Making Sense of IWOM
Topic 1: The role of Internet Word of Mouth
(IWOM) in purchase decisions
June 2009
© 2009 CIC

Contents
Overview 3
Do consumers pay attention to IWOM? 5
Why do consumers pay attention to IWOM? 7
Can IWOM influence consumers' attitude 8
towards brands?
How does IWOM affect the purchase decision 10
process?
About CIC 12
© 2009 CIC 2

Overview
For the past 5 years, CIC has been studying the Chinese consumer through
systematic observation and analysis of social internet platforms such as blogs, BBS
and social networks using a unique methodology that combines quantitative and
qualitative approaches, including online ethnography, as well as cutting edge text
mining technology. Through systematic observation and analysis of online platforms,
their users and other essential elements, we have come to understand consumers’
online behavior and culture. Our white papers focused on IWOM around automobile,
mobile phones, notebook computers, sports as well as our various trend watches are
all testament to this effort.
In CIC’s most recent whitepaper series, “The Internet is THE Community,” we
stressed the importance of IWOM and its influence on reshaping the relationship
between brands and consumers. Brands which leverage IWOM can have not only
more effective communications, but also gain strategic insights for product
development and overall strategy.
For our latest white paper series, Making Sense of IWOM, we look at
consumer behavior, motivation and influence of IWOM. We use a more traditional
approach with comprehensive offline research in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and
Chengdu from late 2008 to early 2009. The research included a telephone survey of
640 BBS and blog users to study the influence of IWOM on the purchase decision
process. We also conducted 8 focus groups and 32 in-depth interviews with BBS/blog
users (including online opinion leaders) to further explore consumers’ online behavior
and motivation for engaging IWOM. Utilizing CIC’s combined expertise on IWOM
research and deep strategic understanding of IWOM, our team analyzed the data and
identified interesting and valuable findings which we will be sharing in 3 separate parts
for the series: “The role of IWOM in purchase decisions,” “How IWOM is generated
and disseminated” and “How brands can participate in online communities.”
To understand the depth and nature of IWOM’s influence, this first paper in the series
seeks to answer this primary question: “What is the role of IWOM in purchase
decisions.” We answer this question from these angles: “Do consumers pay attention
to IWOM,” “Why do consumers pay attention to IWOM,” “Can IWOM influence
consumers’ attitude towards brands” and “How does IWOM affect the purchase
decision process.”
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© 2009 CIC

Overview
“Do consumers pay attention to IWOM”: Our research shows that over 81% of
BBS/blog users search IWOM when making purchase decisions, suggesting that
reviewing IWOM before purchasing is becoming a regular habit for consumers. Based
on a further study of 520 BBS and blog users who sought out IWOM for purchasing
products in the past year, we found that IWOM was most influential in the mobile phone,
consumer electronics, cosmetics and baby care categories with at least 50% of
respondents seeking out IWOM when looking to purchase. Even when not looking to
make a purchase, 89.8% respondents still pay attention to IWOM. Respondents
mentioned check the IWOM around their favorite brands, specific industries or products
of interest, as well as brands with attractive promotion activities or major negative
incidents.
“Why do consumers pay attention to IWOM”: We found that the primary motivation
is to reduce the purchase decision risk (71.5% of all respondents). In addition, for very
active online consumers, building community around shared interest of particular
brands and categories such as mobile phone or automobile is a major driver.
“Can IWOM influence consumers’ attitude towards brands”: IWOM can affect,
even change consumer’s attitude towards brands. Nearly 50% of respondents agree
that positive IWOM can influence them to decrease or totally change their negative
perception of a brand, while 43.6% said that negative IWOM can reduce or change their
originally positive perception. Clearly, paying attention to and taking care of IWOM is a
“must have” for brands.
“How does IWOM affect the purchase decision process”: We discovered that
IWOM also plays a particular role in the overall purchase decision making process.
While the majority of consumers place friends’ recommendation as the most important
source of purchase information, IWOM is the second most important source. Ads.&
mass media campaigns and sales persons’ introduction is of minor importance. During
the whole process, IWOM has remarkable affect on “brand awareness” and “purchase
decision,” with 56.3% of respondents getting to know the brand through IWOM and
58.7% of respondents making the purchase decision based on IWOM. What is more
interesting, after purchase, consumers are still interested in IWOM, with 47.5% of
respondents seeking out IWOM to share their user experiences and express their
opinions. If brands can interact with the consumers during this critical time, it has the
potential to bring substantial benefits to the brands’ new product development as well
as marketing communication.
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© 2009 CIC

