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Is Word Of Mouth Better Than Advertising?

Pros
Trust: Many people are suspicious of advertising– conscious that a faceless organisation may be trying to persuade them to buy something they don’t really need. But if we are told by somebody we know and trust that a product has worked for them and is worth buying, we’re far more likely to give it a go than if we just saw an advert in a magazine or on a billboard. This is perhaps the main reason why word of mouth is always going to be an important selling tool.


Targeting:
These days we hear an awful lot about the importance of targeted marketing. People are bombarded with so much information from a variety of sources that they don’t want to be pestered with offers for products that have no relevance to them. This will only serve to put them off a certain company rather than convert them into paying customers. This is one of the great things about word of mouth: nobody you know is going to recommend a certain product to you unless they are aware you have a need for it. By its very nature, it is a targeted marketing method.


Cost Effective:
It costs you to develop adverts or marketing campaigns, but if a customer recommends your product to another person that doesn’t cost you anything at all. As long as you keep your products and services to the highest standard, their quality will speak for itself.  


Cons
It’s Slower: If you need to drum up a lot of interest in a new product quickly, or you want to advertise a one-off event, nothing works better than an organised advertising and marketing campaign. Building up your customer base through word of mouth recommendations requires time and patience. It will work, but you won’t see the results straight away and sometimes that isn’t enough.


Can’t Be Controlled:
When you’re putting together an advertising campaign you are able to control every aspect of it. With word of mouth, you have no way of controlling what people are saying about your products. It’s all very well if what they are saying is positive, but what if they are badmouthing you? Furthermore, there may be a particular benefit of your product you want to highlight, but those recommending it may not be picking up on this. 


In conclusion, it would seem that both traditional advertising and word of mouth have their place. In the last case, for example, what you need is a combination of advertising (telling people the unique benefits of your products) followed by personal recommendations from customers once they have registered these benefits. In general, word of mouth is great for building up a solid, loyal customer base over time. But if you need to drum up publicity in a hurry then you can’t do without a well thought-out marketing and advertising campaign.