Advertising launched through the mass media is no longer enough to guarantee the success of a product. The consumer has taken the reins of consumption, and now it is not enough for an actor to tell us on television or on the radio how good a product is and what miracles it does. No longer.
In these times in which social networks have made us communicate in a much simpler and direct, brands know well that the traditional model of advertising does not work, and that users, their potential customers, decide whether to buy or not a product based on other aspects, such as word of mouth, which, on the other hand, is what has always worked.
It is a fact that humans need to share positive and negative experiences, but, we must also point out that we tend to express more in the platforms that we have available our discontent than our satisfaction.
We are also aware that consumers no longer allow ourselves to be influenced by the message that the brand wants to send us, which, of course, will not tell us anything negative about their product, and that we trust much more than the opinion we can. give us another user who has already tried it, going for it to forums or to the same social networks.
A clear example is found when choosing a hotel in a city that we do not know. If we want to stay in a hotel in a city like Paris and find one that is not badly priced, apart from the fact that the quality of hotels in the rest of Europe is far, in general, from those of our country and a hotel of Three stars Parisian is not one of three stars in Spain, the first thing we do is look up the name of the establishment on Google and see the opinions that have left users who have already been there, and, if they are not positive, usually, we do not hire it
Word of mouth has always worked, and now, with social networks, the power of recommendations is much greater than in the past. Before you could tell an acquaintance how you went with a product, whether you liked it or not, talk about your experience, but now it is possible to inform any user of the world, share our opinion in an open and visible way for hundreds of other consumers .
Make no mistake, although the brand is composed of people who work for her, they will never tell us anything negative about her, because her ultimate goal is conversion, sale. In the recommendation of other Internet users or consumers we have the key to give our confidence or not to a brand, a product, and if our closest friends or friends recommend us not to buy a certain product, it will be very difficult to finally decide buy.
This is the influential effect of the recommendations, which although they were always a determining factor in purchasing decisions, today they are even more so when the network does not offer the possibility of accessing the experience and the testimony of thousands of consumers. . That is why it is a great challenge for brands that, beyond advertising, feel obliged to offer not only a quality product, but also a positive experience, better service and greater confidence that make it possible to achieve a higher reputation and that the negative recommendations of the clients do not become the worst enemy of our company or brand.
And you, you are one of those who are convinced by advertising or those who seek recommendations from others?