What's more important? Brand or Word Of Mouth?

What's more important? Brand or Word Of Mouth?

Please vote *and* comment!

I think that word of mouth is more important when you haven't seen any of the items on an avatar. Once you get a few things from a person that you like, then you are more likely to buy any new things they come up with even if you haven't seen them being worn or whatnot.

Try-before-buy is also a good substitute for word of mouth, for people just passing through your store, even if they don't know anyone who's bought any of it.

Branding and word of mouth are necessary partners in marketing -- success means having both. Having a solid brand makes word of mouth more effective -- people talk about a product which is easily identified and separated from the crowd. A clear, memorable brand name with an easily spotted brand identity makes word of mouth work.

What he said.

not sure these should be compared. imo word of mouth is viral. branding is genetic. one is mostly product (and sometimes SKU) based. the other is company based.

My in-world business survives 90% on word of mouth. When I do one job, I usually get three or four more based on what I had just made.

It's currently more important than advertising is in SL, and probably will be for a long time.

LF

Another way of looking at it, if I had a choice between buying specialized widget from big brand A and joe schmoe small guy that all my buds say is brilliant at making this specialized widget, I'd buy from joe schmoe small guy *everytime*.

Conversely, if my buds said big brand A makes specialized widget better than anyone - I'd buy it from big brand A.

The point being, the brand is compelely orthogonal to my purchasing decision, it's the recommendation of people I respect and admire that means anything to me.

How come there's not an option for I Buy From Whoever Makes Better Shit?

Been in sales & marketing my entire adult life. Word of mouth is king. Better than 80% of all consumer purchasing decisions are influenced by a third party. People listen to other people infinitely more than they listen to advertising, whether they realize it or not. Word of mouth is how all businesses, religions, governments, politicians, and even suiters succeed or fail. No matter how good your advertising might be, it is word of mouth that will make or break you every time.

I'll give you a couple examples. On the positive side, the company I represent in my main business has been around for 56 years, and we've never spent a dime on advertising. We're the largest manufacturer & marketer of high quality housewares in North America, and we got there solely on word of mouth. You probably have some our products in your home. On the negative side, remember Pop Rocks? They had all the commercials, print advertising, and store presence any company could ever want, and they were kicking ass because of it, right up until someone started that rumor about little Mikey's stomach exploding. Within weeks their sales dropped literally almost to zero. Despite the copany's considerable efforts to recover over the next four long years, they just couldn't pull back above water, and the product was taken off the market for decades as a result.

All of this is equally true in SL. I don't advertise my SL business but sales are steady because people are pleased with the products and I treat my customers well. It happens all the time that someone buys something and then brings all his friends back to buy more. I've also seen people in SL with good products and lots of advertising do terribly because they didn't treat their customers well and the word spread.

Word of mouth is the oldest & the most effectivel form of advertising there is. There is simply nothing more powerful.

Word of mouth opens me to new brands, but once I find them, I generally stick to them unless they disappoint.

I answered that they're the same (even though I know they're not). They're both important. Word of mouth is definitely king, but having a memorable brand name and identity helps people spread the word.

I agree that brand is very effective to the generally uneducated masses who don't analyze what they watch on television or see in movies (product placements), but I felt that people are generally becoming more and more educated and SLers especially so.

I thought since the people in SL are generally of above average intelligence they would be less likely to make decisions based on brand and more on word of mouth.

Post count.

Appreciate your comments Cienna, but please stay on topic!

Thanks.