Analysts measure the impact of word-of-mouth marketing
Published April 19, 2010
Word-of-mouth buzz is one of the most important factors in consumer decision-making and it will only become more critical as time passes, according to new research from the McKinsey Quarterly.
The McKinsey report says that "the sheer volume of information available today has dramatically altered the balance of power between companies and consumers. As consumers have become overloaded, they have become increasingly skeptical about traditional company-driven advertising and marketing and increasingly prefer to make purchasing decisions largely independent of what companies tell them about products."
Sophisticated marketers, with a strong understanding of their target market and positive identification of the demographics that will function as influencers, can use that knowledge to perform data-driven marketing campaigns with great success, according to the report. Businesses with natural access to customer data, such as social networks and mobile phone companies, are particularly likely to see results from this type of buzz campaign.
As the old saying goes, knowledge is power, and the McKinsey report again displays the truth of that axiom as it applies to marketing.