Over 40 Word of Mouth Marketing Statistics

We compiled over 40 word of mouth marketing statistics you can use as a jumping off point for your analysis of how to use WOMM in your own marketing efforts.

We discovered people talk about shopping a lot. For all age groups, shopping ranks as a Top 10 conversation topic. In fact, more than half of our daily conversations involve shopping. It’s no wonder that scrutiny of word-of-mouth marketing (WOM or WOMM), what it is, how it works, what’s its impact, is climbing.

Check out this list of word of mouth marketing stats we compiled for you:

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People Share, Seek Out and Trust On and Offline Word of Mouth.

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• 84% of consumers say they either completely or somewhat trust recommendations from family and friends about products – making these recommendations the information source ranked highest for trustworthiness. [Nielson]
• 74% of consumers identify WOM as a key influencer in their purchasing decision. [Ogilvy/Google/TNS]
• 68% trust online opinions from other consumers, which is up 7% from 2007 and places online opinions as the third most trusted source of product information. [Nielson]
• 88% of people have their reasons for trusting online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts. [BrightLocal]
  • 32% do so if there are multiple customer reviews.
  • 30% give them equal trust when they believe the online review is authentic.
  • 26% say it depends on the type of business.
• 72% say reading a positive customer reviews increase their trust in the business; it takes reading between 2-6 reviews to get 56% of them to this point. [BrightLocal]
• On social media, 58% of consumers actively share their positive experiences with a company, and ask family and friends for their opinions on brands. [SDL]

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What’s the Value of Word of Mouth Marketing?

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• WOM has been shown to improve marketing effectiveness by up to 54%. [MarketShare]
• When specific case studies were analyzed, researchers found a 10% increase of WOM (off and online) translated into a sales lifts between 0.2 – 1.5%. [MarketShare/ Keller Fay Group]
• 84% of consumers reported always or sometimes taking action based on personal recommendations. 70% said they did the same of online consumer opinions. [Nielson]
• The average value of a Facebook fan is certain consumer categories is $174. [Syncapse]
• 43% of social media users report buying a product after sharing or favoriting it on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Over half of purchases inspired by social media sharing occur within 1 week of sharing or favoriting, and 80% of purchases resulting from social media shares occur within 3 weeks of sharing. [VisionCritical]
• Millennials ranked WOM as the #1 influencer in their purchasing decisions about clothes, packaged goods, big-ticket items (like travel and electronics), and financial products. Baby Boomers also ranked WOM first as the marketing influencer in their purchasing decisions about big-ticket items and financial products, and ranked it as the third highest influencer on their decisions to buy packaged goods. [Radius Global]

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Why and What are People Sharing.

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• 79% of people say their primary reason for “liking” a company’s Facebook page is to get discounts. 81% of them also said they’re influenced by what their friends share on social media. [Market Force]
• 77% of brand conversations on social media are people looking for advice, information, or help. 18% were positive reviews of the brand. [Mention]
• Brands that inspire a higher emotional intensity receive 3x as much WOM as less emotionally-connected brands. [Keller Fay Group] The same academic study that found these results, also found that highly differentiated brands have greater levels of WOM as these brands allow consumers to share own sense of uniqueness. [Journal of Marketing Research]
• Despite initial assumptions that Gen C only describes millennials, 39% of the world’s Gen C’ers are over 35 years old. 75% of Gen C’ers curate and share online content every week. [Google]
• 66% of respondents under the age of 34 are more likely to give a referral after receiving social recognition. [Software Advice]
• More than 50% of respondents are more likely to give a referral if offered a direct incentive, social recognition or access to an exclusive loyalty program. [Software Advice]
• 39% of respondents say monetary or material incentives such as discounts, free swag or gift cards greatly increase their chances of referring a brand. [Software Advice]

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Not Just for Consumer or Local, Word of Mouth Matters for B2B Too.

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• 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by WOM when making their decision to buy. [USM]
• 61% of IT buyers report that colleague recommendations are the most important factor when making a buying decision. [B to B Magazine]
• 56% of B2B purchasers look to offline WOM as a source of information and advice, and this number jumps to 88% when online WOM sources are included. [BaseOne]

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How are Marketers Responding?

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The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) released the “State of Word of Mouth Marketing” survey in January 2014 gives insight into what marketers think of WOMM.

• 64% of their survey respondents mostly or completely agree that WOMM is more effective than traditional marketing.
• Half indicated that they’ve incorporated WOMM into their traditional marketing campaigns.
• 70% of respondents are planning to increase their online WOMM spend, and 29% will increase their offline WOMM spend.
• 82% use WOMM to increase their brand awareness, but 43% expect WOMM to improve their direct sales.

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Making Sense of It All

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The power of WOMM to directly increase revenue is obvious. The challenge becomes how to identify, inspire and channel the efforts of your tribe of WOM influencers. The word of mouth marketing statistics here should give you a good start of where you want to look for them, how they may act, and what kind of ROI you should expect.

How have you already seen how WOM is affecting your brand? Are you a WOM influencer? Share some of your own WOM stories in our comments section so we can all learn from your experience.