Close

Has word-of-mouth been overlooked in modern marketing strategies?

Word of mouth marketing is a form of marketing strategy running from the start of the advertising industry. It has been the main reason for the success of many brands. It has undoubtedly been the most used marketing strategy which has been existing even before the invention of the internet.

So, what is word-of-mouth marketing?

Word of mouth marketing is something done during social interactions where one exchanges information regarding a product or service to another through different mediums. Basically, it means you share your review of a product to your friends and family, and they tend to buy that product by just relying on your reviews and then they share their reviews with another and this keeps going on and on. Imagine it as a snowball marketing. Whenever we, marketers, think of getting reach, our main motive is to make as many people aware of our product as possible and turn potential customers into our loyal ones, word of mouth does that for us. It has grown with new strategies entering into the market. It has taken a digital form in this modern marketing world.

Earlier, it was done through direct verbal contact but now it has taken a digital turn. Nowadays, word-of-mouth marketing includes online reviews of a product on websites and other social media platforms. One buys a product after seeing the reviews or recommendations from friends.

 Word-of-mouth marketing on digital platforms.

You must be thinking about how word of mouth is truly possible on social media. But in fact, it is actually seen at a very large level in the digital space. When a brand posts about their products on their social media platform, it is likely that one of their audience will like it and share it on their own profile which in turn makes that post visible to that person’s audience. This is how word of mouth is seen largely on social media platforms. We share our experiences regarding the product and information for the same to our friends and family through different social media platforms.

Every brand encourages its customers to share it with their friends or ask them to recommend it to their friends, this all comes under the word of mouth marketing.

Research has shown that around 62% of customers read reviews before buying a product and 90% still believe in the recommendations from friends and family. Even after such digital transformation and modern marketing strategy, word of mouth has still been on top of all marketing forms.

Word-of-mouth marketing as a part of video marketing.

Apart from all these strategies, It has also been seen as a part of video marketing. People have started posting videos regarding the product they use, their reviews and information regarding the products. This includes influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is at its peak and they post videos regarding different topics on regular intervals. From putting their point of view in front of people to encouraging them, influencers tend to inspire audiences. Influencer marketing has become an important form of word-of-mouth marketing.

Do you think it has lost its essence in these digital marketing strategies?

Word of mouth can never get out of date as it depends on human nature and we never buy anything without knowing its review irrespective of how we are buying it, online or offline from a store, we do ask and talk to people about it.

Most of the people still trust what they hear about the product more than any other marketing and advertising form. Through word-of-mouth marketing, trust is built among the customers.

Marketing methods never die, they evolve according to the new changes. Word-of-mouth marketing is a traditional form of marketing but it has evolved according to digital changes and placed its feet in every platform. It is not only trusted by marketers but also by customers. It is still the most chosen and effective marketing strategy accepted by marketers and will always be.