35+ Word of Mouth Marketing Statistics

What is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is defined as consumers interest in a brand that is reflected in their daily lives.

It’s organic marketing where your customers talk about your product or company naturally during conversations with their friends and family. WOMM includes both direct product recommendations but also mere mentions of your brand or product.

Word of mouth marketing could be organic or amplified. Organic word of mouth marketing occurs when customers discuss or recommend your brand or product naturally in their conversations. Amplified word of mouth marketing occurs when you initiate a marketing campaign to boost WOMM by hiring influencers, using social media, or other marketing channels.

Word of Mouth Marketing Stats/Statistics

The following list of word of mouth marketing statistics/stats will show you its strength and why you should start taking it seriously.

1. 72% of consumers get news from friends and family about products and companies making word of mouth the most popular channel. (Pew Research Center)
2. 50% of Americans trust the word of mouth when deciding on a source of information. (Talk Triggers)
3. 83% of Americans have made a word of mouth recommendation. (Talk Triggers)
4. Millennials are 115% more influenced by word of mouth than advertising. (Talk Triggers)
5. 55% of Americans make recommendations at least monthly and 30% make recommendations at least weekly. (Talk Triggers)
6. 41% of Americans value word of mouth recommendations from friends and family more than social media recommendations. (Talk Triggers)
7. 66% of Americans trust an anonymous online review more than a recommendation from an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. (Talk Triggers)
8. When planning a wedding, word of mouth is 331% more likely to rely upon as compared to advertising. (Talk Triggers)
9. 43% of millennials and 71% of boomers rely on word of mouth more and previous experience when purchasing wine and champagne. (Nielsen)
10. 83% of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends and family and these recommendations are trusted. (Nielsen)
11. 88% of consumers trust online reviews from other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from their friends and family. (BrightLocal)
12. 80% of furniture retailers consider word of mouth as their best marketing approach. (Unity Marketing)
13. Referrals from friends make consumers 4x more likely to proceed with the purchase. (Review42)
14. Consumers discuss brands casually as much as 90x per week. (HubSpot)
15. 75% of consumers don’t trust advertisements and consider them untrue. (HubSpot)
16. 61% of consumers use search engines to read product reviews before making a purchase. (HubSpot)
17. 58% of consumers share their positive experience with a company on social media and use social media to ask family and friends for their opinions about brands. (ThriveMyWay)
18. Positive reviews about business make 91% of consumers more likely to use it. (BrightLocal)
19. An average consumer reads 10 reviews before trusting a local business. (BrightLocal)
20. Consumers that read reviews before making a purchase, 97% of them read the business response to reviews. (BrightLocal)
21. Only 53% of consumers will use a business with less than 4 stars. (BrightLocal)
22. 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word of mouth when making a buying decision. (Incite Group)
23. Word of mouth marketing improves marketing effectiveness by 54%. (MarketShare)
24. 71% of people are more likely to purchase when referred by social media. (HubSpot)
25. Millennials ranked word of mouth as the most powerful influencer in their purchase decisions related to clothing, packaged goods, financial products, and high-ticket products. (Marketing Charts)
26. Baby boomers ranked word of mouth as most influential in their purchase decisions for financial products and high-ticket products. (Marketing Charts)
27. 85% of website visitors find user-generated content more influential than brand created content like videos and photos. (AdWeek)
28. 50% of consumers are more likely to participate in a referral program and will refer a product if they’re offered an incentive or social recognition. (Software Advice)
29. 49% of consumers rely on recommendations from influencers. (Twitter)
30. A 10% increase in word of mouth can increase sales by 1.5%. (Market Share)
31. Word of mouth impression results in 5x more sales than a paid impression. (Invesp)
32. Brands that are emotionally connected with their audience and customers receive 3x more word of mouth as brands that are less emotionally connected. (Invesp)
33. 28% of consumers say that word of mouth is the most important factor in strengthening brand affinity. (Invesp)
34. 64% of marketers believe that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing for any business. (Invesp)
35. 82% of marketers are using WOMM to increase brand awareness. (Invesp)
36. WOMM influences 99% of all B2B purchases. (Adage)
37. Offline word of mouth increases sales by 20%. (Impact)

Word of mouth marketing is a powerful marketing channel that works exceptionally well for all types of companies. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, WOMM will always help you.

Don’t rely on organic WOMM! You should rather create targeted word of mouth marketing campaigns to make it work for your business. Collect customer reviews, record customer video testimonials, run influencer marketing campaigns, and have a WOMM strategy for your business.

It’s something you can’t go without, so don’t even try. A great way to further boost your SEO visibility is to respond to all feedback! Even if you get negative reviews, respond! It’s a great way to show your potential customers that your company cares about it customers.