What Is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Word of mouth marketing, abbreviated as WOMM in English, is a marketing strategy where consumers express and spread company or product-specific information verbally or in writing to other people. In developed societies, word of mouth marketing on the Internet now holds an extremely important place in consumers' final purchasing decisions. One of the phenomena inherent in human nature is that individuals communicate with other individuals and exchange a series of ideas and information with them. One of the communication forms where this situation turns into an event is word of mouth communication. Word of mouth communication is not new and stands out as an effective marketing technique that has recently been implemented by businesses. With the application of word of mouth communication to the marketing field, people participate in these actions by talking about products, services, brands, companies, or advertisements, telling each other negative or positive things.

People have constantly shared their experiences with each other through word of mouth communication regarding products or services they use or purchase. Although all other marketing techniques are aimed at selling products, word of mouth marketing stands out as a marketing technique where real experiences and experiences related to products or services are conveyed between people without any commercial purpose. Especially in purchasing products that require high fees such as products with features and special characteristics, the opinions of trusted people are very important for consumers. Other sectors where word of mouth communication is important are fields such as health, law, consulting, and education.

• Interpersonal communication
• Word of mouth marketing
• Word of mouth marketing in today's world

Word of Mouth Communication and Marketing

The abbreviation WOMM, which can be translated into our language as word of mouth marketing or ear to ear marketing, stands for Word Of Mouth Marketing. This type of communication is a phenomenon where thoughts and ideas are mutually exchanged between two or more people, and products, brands, and services are discussed. Word of mouth communication is also expressed as a form of verbal communication that occurs between communities formed by family and friend circles and individuals who are existing or potential customers. In word of mouth communication, "telling about positive or negative product, brand, or company experiences lived by people around the consumer" is in question. In word of mouth communication, it is understood that people mutually share their purchasing experiences and find the information they obtain this way more reliable.

This occurs with reality and they are livable situations. For this reason, today's consumer faces a very large amount of information and messages in daily life as a requirement of living in the information age, and there may not be time to think about and examine such intense information and messages. The word of mouth marketing phenomenon (Word of Mouth Marketing-WOMM) can also be defined in literature as Word of Mouse Marketing, Buzz Marketing, Viral Marketing, and Stealth Marketing. Among these concepts, Word of Mouse and Viral concepts can also be defined as the equivalent of the Mouth concept in the classic definition in the internet environment.

The Role of Internet in Word of Mouth Marketing

In today's age, the cheapest, fastest, and easiest means of communication is undoubtedly the Internet. Email, newsgroups, mailing lists, instant messaging systems, social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and FriendFeed that have developed and changed with the Internet are communication and correspondence systems used by many users. According to some data, the number of Facebook users has reached up to 710 million. Even our country is among the countries that use Facebook the most among European countries. Again, in light of some data, the number of Facebook users in our country has reached up to 30 million. Today, the Internet is now a part of our daily lives. People communicate and send messages through the Internet. They can share social, cultural, and economic problems they experience in daily life with others. They convey what they experience during shopping to third parties. Along with this, the role of the internet in word of mouth communication is very large. According to one study, 44 million people can evaluate a product online. For example, BizRate alone can obtain more than one million new reviews every month. Now people can evaluate restaurants, shops, and many service organizations in all major cities by entering related sites. Apart from this, millions of people write their own personal blogs, participate in chat rooms, and read other people's opinions.

Advantages of Word of Mouth Communication

Word of mouth marketing advantages make it a prominent strategy. These advantages are listed as follows:

• Promotion and marketing efforts are provided by your customers

• Because your potential customers have a trust relationship with your existing customers, you can successfully differentiate yourself from marketing efforts
• Communication between customers and potential customers is very strong
• Your potential customers' trust in your brand increases
• You can increase your brand awareness and sales
• Consumers want to shop from your brand because they care about the experiences of people they trust
• Your brand's chance of gaining organic customers increases
• Customer and brand relationships are strengthened
• Your brand's customers are more likely to shop again because they usually promote products they have purchased and experienced
• Word of mouth marketing technique reduces the workload of your employees and helps your personnel work more efficiently
• Since word of mouth marketing strategy is a marketing technique with low costs, your budget for advertising and promotion is reduced
• Word of mouth marketing examples increase your brand's profitability

Effects of Word of Mouth Marketing on Purchasing Decisions

Word of mouth marketing directly affects consumer purchasing decisions. Especially because your existing customers promote your brand, products, and services, the audience you reach through word of mouth marketing increases trust. For this reason, information transfer is usually done by people with whom potential customers have established trust bonds. On the other hand, because this marketing technique provides the transfer of experiences, your potential customers make purchasing decisions more quickly. If your potential customers are satisfied with your brand and your products and services, they will convey these experiences to the people around them and your efforts may go viral. Along with this, word of mouth marketing can influence purchasing decisions when supported by recommendations from people they know, trust, and find sincere. Such recommendations can increase potential customers' trust in a product or service by providing reliability and credibility. Apart from this, word of mouth marketing can influence potential customers' purchasing decisions through personal recommendations and experiences. People tend to value the recommendation of someone who has had a positive experience with a product or service more.

These personal recommendations can help customers learn more about a product or service and shape their decisions. Additionally, word of mouth marketing can influence purchasing decisions by creating social proof.

When people see that a product or service is liked, used, and positive results are achieved by other people, they may become more interested in that product or service. Positive or negative comments spread through channels such as social media platforms and review sites can influence potential customers' purchasing decisions. Word of mouth marketing can help a product or service gain more attention and awareness. A good word of mouth marketing strategy reaches a wider audience through positive conversations and shares about the product or service.

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