New research reports that consumers are 50 percent more likely to be influenced by word-of-mouth recommendations from peers than by radio/TV ads. Growing confidence in consumer-generated-media (CGM) creates a strong impetus for marketers to influence this new media, and a recent survey from Bain & Company provides an excellent suggestion about how to start: keep your customers happy.

 

The “2005 Consumer-Generated Media (CGM) and Engagement Study” a new study of consumer behavior by Intelliseek Inc., contains interesting findings on the interaction between old and new media and the behaviour of Internet-savvy consumers:

·        “Active ad skippers” are 25 percent more likely to create and respond to Internet message boards, forums and blogs.

·        Word-of-mouth behavior among “familiars” trumps all forms of advertising and is more trusted than news or “expert commentary.”

·        Consumers are on track to post close to 2 billion comments on the Internet by the end of 2005.

While it’s critical for marketers to ramp up their knowledge of the blogosophere and develop strategies for managing their brand in this space, they can’t take ignore the source of the positive or negative comments that will be posted: the customer experience.

The Bain & Company survey indicates companies need to be more honest with themselves about their performance in this area. In a survey of 362 firms, the consulting company found that 80 percent believed they delivered a superior experience to their customers. But when they asked customers about their own perceptions, they found that they rated only 8 percent of companies as truly delivering a superior experience.

Bain went on to determine what criteria put the top performers into the elite eight percent, finding that they take a broad view of the customer experience and pursue three imperatives simultaneously:

  1. They design the right offers and experiences for the right customers.
  2. They deliver these propositions by focusing the entire company on them with an emphasis on cross-functional collaboration.
  3. They develop their capabilities to please customers again and again—by such means as revamping the planning process, training people in how to create new customer propositions, and establishing direct accountability for the customer experience.