Placing your brand at the heart of conversations

The value of word of mouth no longer needs to be justified. In the United States, according to a study by Engagement Labs, it has a major impact on nearly 20% of purchase decisions—and even more for B2B purchases. The phenomenon is not new, but it is gaining importance. With good reason: customers are increasingly suspicious of corporate discourse. In 2017, according to a study by AT Kearney conducted in the United States, France, Germany, Japan, India and China, almost one consumer in two expressed little or no trust in corporate communications—against 28.5% five years earlier. When seeking advice or information, they increasingly prefer to turn to their personal networks. Even the opinions of anonymous strangers seem more trustworthy to them than that expressed through brand pitches! More than 60% of consumers trust online opinions, whereas less than 50% trust company web sites and less than 35% advertisements…

How can you take advantage of this increasingly influential information channel? The answer is not easy. By definition, word of mouth is beyond the brand’s control: it stems from the spontaneous desire to talk about a product or a company. That being said, it would be a shame to only work on quality of experience and hope that word of mouth develops spontaneously. Companies that have managed to leverage word of mouth to their advantage show that it is possible to influence it:

- Ensure the experience you provide to your customers is one that they want to share and that can be told simply.

- Include in this experience a detail that is both surprising and emblematic of your core offering.

- Identify the influencers who talk about your brand and make their job easier.

- Don’t forget to regularly revive word-of-mouth chatter about your brand.