Word of Mouth Marketing in Services: A Custom Research Paper
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Customers tend to assign more importance to the communication flowing from their peers rather than from advertising or other promotions. They are more open to the advice of people they knowthe people who actively seek information about new servicesin order to reduce their post-purchase dissonance in case of service purchase. In this context, word of mouth promotion figures as a crucial element for marketing of services and provides marketers with a tool that assures continuous flow of revenue and growth by way of influencing customers spreading the word, to rope in other customers through the creation of buzz about service companies and their offering. This paper gives a broad overview of word of mouth marketing and how it is useful for companies. It also discusses creation of buzz and how word of mouth has helped service companies.
The advice of peers has more influence on consumer behavior than advertising, PR, or any kind of promotions. Consumers usually believe that information traveling through the word of mouth is thought to be more credible than any other source. Word of Mouth (WoM) promotion is also highly valued by marketers because consumers are more inclined to believe word of mouth promotion than formal promotion like advertising. Consumers assign more credibility to such form of communication because they think that it is devoid of any commercial motive associated with advertising and other forms of formal communication. They feel that word of mouth is not a sales message thrust on them, rather it is useful information flowing from the people they know. Therefore, word of mouth has become a popular marketing tool to create buzz about a product or service. Word of mouth is especially useful for services because of the general post-purchase dissonance associated with services which arises out of their intangible and inseparable nature. Because services cannot be touched or felt like products and unlike with products, the purchase and consumption happens simultaneously, consumers rely on word of mouth to mitigate the risk associated with the purchase of the service. This paper would explore word of mouth as a concept and its effect on marketers and consumers. Throughout the paper, word of mouth is used in the context of service even though the same can be applicable to products.
Consumer Perception and WoM
Customers evaluate service products through various means, and advertisements are only a part of that. For example, most people judge the quality and service of a food outlet by the number of people in it, by recommendations, the appearance of the outlet, the location, the employeestheir appearance and behavior, and several other factors which may not be explicitly stated. Then again, the evaluation criteria depend on the need of the customer. If the customer wants good food, he tends to look for cues like crowds (because it signifies that many other people have accepted the food and quality of the restaurant), but if he wants a nice place to sit and enjoy, he may evaluate the restaurant based on the location, the ambience, colors, lighting and seating. All these criteria are the customers' ways of rendering tangibility to the service.
Effect of WoM
Word of mouth has an effect on the attitudes, intentions and behavior of consumers. It is particularly involved in the service switching, be it telecom services, restaurants or any others. These days, WoM plays a dominant role in the online environment, where it is hugely popular as a marketing tool that is used as a means of viral marketing.
Conclusion
Research has shown that there is a strong correlation between a company's growth rate and the percentage of its customers who promote the company's offering. Promoters are the people who are most likely to recommend a service to others9. Reichheld (2003) suggested that a customer's propensity to recommend or tell others about a product or service is the most important measurement of a company's growth.
Carol Gonzalez has been writing for custom essay writing services for many years. His specialization includes management essays, philosophy essays and admission essays.
Customers tend to assign more importance to the communication flowing from their peers rather than from advertising or other promotions. They are more open to the advice of people they knowthe people who actively seek information about new servicesin order to reduce their post-purchase dissonance in case of service purchase. In this context, word of mouth promotion figures as a crucial element for marketing of services and provides marketers with a tool that assures continuous flow of revenue and growth by way of influencing customers spreading the word, to rope in other customers through the creation of buzz about service companies and their offering. This paper gives a broad overview of word of mouth marketing and how it is useful for companies. It also discusses creation of buzz and how word of mouth has helped service companies.
The advice of peers has more influence on consumer behavior than advertising, PR, or any kind of promotions. Consumers usually believe that information traveling through the word of mouth is thought to be more credible than any other source. Word of Mouth (WoM) promotion is also highly valued by marketers because consumers are more inclined to believe word of mouth promotion than formal promotion like advertising. Consumers assign more credibility to such form of communication because they think that it is devoid of any commercial motive associated with advertising and other forms of formal communication. They feel that word of mouth is not a sales message thrust on them, rather it is useful information flowing from the people they know. Therefore, word of mouth has become a popular marketing tool to create buzz about a product or service. Word of mouth is especially useful for services because of the general post-purchase dissonance associated with services which arises out of their intangible and inseparable nature. Because services cannot be touched or felt like products and unlike with products, the purchase and consumption happens simultaneously, consumers rely on word of mouth to mitigate the risk associated with the purchase of the service. This paper would explore word of mouth as a concept and its effect on marketers and consumers. Throughout the paper, word of mouth is used in the context of service even though the same can be applicable to products.
Consumer Perception and WoM
Customers evaluate service products through various means, and advertisements are only a part of that. For example, most people judge the quality and service of a food outlet by the number of people in it, by recommendations, the appearance of the outlet, the location, the employeestheir appearance and behavior, and several other factors which may not be explicitly stated. Then again, the evaluation criteria depend on the need of the customer. If the customer wants good food, he tends to look for cues like crowds (because it signifies that many other people have accepted the food and quality of the restaurant), but if he wants a nice place to sit and enjoy, he may evaluate the restaurant based on the location, the ambience, colors, lighting and seating. All these criteria are the customers' ways of rendering tangibility to the service.
Effect of WoM
Word of mouth has an effect on the attitudes, intentions and behavior of consumers. It is particularly involved in the service switching, be it telecom services, restaurants or any others. These days, WoM plays a dominant role in the online environment, where it is hugely popular as a marketing tool that is used as a means of viral marketing.
Conclusion
Research has shown that there is a strong correlation between a company's growth rate and the percentage of its customers who promote the company's offering. Promoters are the people who are most likely to recommend a service to others9. Reichheld (2003) suggested that a customer's propensity to recommend or tell others about a product or service is the most important measurement of a company's growth.
Carol Gonzalez has been writing for custom essay writing services for many years. His specialization includes management essays, philosophy essays and admission essays.
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