Evolving role of social media in e-word-of-mouth
Social media has become an important platform to spread information about any product and service. Majority of international companies are relying on social media to develop effectual relationship. E-Word-of-mouth has become a significant tool to spread a word about the product. It is important to notice that people used to rely on word of mouth before evolution of printing and broadcasting media. In today’s scenario many business organization are using word of mouth tactics to develop a heavy customer base. The ease of using social media to publicize information regarding a service or a product is become relevant technique used by most of the business organization to circulate information about them instead of spending money on promotional activities. Buyers tend to trust those people who give them referral because they trust the person they are close to. It is reported that the information retained from a referral or a friend is considered by people to make their buying decision.
Word of mouth helps them to break the trust barrier while relying completely on an unknown service and product. It helps in influencing the decision of the others. Today majority of people are using Facebook reviews as an important way to make buying decisions. Whenever a new product is launched people have an anxiety to try it. They generally refer to the authentic Facebook page to see the critical reviews. This is one of the most influential tools to undertake the buying behavior. It has a long term trade value for the brand. One negative review about the product and the brand can affect the consumer decision. The referred customers tend to stick to the product or service for a longer time period additionally they provide information to the other buyers (Whitler, 2014). Happy refereed customers always provide reference to the other friends and relatives which help in creating value for the company. Once a company becomes established word of mouth is a low cost method of publicity (Trusov, Bucklin & Pauwels, 2009).
Five popular services in Singapore where consumers check-in on Facebook are as follows:
- Gastrosmiths is a famous restaurant located on the beach road. It is popular due to the regular Facebook check-in and instant replies by the page owner. This help in managing long-term effectual relationship with the current and prospective customers.
- Wild rocket at Mount Emily is known for the Asian fusion Food. The Facebook page reflects more than 6000 check-ins. This has helped the restaurant to build a positive image in the mind of the people.
- Chopsuey Café is a famous restaurant for serving quality Asian food. The restaurant is known for regular updates and dim sums. The restaurant gained popularity through the social media.
- The Kitchen at Bacchanalia is featured in classic and distinctive food creation. They are known to serve non-familiar dishes in an unusual manner. There are more than 9000 check-ins on Facebook which depicts the popularity of the restaurant. The restaurant is very much active on social networking websites and has gained popularity due to reviews.
- Ronin Café is a coffee shop situated in the Hong Kong Street. It is known for exquisite variety of coffee. They usually get a lot of reviews by the customers on social networking. Reviews help in creating a popular brand image (Top 10 restaurants in Singapore, 2014).
The word of mouth influences the image of a brand largely. The service provider has to keep a check over the reviews on the social media in order to see whether the customers are content or not. The service provider nowadays is keeping a check over the reviews given by the customers as they have a long-lasting impression in the mind of the customers. It is highly recommended that the service provider should resolve the negative reviews given by the customer (Bughin, Doogan, & Vetvik, 2010). A positive revert to the negative review will help in developing a positive image of the brand. This is one of the important tasks that need to be undertaken by the team to build a positive impression in the mind of the customers. This activity will put a long term positive image and help in developing a soothing conditions. Positive brand image are generally taken by the service provider in a healthy manner whereas a negative feedback affects the image of the brand (Silverman, 2011). Public relation is an important task undertaken by the organization to develop healthy relations with the customers. Negative impression related to a product can only be reduced if positive actions are enforced in order to build effective relations (Rudolph, 2015).
Impact of word-of-mouth and referrals on customer buying decisions
Negative reviews regarding a product impact the revenue of the business. Any amount of negative comment regarding a product can affect the image of the brand largely. Negative WOM of any product can affect the long term interest. The negative WOM related to the Samsung Note 7 has largely affected the overall business. It needs to be noticed that it has affected the sale of the product largely. Majority of people lost faith in the product (Galaxy Note 7 fail: Samsung reveals true impact of exploding phones, 2016).
Since the report is based on secondary data collected from the newspaper and magazines and various websites available online. The analysis is based on evaluation of word of mouth and its importance in today’s business scenario. The report evaluates the effects of negative and positive WOM based on Facebook check-in and reviews.
Some of the data is collected from the Facebook page of the services that are mentioned on their profile page. It is therefore essential to undertake te activity carefully in order to evaluate the changing scenario.
Since it is based on the behavior of customers the data may vary from person to person. The online behavior of customer changes from situation to situation. The report is based on the evaluation of the behavior of the customers taken into consideration. This may vary from situation to situation in order to meet the desired results.
The report is based on the online perception of the customers. Online reviews given by the customers are taken into consideration in order to develop an understanding.
The information in the assignment is arranged through the secondary sources. The information is collected through the web source, newspapers articles, journal articles, etc. The information regarding the popular restaurants in Singapore is collected through the website mentioning the famous Restaurants in Singapore (Top 10 restaurants in Singapore, 2014).
The information collected in the report may vary from person to person as it is not based on a particular individual rather based on the critical analysis of today’s scenario.
