Word-of-Mouth Marketing Drops for Products

Despite an explosion in consumer conversation technology, Americans have cut back substantially since 2008 on the opinions they share by word-of-mouth (WOM) about companies and their offerings.
 

Of 3,295 U.S. consumers surveyed by COLLOQUY, 58 percent said they often have conversations with family, friends and coworkers about products and services they’ve used. That’s down from 73 percent when the same question was posed to U.S. consumers in 2008, a 20 percent drop.
 

Additionally, 57 percent of respondents in the latest survey said they often recommend products and services to others, compared to 75 percent in 2008, a 24 percent decline.
 

The reduction in WOM activity can’t be attributed to a shortage of ways for WOM views to spread. There are face-to-face conversations, landlines, cell phones, e-mail, instant messaging, texting, blogs, micro-blogs like Twitter, review sites like Trip Advisor, and of course, Facebook.
 

Instead it seems the tough economy over the last two years may be the culprit responsible for the dampened willingness to engage in brand WOM. For example, of respondents who reported their households are doing better economically this year than last, 71 percent said they often have conversations with others about the products and services they use. That’s very similar to what COLLOQUY found two years ago, before the recession became “the meltdown.” Yet, among those who now see themselves as worse off, just 56 percent reported having brand conversations and 55 percent said they make product recommendations.
 

Looking to the future, 74 percent of respondents who see their own financial outlook brightening said they have conversations about products and services, versus 55 percent for those who see their financial outlook worsening. And 67 percent of those who see a brighter future said they make recommendations, compared to 55 percent for those who see their finances tightening. These findings suggest that worries about current employment and future prospects have crowded out discussions about brands among a significant portion of the consumer population.
 

COLLOQUY’s WOM survey, featuring completed responses from 3,295 U.S. consumers nationwide, was conducted in December 2010. It’s available free of charge at www.colloquy.com/whitepapers.