Negative Word Of Mouth
Just like positive WOM benefits your brand image and in many cases boosts sales, negative WOM is detrimental to the reputation your company/brand has built over years. Problem is, negative WOM spreads faster than positive WOM.
Studies have shown that a satisfied customer will tell an average of three people about a product or service she likes. Yet, more importantly, a customer will tell eleven people about a product or service with which she had a negative experience.
The average urban consumer is exposed to 200-800 commercial communications per day, but only acts on one every week or two, and then mostly to get more information, not to buy.7 When people ask someone about a product, they are likely to ask, “Did you face any problem using X?”
Another reason that WOM is so often negative is because the positive experiences are expected and soon forgotten, but the negative experiences cause people to be angry and frustrated, generating negative WOM.
DEALING WITH NEGATIVE WORD OF MOUTH
Often, companies and brands become victims of negative buzz. Unfortunately, people are more likely to talk about your business when they are unhappy than when they are happy or satisfied. Recent research reports that 92.6 per cent of rumors about companies or brands heard in the past year by consumers were negative in nature.
Whether the negative buzz is a rumor or reality, marketers must deal with the situation carefully. You must control damage as early as possible, definitely before it blows out of proportion and harms the image of your company or brand. Following are some of the methods that a company could employ to deal with negative word of mouth.
1) POSITIVE WORD OF MOUTH
The best way to counter negativity is to create positive WOM. Try to find the source of the problem and specifically answer the charges.
2) KEEPING QUIET
Sometimes keeping quiet and doing nothing about it is the best option because consumers may actually hear about the rumour only when marketers attempt to correct it.
Just like positive WOM benefits your brand image and in many cases boosts sales, negative WOM is detrimental to the reputation your company/brand has built over years. Problem is, negative WOM spreads faster than positive WOM.
Studies have shown that a satisfied customer will tell an average of three people about a product or service she likes. Yet, more importantly, a customer will tell eleven people about a product or service with which she had a negative experience.
The average urban consumer is exposed to 200-800 commercial communications per day, but only acts on one every week or two, and then mostly to get more information, not to buy.7 When people ask someone about a product, they are likely to ask, “Did you face any problem using X?”
Another reason that WOM is so often negative is because the positive experiences are expected and soon forgotten, but the negative experiences cause people to be angry and frustrated, generating negative WOM.
DEALING WITH NEGATIVE WORD OF MOUTH
Often, companies and brands become victims of negative buzz. Unfortunately, people are more likely to talk about your business when they are unhappy than when they are happy or satisfied. Recent research reports that 92.6 per cent of rumors about companies or brands heard in the past year by consumers were negative in nature.
Whether the negative buzz is a rumor or reality, marketers must deal with the situation carefully. You must control damage as early as possible, definitely before it blows out of proportion and harms the image of your company or brand. Following are some of the methods that a company could employ to deal with negative word of mouth.
1) POSITIVE WORD OF MOUTH
The best way to counter negativity is to create positive WOM. Try to find the source of the problem and specifically answer the charges.
2) KEEPING QUIET
Sometimes keeping quiet and doing nothing about it is the best option because consumers may actually hear about the rumour only when marketers attempt to correct it.