What Corporate Websites and Word of Mouth Have in Common
If you (or your bosses) still don’t think it’s worth investing much effort in maintaining a robust corporate Website, think again. And if you’ve discounted word of mouth as a critical marketing medium, have another think.
First, the Website info. In a survey of 2,110 U.S. adults conducted by marketing services firm DoubleClick and ROI Research, official company Websites were found to be the most cited touchpoint in the “further learning” step of the purchase process.
The Touchpoints III survey focused on three phases of the decision process: initial awareness, or “first learning”; information gathering, or “further learning”; and the purchase decision itself. Among consumers seeking to buy products or services in the travel, auto, telecom, banking, investment/mortgage, consumer electronics, and home improvement sectors, Websites—both official company sites and those of third parties—outranked TV commercials, print ads, and other forms of online marketing as the most influential medium during the second step of the decision process. (For movies, TV ads scored highest; for personal care products, print ads did; for prescription drugs, physicians were wisely the most influential source).
Just as you shouldn’t underestimate the power of the corporate Website, you shouldn’t overlook the importance of peers. “Word of mouth” was the most frequently cited influence on the final phase of the purchase decision.
What are the key takeaways from the survey? To quote the DoubleClick Touchpoints report: “…consumers take official company Websites very seriously in their desire to learn more about products they are considering buying. To that end, companies should invest in making those sites as information rich as possible to anticipate all the types of questions consumers may have in evaluating their purchase decision. At the same time, a good corporate site cannot be an island in a marketing program…consumers depend on a range of vehicles to discover those corporate Websites in the first place, including search engines, opt-in e-mail programs, Web advertisements, as well as traditional marketing programs.”
Also, “…all of the buzz about ‘buzz marketing’ is justified…a small segment of the overall population disproportionately affects the attitudes and behaviors of the rest of us, with regard to purchase decisions and other actions. The challenge for marketers, therefore, is to influence those ‘influencers.’ These hyperinfluencers share certain characteristics that marketers can try to exploit, such as a much higher than average consumption of all types of media…”
