According to a study on consumers conducted by Nielsen, 93% of NTDs prefer to talk directly rather than use social media (89%) when sharing a brand experience or looking for new options. In particular, although actively participating in online platforms, word-of-mouth factors or real-life conversations strongly affect the minds of consumers and thereby lead to their purchasing decisions.

More than half of the questionees (58%) confirm that oral factors have a greater influence on them than social media (46%). Up to 71% of those questioned said real-life conversations impacted their purchasing decisions.

According to this study, global consumers tend to use digital platforms and social media more often, but they trust traditional channels more.

"Word of mouth is one of the oldest, but also the most effective."

Sue Temple, vice president of Nielsen Global's customer insights division, said that the quality of online communications has grown in no similarity to its speed, and has encountered many

incidents involving fake news, phishing and user data breaches. This reduces trust in information shared through new media channels.

Currently, Australia, Germany and South Korea are the countries where the word of mouth promotion channel has the strongest "influence" on the minds and shopping decisions of consumers compared to social media. Countries with great trust with digital media are Mexico (71%), Indonesia (65%) and Turkey (61%), while Australia and Germany have little confidence in digital media (34% in both countries).

The reasons for using consumer's digital platforms in each region are quite diverse. Specifically, 46% of employers use social media to search for suggestions, 42% use it because it is interesting to read something online and 38% use social media because they want to share the experience. Meanwhile, most employers choose to express their personal opinions in real life because they are sharing experiences (45%), commenting on exclusive offers (42%) and would like to introduce good products (42%).

Consumer searches for information online about the product and when interesting and appropriate content appears will inspire consumers to talk about real-life products. And real-life conversations are a way for consumers to share their true feelings with the community. When impressed by the good experience, they easily become brand ambassadors for the business.

According to Ms. Sue Temple, consumers easily trusts acquaintances such as friends, spouses, colleagues rather than strangers on social media. Therefore, the key to business success is the effort to create a positive experience that encourages customers to share their personal network. And "word of mouth has always been one of the great means for the marketer in the fight for consumers hearts and minds" said Sue Temple.

Source: Doanh Nhan Sai Gon