Do consumers pay attention to IWOM?
In order to better understand Chinese consumers’ awareness and level of attention
on IWOM, we conducted a survey of 640 BBS/blog users between the ages of 15-
60 from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. The result shows that 81.2%
of BBS/blog users search IWOM before making a purchase.
To explore how IWOM influences consumers’ purchase decisions, we further
studied 520 BBS/blog users who sought out IWOM before purchasing certain
products in the past year. We found that checking IWOM before purchasing is
becoming a habit for consumers that frequent BBS and blogs. Figure 1 shows
IWOM is most influential within the mobile phone, consumer electronics, cosmetics
and baby care categories with at least 50% of respondents seeking out IWOM when
looking to purchase a product.
Figure 1 Percentage checking IWOM when purchasing particular
product categories
数据来源: CIC， 520位最近一年内购买产品时查询过网络口碑的BBS/博客用户
Data Base: 520 BBS/blog users who sought out IWOM for purchasing certain product in
the past year
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© 2009 CIC

Do consumers pay attention to IWOM?
It is clear that consumers pay attention to IWOM when looking to make a purchase.
However, is IWOM influential even when not looking to make a purchase? From
Figure 2, we see that even when not looking to make a purchase, 89.8%
respondents still pay attention to IWOM. Figure 3 shows different kinds of IWOM
consumers will pay attention to even with no purchase intent: 48.7% respondents
check IWOM for their favorite brands, 44.4% are attracted by various promotion
activities, and 40.8% look for information about specific industries or products of
interest. In addition, the IWOM around brands with major negative incidents, well-
known brands and the brands they have used before also drives more than 30% of
respondents’ attention.
Figure 2 Do you pay attention to IWOM
when not looking to purchase?
Data Base: 520 BBS/blog users who sought out
IWOM for purchasing certain product in the past year
Figure 3 What IWOM do you pay attention to when not
looking to purchase?
Data Base: 520 BBS/blog users who sought out IWOM for purchasing
certain product in the past year 6
© 2009 CIC

Why do consumers pay attention to
IWOM?
71.5% (Figure 4) of respondents cited “reducing the purchase decision making risk” as
the primary reason for paying attention to the IWOM of brands. In our qualitative
research we found checking IWOM has become built into the purchase process:
• “It’s a sort of reference, especially when my friends and I don’t know much about the product.”
• “Before purchasing, checking others' user experience and appraisal can help to reduce purchasing
risk. After the purchase, we look to solve problems.”
One interesting phenomenon: for general BBS/blog participants, (i.e. BBS/Blog users
who read but don’t create’ content), the main purpose of seeking out IWOM is to reduce
purchase decision making risk; but for active BBS/blog users (i.e. more active content
creators), finding friends with shared interests and sharing personal opinions is also a
major driver.
• “I love Apple’s products, if there is anything about Apple online, I will take a look at it.”
• “What he writes really feeds my appetite, so I add him into my favorite list and read his articles
regularly.”
• “I will always look for and like to read the cool IDs who always write good content.”
While it is not surprising to find that there are some very active BBS/blog users with
strong opinions, in China what is particularly important to understand is the strength of
the community of these active users and the extension and influence of these bonds
offline through elements, including offline meet ups and even online group purchase. In
the following whitepaper, we will give more detailed analysis on why active BBS/blog
users are more passionate in expressing and building community around shared
interests.
Figure 4 Why do you pay attention to IWOM
Data Base: 520 BBS/blog users who sought out IWOM for purchasing
certain product in the past year
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© 2009 CIC

Can IWOM influence consumers' attitude
towards brands?
From our qualitative research, we found that if a consumer already has a good
impression of a brand, then positive IWOM will strengthen his or her affinity and trust
for this brand. What if the original impression is a negative one? Will positive IWOM
alter the consumer’s opinion?
According to the survey results (Figure 5), 25.8% of the respondents said their
negative impression would be minimized, 15 .6% said their perception would actually
shift to slightly positive and 5% said it would even shift to extremely positive. All told,
positive IWOM shifts a previously negative impression to a positive one for 46.4% of
all respondents. For 39.9%, however, positive IWOM would not cause a change in
opinion, 4.5% said it would worsen their negative image and 9.2% said they wouldn’t
believe positive IWOM due to the possibility of fake messages placed by brands or
agencies as we discovered in the qualitative research. In all, we can see that positive
IWOM has a 50% chance of influencing consumers to change a negative impression
of a brand.
Figure 5 How positive IWOM affects your negative
perception towards brands
Data Base: 520 BBS/blog users who sought out IWOM for purchasing certain
product in the past year
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© 2009 CIC

