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Fundamentals Of Communication In Marketing
wORD-OF-MOUTH COMMUNICATION
Word-of-mouth communication is the process by which messages are passed within a group from
member to member. A group is taken to be a network of linked dyads or pairs of senders and receivers
linked to each other by one of the members of each dyad, the essential elements of word-of-mouth
communication are identified.
Word-of-mouth is, most times, a critical factor in determining who buys what product or brand. The
success of many products quite often depends on what people hear about them from other group
members. If a member of a group is satisfied with a product, he may proceed to sell it to other members.
Information about products that spreads through word-of-mouth are usually believable, comparable and
often regarded as unbiased.
Word-of-mouth communication can help or hinder the acceptance of a product, the message travels
quickly and it is reinforced by group opinion. Word-of-mouth is developed on a product, whether or
not the promotion manager makes an effort to control such communication and it could be positive
or negative.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF wORD-OF-MOUTH
COMMUNICATION
Word-of-mouth communication is more effective when certain factors are present:
1) TYPE OF PRODUCT: Where the product is expensive or brought infrequently, the buyer
feels he needs more information that can be supplied by the mass media; he solicits the
opinion of opinion leaders and previous purchasers of the product.
2) NEwS VALUE OF THE PRODUCT: Products with newsworthy features lend themselves
more readily to word-of-mouth communication than those without such features.
3) SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRODUCT: Some products are highly visible and tend
to enhance the prestige of the user.
4) PERCEIVED RISK IN BUYING THE PRODUCT: If a product is regarded as a high risk
in regard to its expected performance, a person is apt to seek the opinions of others in
deciding whether or not to buy it.
5) DECISION STAGE OF THE BUYER: As a person moves from awareness of the product
toward a decision about whether or not to adopt it, word-of-mouth communication becomes
of increasing importance, especially in the evaluation stage of the adoption process; because
negative information that is not available from commercial sources can be obtained at
this stage.