WOM Works Wonderfully

Interesting study released by McKinsey today regarding WOM's (word of mouth) power versus traditional Ads in influencing consumer purchasing behavior.

Word of mouth has greater impact than ads

NEW YORK: Marketing campaigns that encourage considerable word of mouth among consumers have a greater impact on sales than more traditional forms of advertising, according to McKinsey.

The consultancy argued that word of mouth is the "primary factor" behind between 20% and 50% of purchases, with a particular relevance in relation to expensive products and first-time acquisitions.

It added that an advertising "overload", growing mistrust of marketing and the social media-driven shift in control away from companies and towards consumers have all encouraged this trend.

More specifically, an individual's direct experience with a brand was found to generate something in the region of 50% and 80% of all word of mouth.

All of this bodes well for sites like Digg who: 1. reach a highly influential and socially connected audience and 2. have ad programs that encourage word of mouth in the form of sharing content with friends and peers...

As sites and experiences with brands continue to become more and more social, I expect this trend to accelerate