In the book Groundswell, the authors discuss the importance of the word of mouth. According to the authors, word of mouth campaigns succeed more than media campaigns because they are more believable, self-reinforcing, and self-spreading.
This impact of word of mouth campaigns made me think of influencers and their similarities. This is because both are built around people’s “desire to share with others” (page 13). But what separates these two are influencers on websites might be company employees where as “word of mouth” campaigns come cannot be faked.
If I’m going to try a new product or service it is always helpful if a friend of mine has tried it out first and enjoyed it. I prefer reviews from my friends because it is a more believable response than from a stranger over the internet. I know that I when I have had a good experience at a restaurant or store, that I tell everyone I come across. Of course, I’m not sure of how much new business I have brought in but at least they will have repeat business from me.
*Li, Charlene, and Josh Bernoff. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Boston, MA: Harvard Business, 2008. Print.
I totally agree - I use yelp or similar services for just about any new place that I try! I've never actually created a review though, I only use it to see what other consumers thoughts are.
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