Online vs. Offline Word of Mouth: Important Differences Revealed in Newly Published Academic Study - Ed Keller

It has been well documented by now that word of mouth and social media are significant forces in the consumer marketplace Word of mouth is the most trusted source of information for consumers around the world according to Nielsen and there is now measurable proof that social voice drives product sales both directly and indirectly Further we at Keller Fay have produced research that continues to surprise people While many assume the rising power of word of mouth is linked to the rise of social media only 10 of conversations about products services and brands take place online while 90 still occurs offline at home work or when gathering in social settings of various sortsA new academic study provides the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of the consumer motivations and brand characteristics that lead people to talk online and offline and reveals significant differences between the two According to the research quotOnline data does not reflect well the offline behavior Word of mouth is not channel neutral One cannot automatically generalize the results from online to offlinequot This suggests it is critically important for marketers to understand when digital strategies for motivating word of mouth are appropriate and likely to be effective and when offline strategies are most appropriateThe paper quotOn Brands and Word of Mouthquot appears in the August 2013 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research The authors Professors Mitch Lovett of the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester Renana Peres of School of Business Administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ron Shachar who is Dean of the Arison School of Business at Israel39s Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya assembled a very large set of data including online word of mouth provided by NM Incite offline word of mouth provided by the Keller Fay Group brand equity provided by YampampR39s Brand Asset Valuator and custom research on brands conducted by Decipher More than 600 of the most talked about brands in the US were analyzed spanning 16 product categories covering the period from 2007 amp8211 2010 So this is a very comprehensive and robust research undertakingThe study is rich in its insights and there are two significant sets of findings that I wish to shareChoosing Where to Talk Different Motivations for Online vs Offline ConversationsquotConsumers spread the word on brands for three fundamental purposesquot according to the academic researchamp183 Functional quotthe motive to provide and supply informationquotamp183 Social quotthe motive to send social signals to the environment such as expressing uniqueness selfenhancement and a desire to socialize or belongquotamp183 Emotional quotthe motive to share positive or negative feelings about brands in order to express these emotions or balance emotional arousalquotThe primary drivers of online word of mouth the authors find are in order social functional and emotional The primary drivers of offline word of mouth are the exact opposite emotional functional and social quotOffline conversations which are mostly in oneonone settings are more personal and intimate by nature and thus allow people to share emotions such as excitement and satisfaction Online WOM which usually involves 39broadcasting39 to many people eg twitter is more appropriate for social signaling eg uniquenessquotThese results about the motives associated with WOM via different channels may explain another significant set of findings the brand categories talked about online vary widely from those talked about offline Media autos and technology dominate online amp8211 all three carrying with them significant social currency in terms of what39s new interesting and worth sharing with others if your goal is to show that one is quotin the knowquot In fact two thirds of all online conversation is about these three categoriesMeanwhile numerous other categories are heavily underrepresented in online venues relative to offline And yet the value of recommendations in those categories which come primarily offline is every bit as important and related to business success The conversations people have offline are more diverse less concentratedCategory Distribution of Offline and Online Word of MouthWhat does this research mean in practical terms It means that marketers can39t choose a social strategy without first understanding the motivations of consumers to share Online social media will be most effective if you have a new product or a new message for which social currency will be gained by sharing But if you are seeking to tap the emotions that come with strong brand satisfaction and excitement that comes as a result of a recent purchase or exposure to an advertisement then look for ways to help consumer share those stories offline where they will have their best chance for successOffline and online These are two different channels requiring different marketing strategies They are not mirrors of each other and by no means redundant Marketers who are searching for the best way to unleash consumer conversation about products services and brands need to take a holistic view and create strategies that are appropriate to the drivers of brand WOM both those that are expressed online and those that take place offlineEd Keller CEO of the Keller Fay Group has been called quotone of the most recognized names in word of mouthquot His new book The FacetoFace Book Why Real Relationships Rule in a Digital Marketplace was recently published by Free PressSimon ampamp Schuster You can follow Ed Keller on Twitter Facebook and Google or contact him directly at ekellerkellerfaycomRead all Edamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at WOM MattersCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Online vs. Offline Word of Mouth: Important Differences Revealed in Newly Published Academic Study - Ed Keller

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