Word of Mouth in China: What is the Sound of a Billion Voices? - Ed Keller

Two research studies about the importance of word of mouth in China came to my attention recently One was by Initiative and the other by TNS These come on top of a 2010 article in the Harvard Business Review on quotThe Power of Word of Mouth in Chinaquot by two McKinsey consultants who say quotPhysical or virtual wordofmouth is an essential brandbuilding tool for companies in ChinaquotTo gain a better understanding about word of mouth and social media in China I had a discussion with Asit Gupta After 17 years with multinational companies like Procter ampamp Gamble British American Tobacco and DDB Advertising in India Russia UK and Greater China Gupta recently started Advocacy a word of mouth marketing company in China Advocacy is the only WOM activation company in China affiliated with WOMMA which is how we metQ Word of mouth and social media are big and growing forces in the marketplace in developed markets such as the US and Europe Can you tell us what the situation is in ChinaA WOM has a huge influence in China even more than in developed countries The reasons for this are understandable given the history of information control by authorities which continues even today and extends to a degree to the content in commercials Further trust in product integrity is low as there are fake and counterfeit products even in FMCG categories Thus even before 2006 when social media sites like Facebook or RenRen were launched Chinese consumers were massive users of BBS forums to exchange opinions on products and servicesQ You say that WOM is quite influential in China But how evolved is word of mouth marketing How much of what39s happening in word of mouth marketing in China is based on the growth of online social networking tools and how much is based on offline WOM Are there any important statistics we should know aboutA WOM marketing is in its infancy in China Most marketers are associating WOM marketing with digital social media campaigns and have a traditional quotcampaignquot approach to WOM marketing They need to recognize that effective WOM which drives purchase is grounded in authentic product experience and requires sustained engagement with a community of real consumer influencers not celebrities Here is where offline plays a significant role Further the web usage amongst key demographics like moms in Chinese cities beyond the four Tier 1 cities is less than 25 So a reliance on just online for WOM creation especially for nonyouth orientated categories is not enough and produces low ROIQ You have been a marketer in a number of countries other than China including India and Russia Are there things about word of mouth in China that are unique And what are the things that are similar to what you39ve seen elsewhereA All 3 countries are quite unique in their history culture information control and general technology orientation which in turn impacts marketing in general In Russia I worked in the Tobacco category The 1 premium brand in Russia today Kent was built on a WOM marketing campaign using influencer seeding way back in 1999 before digital social media existed Thus I have seen the concept of influencers in action amp8211 namely a certain percentage of the target audience in a category having disproportionate influence over others This applies in all the markets where I have workedHowever there are 3 things in China that make WOM even more powerful and relevant for marketersFirst mass media inflation is the highest in the world leading to most TV commercials being 15 seconds How does one communicate a brand story in 15 seconds WOM marketing can provide depth in messaging Second product integrity is a huge issue in China across categories A friend39s endorsement about a product thus is very reassuring Such issues don39t exist as much in other countries And finally the quotfollowerquot mentality is quite prevalent People don39t like sticking out and therefore they look at what others are doing saying and buying for reassurance that they are using the right productsQ On a personal note I39m always interested to know about what motivates an entrepreneur to leave the comfort of a corporate position and start a new ventureA Many of my friends often ask why I launched Advocacy Is this just an entrepreneurial bug Is it a great commercial opportunity which will make me a multimillionaire when we get acquired The answer is simple The continued lack of authenticity and accountability in the marketing communications world is startling Things have not moved on despite the world having changed The case for marketing WITH the consumer is well established but we still keep marketing TO the consumer We continue to set up measurements poorly As a passionate marketer this pained me But at the same time the opportunity to do something about it in China and Asia was huge With Advocacy we are flying the flag for Authentic and Accountable marketingEd Keller CEO of the Keller Fay Group has been called quotone of the most recognized names in word of mouthquot The publication of Keller39s book The Influentials has been called the quotseminal moment in the development of word of mouthquot Ed can be contacted at ekellerkellerfaycom You can follow Ed Keller on Twitter kellerfay Read 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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Word of Mouth in China: What is the Sound of a Billion Voices? - Ed Keller

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