Peer generated word of mouth is generated through the discussion among the friends and relatives. These discussions are not generated by the firm. The firm generated word of mouth is intended to spread virally by the consumers. It is necessary to be considered that the peer generated has more influence over the firm generated word-of –mouth. People do trust on the reviews by the customers as they are more trustworthy and unbiased. They are more credible than the firm generated word of mouth publicity. They do not represent any commercial interest of the company or a buyer (Solomon, 2014).
The role of Facebook in live feedback and brand image development
Consumers are however relying on the credible sources like the friends group, social circle or referral group in order to seek information related to a product or service. They understand that the fact given by any person belonging to the referral group would be fair enough to build a judgment. There are multiple features associated with the peer generated WOM. Firstly consumers can rely on the reviews of the social group; secondly it provides them with a clear insight about a product (Boztepe, 2012). A firm generated WOM are generally positive in nature. They only provide with the positive quality of the product and services. Lastly the price and service related facility of the product can be considered by the consumers while going through the reviews. Social media has literally shifted the world into a small place where one can easily interact with other in an easy manner and at the same time can share their thoughts (Hawkins, Best & Coney, 2010).
The opinion leaders can be described as a product specialist who provides information about a particular class of product. They are responsible for influencing the attitude and behavior of the consumer. They are critical in nature and consumer does rely on them in order to make buying decision. In case of the online communities the opinion leader need to develop a positive word-of-mouth in order to create a virtual relationship with the customers (De Mooij, 2010).
- The check in feature of the Facebook allows consumers to pass on an option to the other people. There is an option through which the recommendation related to the product can be shared.
- There are certain online forums, chats, groups and conversation that provides marketer with abundant information related to a product. It therefore provides with an important tool to share information with the other people.
- The consumers can therefore conduct more research on the product or the service through the social networking websites. The comments from the other consumers help in making decision. This creates a sense of certainty in the mind of the customers.
- The Smartphone’s can be accessed anywhere. It provides the consumer with a choice to access information about the product. This help marketer to receive a prompt reply from the consumer(Sernovitz & Kawasaki,2009).
- Unsatisfied customers on the social media cannot spread negative information about the product. They cannot reach to the wider audience in the particular situation. Negative publicity affects the overall brand image. This is highly affecting the marketer to make a buying decision related to a product. Consumers are seriously considering the information available to them.
- There is an increase in the overall competition due to comparison in between the prices of the products. The consumer generally compares the prices in order to make buying decision. Price comparison on various websites provides consumer a choice to compare the product with the other products. This might have a positive or a negative impact on the brand image.
- The consumer group on the social networking provides with an insight to compare the products and process. Consumer tends to listen to the peer group over the advertising and marketer. This help in retrieving the comprehensive information about the product. More preference is given to the peer group instead of the advertisement. Majority of buying decisions of consumers are influenced by the peer group.
In the general context the reference group shares their word of mouth and experiences with the peer group. This has a huge impact on the brand image. The suggestion given by the referral group is considered largely by the organization in order to make purchase decision (Kim & Ko,2012).
Facebook is one of the largest social media forums which are used to express one’s views. The word of mouth through the social networking has a huge impact on the mind of the buyers. There are various other social networking websites that are used by the consumers in order to develop a buying decision. In a highly competitive atmosphere a consumer compares two products in order to buy the most efficient product. Various organizations are focusing on developing a fair brand image in order to promote their self-interest (Goel, Hofman, J.Lahaie, Pennock, & Watts, 2010).
Facebook provides its user a platform to provide live feedback. The reviews posted by the consumers stays in the mind of the other consumers for a long run. Live feedbacks help the user to develop an effective brand image. It is however necessary for the marketers to keep a steady check over the product. One negative review by the consumer can deplete the current market position of the product.
The discussion on the social networking website develops discussion and highlights what consumer actually wants. This is necessary for an organization to develop a fair image of the product. This is only possible if the marketer focus on building an effective brand image (Tuten & Solomon, 2014).
This reference group provides with the feedback which are familiar because of the group. The group with the common interest can share information about the product and services. In case of closed group the marketer is not allowed to seek information about the product.
There are certain powerful and credible groups on the social networking people trust on. They take the suggestion given by the group in an effective manner. It is however necessary for the group to increase awareness which will help in develop a solid brand image (Heymann-Reder, 2012).
The report mentions the importance of WOM in understanding the behavior of consumers opting for different type of services. In today’s scenario publicity through word of mouth has eventually became an important tool that need to be given special consideration by the marketers. It is recommended that the marketer need to put extra efforts on improvising the brand name by focusing on every individual aspect. Negative WOM has a deep impact on the brand image. Majority of brands has faced deep-rooted impact of negative WOM. Customers are relying on reference group in case they want to try a new product or service. The online consumer groups thereby inform the users about the product and the brand on a large scale. It provides them with a tool through which they can compare their own thinking with the group. These groups are highly influential in nature and are putting a huge impression on the mind of the consumer. They are constantly simulating the buying behavior and encourage the other people on the social networking to adopt the similar belief. Moreover this group provide with both positive and negative Word of mouth. Hence it is necessary for an organization to develop efficient marketing policies in order to develop relationship with the customers. It is an evident fact that the customer will only try a product which can provide with 100 percent satisfaction. In this case social media is used as a new age tool used by both marketer and consumer to evaluate a product.
References
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