Word of Mouth is an important purchase influencer. In fact, according to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s (WOMMA) and Column Five Media’s infographic it is the most influential element (54%) driving purchase decisions today. That is an important statistic to keep in mind when planning your marketing strategy. Here are a few other key findings to note from WOMMA:
- 9 in 10 conversations about brands occur offline
- 66% of all brand-related word of mouth conversations are “mostly positive”
- 59% of Americans believe offline (face-to-face or voice-to-voice) word of mouth to be highly credible vs. 49% of Americans who believe online word of mouth to be highly credible
So how can you maximize this key information about word of mouth influence and how consumers make their purchase decisions? Well according to the Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF) experiential activations can drive 10 times reach via word of mouth and according to the Event Marketing Institute (EMI) 78% of consumers share their experience about a live event with friends or family members.
So to get people buzzing about your brand you should plan an experiential marketing campaign to provide an engaging, positive and genuine experience to start the conversation. The most successful experiential marketing campaigns give people a reason to share with their friends and family. Remember that a strategic experiential marketing campaign can drive word of mouth recommendations and ultimately influence purchase decisions!