

Nearly 22 years ago, I joined a company that helped me set the foundation for the marketing and advertising world that I am entrenched in. It was either the General Manager of WMUZ, Frank Franciosi, or the President of Crawford Broadcast, Don Crawford that inspired the phrase, "word of mouth advertising with a bigger mouth." A few years ago when I returned to this business, I had that slogan on my business cards.

Word of Mouth: That is the most believable form of advertising and marketing that is out there. It can be either positive or negative. And bad news travels faster than a brush fire in California, while good news can be as slow as F.E.M.A. responding to a hurricane. I use those two examples because we have seen the impact.

...with a BIGGER Mouth: This is what attracted me to the radio advertising business, after spending 10 years in the on-air and programming side. If done correctly, the radio advertisements and the campaigns behind them can be nearly as effective as traditional Word of Mouth, except....

Traditional Word of Mouth is one on one. When you use a medium like radio, it is one on 100, or one on 1000, or one on 5000, or more. If the radio commercial reaches someones emotions, their heart, then it can be extremely powerful.

Think about the power that Don Imus had when he uttered the phrase that cost him his job earlier this year. That was an abuse of power, like yelling fire in a theater, or the rant that Michael Richards, (Kramer of Seinfield), did on stage.

The power of the media is changing. We have many more options and choices. Word of mouth is spreading too over the internet. The following survey appeared in my email today:

Monday, December 10, 2007

Online Consumer Reviews Impact Offline Purchasers

A new study conducted by comScore with The Kelsey Group, shows that nearly one out of every four Internet users reported using online reviews prior to paying for a service delivered offline by restaurants, hotels, travel, legal, medical, automotive and home services, Of those who consulted an online review, 41 percent of restaurant reviewers subsequently visited a restaurant, while 40 percent of hotel reviewers subsequently stayed at a hotel.

Based on the survey of more than 2,000 U.S. Internet users in October 2007, consumers were willing to pay at least 20 percent more for services receiving an "Excellent," or 5-star, rating than for the same service receiving a "Good," or 4-star, rating.

Purchase Behavior After Online Review Consultation October 12-18, 2007
Service	Percent Making a Purchase
Restaurant	41%
Hotels	40%
Travel	27%
Automotive	24%
Home	19%
Medical	14%
Legal	8%
Source: comScore, Inc./The Kelsey Group, November 2007

More than three-quarters of review users in nearly every category reported that the review had a significant influence on their purchase, with hotels ranking the highest at 87 percent. Review users noted that reviews generated by fellow consumers had a greater influence than those generated by professionals.

Online Review Influence on Purchase Decision October 12-18, 2007
Service	% of Users Saying Review Had Significant Influence
Restaurant	79%
Hotels	87%
Travel	84%
Automotive	78%
Home	73%
Medical	76%
Legal	79%
Source: comScore, Inc./The Kelsey Group, , November 2007

Consumers were willing to pay between 20 percent and 99 percent more for an Excellent rating than for a Good rating depending on the product category.

Amount Consumers Willing to Spend for 5-Star Service October 12-18, 2007
Service (Suggested Average Price)	Excellent (5 Stars)	Good (4 Stars)	Lift
Restaurant Meal ($20)	$37.95	$25.44	49%
Restaurant Meal ($50)	$59.93	$41.40	45%
Hotel ($100)	$137.36	$99.73	38%
Home ($250)	$252.15	$209.50	20%
Travel ($350)	$366.72	$299.81	22%
Legal ($60)	$104.36	$52.51	99%
Medical ($15)	$29.67	$23.54	26%
Source: comScore, Inc./The Kelsey Group, , November 2007

Brian Jurutka, senior director, comScore Marketing Solutions, said "This study underscores the importance of providing not just good, but excellent service if a business hopes to generate... consumer reviews... (that) result in greater sales."

For more information, please visit comScore here.

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