Offline WOM Beats the Online Variety

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As brands scramble to get favorable word of mouth on social-media sites, a Harris Poll released this week finds that offline word of mouth — i.e., words spoken by actual mouths — exerts more influence on consumers’ purchase decisions.

In the polling (conducted online in March), adults were queried about their information-gathering process for the most recent purchase they made “that stands out in your mind.” When respondents were asked to identify the various methods and sources they used, 21 percent cited “face-to-face with a person not associated with the company, such as a family member, business colleague or friend.”

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