How Do consumers behave?
View(s):- “Word-of-Mouth” to “Word-of-Mouse” and then to “Word-of-Mobile”
Figure: Main stages of Consumer Behaviour
What is Word-of-Mouth and Word-of-Mouse – WOM?
Word of Mouth occurs when consumers talk of what they purchase, or how they consumer with their friends and family. Word-of-mouth marketing is important as it is an effective way to increase sales, promote products and services, increase brand recognition, and build customer loyalty. Many companies employ strategies that prompt customers to recommend their services and/or products and share positive experiences. Word of mouth has evolved significantly over the years, primarily due to the advent of technology and the rise of social media platforms. Traditional forms of word of mouth involved one-on-one conversations and relied heavily on personal relationships and trust. Today, it encompasses online reviews, consumer feedback on websites and forums, and recommendations shared through various digital platforms.
Why WOM is so powerful? – It all boils down to trust. We inherently trust people who are like us and who are not trying to sell us anything. We understand the motives of businesses and of our friends. It doesn’t take much to trust our friends’ personal stories and experiences.
How/ why does WOM happen/ occur? – People like to show they have experienced things or they are knowledgeable or they have the expertise and they at times want to relate to someone’s story. If you ever start a conversation with a bunch of people try this – take up a story where you have been adventurous – there will be similar or better stories from others where they have been adventurous… try sharing your worst experience or the best experience at a hotel, airline, hospital, campus, cinema, restaurant, etc… there will be someone who would come up with a better story than yours. This is exactly how it used to work. In these stories, certain brands would come up in a good way or bad way depending on the plot and the source (Speaker).
What’s WOM in Today’s context? – it’s no more Word-of-Mouth… it’s Word-of-Mouse/Mobile. With the smart phone in their hands, people are now the creators of stories to share on their social media… where they go eat, where they travel, where they fly, where they experience something next level… it all comes to social media online. Hence, WORD OF MOUSE works faster than WORD OF MOUTH and it’s evident when we know, 90% of the data on internet is created within the last 10 years thank to the ability to share pictures, and videos. Therefore, brands need to pay close attention to word of mouse in today’s context.
Let’s take a look at the consumer behavior and its stages again. In the first two stages, word of mouth/mouse works lesser compared to the last two stages. Once in a while we see people sharing the moment of buying the latest luxury car on social media at the point of purchasing or it would also be uploaded by the seller to create electronic word of mouth or Word of Mouse. This includes not only sharing of content, but also liking, re-sharing, and commenting on those posts.
Stage 01 of Consumer Behavior – Pre – Purchase/ Pre-buying
At this point the consumer is searching for more information about the choices set she can purchase for the budget in her hand. Unless it’s a repeat purchase, the buyer is always looking for more information and more options. Based on the category of the product/ brand she purchases, the involvement of the purchaser could be higher or lower or medium. You must have seen people posting questions or asking for help in deciding on brands or seeking for solutions when they want to make a purchase decision on social media.
Stage 02 of Consumer Behavior – Buying
By now the consumer knows exactly what they are going to buy and they purchase what they need again based on the budgets. Easy payment schemes, interest-free loans, loyalty discount schemes etc can have an impact at this stage. As mentioned earlier when it comes to pure goods there are points where people tend to post them on social media. But mostly it occurs with services. When it comes to services, both the purchase and the consumption occur at the same time.
Stage 3 of Consumer Behavior – Consumption
Regardless who buys or purchases there will be many who would use or consumer what’s been purchased. In today’s context where the consumption and purchase both occurs at the same time, mostly in the services sector, it’s evident that consumers post when they eat at a restaurant, fly in an airbus, spends time with family on holidays, etc. All these are adding to the literature of the brand which pops up when someone searches for alternatives at the point of purchasing similar services. It also creates a lasting impact in the minds of those who are longing to experience them. In a more technical sense, the WOM works during consumption gets connected to location pins of Google maps too and it has taken the simple act of posting pictures to a different level where, Google now encourages to review the places people visit as a part of their arrangement of knowledge on internet. Therefore, it’s evident that this simple act of posting pictures has gone a long way and it’s all becoming a part of promoting businesses and brands however, we can no longer call it Word-of-Mouth as it’s Word-of-Mouse or Word-of-Mobile.
Stage 4 of Consumer Behavior -Post- consumption
Most posts are created on social media on consumption and at times it is created on post-consumption too. It’s obvious that if the experience is a negative one or where there are service failures, the consumers tend to remember them more than positive experiences. A service failure with a greater service recovery can generate more powerful WOM than an average service. If there is a service failure, the brand needs to take steps in recovering it as soon as possible as it will generate free publicity for the brand when the WOM hits social media on the service recovery which has a bigger positive impact that any paid form of advertising on social media or traditional media.
Conclusion – Word of mouth has always been influential in shaping consumer behavior, but its impact has significantly amplified in the modern era. It has become a powerful tool for businesses to establish credibility, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. Furthermore, individuals now have the ability to voice their opinions on a larger scale, empowering consumers and holding businesses accountable. As we continue to evolve technologically, it is crucial to recognize the impact and value of word of mouth in our interconnected society.
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