Can IWOM influence consumers' attitude
towards brands?
When we look at how negative IWOM influences consumers who originally had a
positive impression towards brands, we see a similar result. According to Figure 6,
negative IWOM shifts the positive impression to a negative one. 43.6% said that
negative IWOM can reduce or change their original positive perception suggesting
that negative IWOM of a brand has a very strong potential to change consumers’
mind on selection of products. Clearly, paying attention to and taking care of IWOM
is a “must” for brands.
Figure 6 How negative IWOM affects your positive
perception towards brands
Data Base: 520 BBS/blog users who sought out IWOM for purchasing certain
product in the past year
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© 2009 CIC

How does IWOM affect the purchase
decision process?
Through our qualitative research, we found that consumers look to four sources when
researching during the purchase process: friends’ recommendation, IWOM, Ads &
mass media campaigns (TV, magazine etc.) and salesperson’s introduction. Figure 7
shows the four typical scenarios. When we presented these four scenarios via
decision tree analysis on our survey, we found that the majority of consumers choose
the first scenario. While the majority of consumers place friends’ recommendation as
the most important source of purchase information, IWOM is the second most
important source.
Figure 7 Four typical scenarios for consumers’ research
during purchase decision process
Philip Kotler, considered by many to be the father of modern marketing, proposed that
the general consumers purchasing decision making process includes 5 steps: problem
recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and final
post-purchase behavior.
With the increasing power of IWOM, we see that this model can be modified to fit the
modern purchase process. Based on our qualitative research findings, we have
updated the model and divided the consumer purchase decision making process into 6
steps (Figure 8).
Figure 8 Consumer purchasing decision making process
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© 2009 CIC

How does IWOM affect the purchase
decision process?
In addition, we also evaluated how IWOM affects each step of the purchasing
decision making process. Figure 9 shows that during the whole process, IWOM has
the strongest affect on “brand awareness” and “purchase decision” with 56.3% of
consumers first learning about the brand through IWOM and 58.7% of consumers
making the purchase decision based on IWOM. After purchasing, consumers are still
interested in IWOM, with 47.5% of consumers still seeking IWOM online. During the
post-purchase stage, consumers mainly shared their user experience and expressed
their new requirements.
Figure 9 IWOM’s influence on each step of the purchasing
decision making process
Data Base: 520 BBS/blog users who sought
out IWOM for purchasing certain product in the
past year
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© 2009 CIC

About CIC
CIC is the thought leader in Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) with over 4 years
experience in China working with cutting edge clients across multiple industries
on a retainer basis. With a proven approach and case studies, CIC is the first
and best option in China to help clients make sense of the buzz. CIC coined the
term IWOM and has pioneered the concept of IWOM, redefining the relationship
between brands and consumers. CIC is committed to both providing objective
third party strategic advice to clients and promoting the healthy development of
the Internet Community in China. CIC's research and discussion of IWOM's
impact and best practices can be found on its company blogs, in its IWOM white
papers and IWOM watch reports and through its IWOM roundtable events such
as IWOM summit and IWOM classroom.
CIC offers customized and syndicated reports as well as an industry leading
IWOM analytics dashboard which is supported by proprietary Chinese language
based text mining technology (patent pending), data processing technology and
data visualization technology. CIC's retainer relationships stretch over multiple
years with multinational clients from Fortune 500 companies.
CIC's continual development and evolution is driven by an unique, powerful and
open mindset and learning culture which at its foundation continually seeks to
understand how the Internet, and IWOM, is redefining the relationships between
brands and consumers.
For more information, please visit
• www.iwommaster.com (CIC IWOM master intelligence service platform)
• www.ciccorporate.com (CIC website),
• www.seeisee.com (CIC Company blog in Chinese)
• www.seeisee.com/sam (CEO's company blog in English).
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© 2009 CIC