Word-of-mouth referrals skyrocket in downturn

Consumers are placing more weight on word-of-mouth referrals in the downturn, according to Australian review site Word of Mouth On the Web (WOMOW).

WOMOW director Fiona Adler says consumers are now more likely to rely on word-of-mouth referrals before parting with their money.

“Our research suggests that buyers are more discerning about how they spend their money right now, and are turning to word-of-mouth recommendations before trying a new product or service.”

Adler said that in the period from September last year to now, WOMOW’s members had tripled and traffic had increased by 270 percent.

“The trend towards more reliance on word of mouth is having an amazing impact on the businesses that rate well on WOMOW, with many attributing a good part of their recent success to the site,” she said.

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Sarah Mitchell from Fremantle, WA 5 August 2009 at 12:01 am

I was interested to read that word-of-mouth referrals are becoming a key factor in consumer spending. This is in line with a 2007 Bridge Ratings survey conducted in the USA that said “strangers with experience” is one of the most trusted sources of information. The only group that received a higher rating was “friends, family and acquaintances”.

It will be interesting to see how business reacts to this information. If the media and advertising are no longer at the top of the heap of trusted sources of information, we need to rethink how we get an effective marketing message out. It seems to me that social media is bound to play a bigger role in the decisions surrounding consumer spending.

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