The Rise of Word of Mouth Marketing

If you’ve been following any online marketing trends, word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is a recent craze. eMarketer sent out a newsletter today noting information about the rise of WOMM. Based on information from a BIGresearch study, the article points out that 91% of people in the U.S. sought advice on products or services between November and December 2006—the biggest buying season of the year (chart #080344 below). Ninety-four percent (94%) of us gave advice to others (chart #08033 below).

The article also points out the types of marketing most people prefer to receive based on a DoubleClick study last January (see chart #080163). The top five are:

1. Recommendations from friends (58%)
2. Opted-in email newsletters (33%)
3. TV ads (32%)
4. Catalogs via mail (30%)
5. Magazine ads (30%)

See the full article by eMarketer (available until July 4).