What do you think?

Why Do People Go Online?

How often do you go online? Why do you go online? What is it that prompts you and holds your interest?

I read an eMarketer article online this morning about this very topic. Check out this chart they posted:


They interviewed Kathy Bloomgarden who is co-CEO of Ruder Finn. Ms. Bloomgarden spoke about looking at the underlying motivation of online behavior so companies can develop strategies.

Here are her words from the eMarketer article, "Intent is the new demographic."

So, what about you? Why do you go online? I really want to know.

Now is the Time for Social Media

By this time, it's old news. What you say about your company, product or service is less important than ...what consumers are saying about you.

Welcome to the world of social media, where consumers have more power!

I read several new reports recently that seem to support this. Yesterday I wrote about the latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey.

• 90% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know
• 70% trust recommendations from consumer opinions posted online.

They trust others more than the advertisements. Advertisements that companies spend megabucks on!

An article in DirectMag discussed a recent Forrester Research Inc. report about marketing budgets being cut by 20% or more. However, there's good news regarding social media.

• 47% of CMOs are increasing their spending on social media
• 44% are increasing spending on web site development
• 40% will spend more money on online advertising

The article also mentioned that 1/3 of the CMOs indicated they hadn't spent money on social media but ...will now.

It's time to engage with your consumers!

Trust in Advertising

Do you trust the advertising industry? What about those slick ads that tell you:

• You must have this product to look good
• You must have this product to have friends
• You want to be happy? Buy our product!

The latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey was just released. And do you know who people trust most for product recommendations? Well, take a look at the headline for their July 7, 2009 press release:

"Personal Recommendations and Consumer Opinions Posted Online are the most Trusted Forms of Advertising Globally"

I'm not surprised! I have to say that I have Tivo and ...I fast forward through all of the commercials.

If I'm in the market for a particular type of product I do my research online, check a few of my favorite blogs and ...ask family and friends. I guess I'm like so many others.

Many times I wasn't even thinking of buying a product but I read a blog that peaked my interest and next thing you know ...I'm buying.

So, I think the Nielsen Global Survey got this one right.

Advertisers, listen up. We know you have a job to do. But we're tired of being lied to and misled.

So, how about listening to the customers? We have lots to say and best of all, we ...tell the truth!

How about you? Where do you go for recommendations for products and services?

Word of Mouth Recommendations

Where do you go to find a recommendation for a good Italian restaurant in a city you'll soon be visiting? Do you check with friends who have been there or do you painstakingly check out all the travel and ratings and review sites online? Those are certainly great places to check, but wouldn't it be nice to have one place to go for the best word of mouth recommendations? The recommendations would be written by bloggers from all over the world. They would write about the best recommendations for their city. It would be like asking a friend who lives in that city. They would be open to comments from consumers who may agree or disagree and of course, they could rate them.

That is the vision for the Word of Mouth Network. Hundreds of word of mouth sites that would be connected with a central directory so you only have to go to one place to find all you'll need. For example, Word of Mouth Phoenix is a place to go for word of mouth recommendations for that city. Check it out and add your comments.

The Power of Word of Mouth

I've been reading Pete Blackshaw's new book "Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000". Isn't that a clever title and an accurate statement? If I enjoy a product or service I might tell a few friends but if I get bad service or a defective product, I do tend to tell lots more and include all of the details. I guess we like to be heard. But are the companies listening? Well, according to Pete they better start listening.

In this age of instant everything, the Internet provides us with a megaphone to broadcast our opinions. And that reach goes much further nowadays with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, blogs, ratings and reviews and many more. Companies need to be monitoring the Internet for any mention of their company, their products or services and most importantly, be quick to respond. Pete includes examples of companies who were slow to respond and others who responded quickly and as a result, avoided potential disasters.

I read a blog post earlier this week on the Valley PR Blog in Phoenix. The post was entitled "The Power of Brides Online" and was written by Charlotte Risch. She had recently become engaged and quickly became consumed with wedding plans. She personally experienced the power of word of mouth, as other brides were quick to talk about their experiences with bridal shops and wedding vendors. And not all of their experiences were positive. Her advice to many of the bridal boutiques was to brush up on their word of mouth marketing skills. How right she is! Bad word of mouth spreads oh so quickly. Maybe they need to get their hands on a copy of this book.

Pete Blackshaw's book should be read by anyone who provides a service or product to the public. The book is easy to read and makes common sense. Companies need to adapt to today's consumer driven world. They cannot continue to ignore the power that consumers wield.

I highly recommend this book.

Word of Mouth Stats

The Fresh Chat blog has a great list of stats for word of mouth. Jenni Beattie posted the list entitled "The Power of Word of Mouth" on July 10th. It's a very concise list. If you ever had a doubt about the importance of word of mouth recommendations, you must read this post. Thanks for compiling a very thorough list.