Monitoring word of mouth
Having the data is one thing, acting on it is another
Word of mouth is an indicator of how well you are delivering on your promises
A positive, consistent customer experience has always been a key factor in driving loyalty which, in turn, becomes advocacy. However, where once that advocacy was analog and communicated directly to friends or family, today customer recommendations are digital and shared across the major social networks and review sites and may even become viral.
What’s more, the act of social sharing is on the verge of becoming mainstream customer behavior. In fact, 44% of consumers say that they will always post a review when they believe a brand has given them great service.4
As such, socially shared word of mouth, when properly harnessed, provides a source of authentic, experience-based marketing and promotion. This serves as independent validation that a brand is delivering on its promise.
4 Foundever, “Driving customer loyalty: Perception, effort and action.” foundever.com.
Proceed with caution
However, word of mouth can also have the equal and opposite effect on a brand. Over half (58%) of consumers who have decided to cut ties with a brand because of a substandard customer experience relate those frustrations on review sites and across social networks.5 Likewise, whether or not an instance of poor customer experience leads to attrition, one in three customers will always share a post detailing why an interaction failed to live up to expectations.6
Clearly this can negatively impact word of mouth; yet, because consumers are more likely to share a positive experience, organizations have an opportunity to nurture this advocacy in order to mitigate against negative reviews.
As already mentioned, 44% of consumers will always post a review or comment when they receive good service. What’s more, with the right incentive, a larger percentage of customers will follow suit. For example, 27% of consumers are happy to post a review if asked to do so, and 28% say they share their experiences if doing so is part of an incentive program.7
of consumers agree that online reviews have an influence over their purchasing decisions
5, 6, 7 Foundever, “Driving customer loyalty: Perception, effort and action.” foundever.com.