As word of mouth marketing continues to gain momentum, the focus of marketers has largely been on consumer brands and the fact that traditional marketing is losing its effectiveness in attracting or retaining customers. To date, most of the focus has been on consumer WOM. What has not received as much attention, but is no less market-shifting, is the impact word of mouth has in the business-to-business world.
Paul Rand of Zócalo Group spoke at the recent International Technology Services Marketing Association conference, where there was a lot of interest and discussion around the importance that peer recommendations play in driving business purchasing decisions. Since business runs on facts and figures, here are a few that underscore the importance of word of mouth in b2b according to research conducted by Keller Fay:
While it is true business marketing is in many ways different than consumer marketing, it can be argued that word of mouth plays an even bigger role in business and influences a disproportionate ratio of purchasing decisions for very obvious reasons--it is a direct reflection on job performance.
Think about it, if I make an expensive mistake, my credibility is compromised. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. So the next time I am going to make a purchase, I am to listen to what people are saying and be sure there are others like me who are happy.
Paul Rand of Zócalo Group spoke at the recent International Technology Services Marketing Association conference, where there was a lot of interest and discussion around the importance that peer recommendations play in driving business purchasing decisions. Since business runs on facts and figures, here are a few that underscore the importance of word of mouth in b2b according to research conducted by Keller Fay:
- Word of mouth is the #1 purchase influencer for business decision-makers (53%), followed by sales (39%), then meetings/events/ conferences (38%), and the Internet (37%).
- Face-to-face interaction is the #1 way for decision-makers to have word of mouth conversations (75%), followed by the phone (19%), E-mail (3%), IM or text message (1%) and online chat rooms and blogs (< 1%).
- First-hand experience of a brand is the #1 basis for brand conversations (86%).
While it is true business marketing is in many ways different than consumer marketing, it can be argued that word of mouth plays an even bigger role in business and influences a disproportionate ratio of purchasing decisions for very obvious reasons--it is a direct reflection on job performance.
Think about it, if I make an expensive mistake, my credibility is compromised. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. So the next time I am going to make a purchase, I am to listen to what people are saying and be sure there are others like me who are happy.
