AGENT WILDFIRE’S WORD OF MOUTH CHEAT SHEET: July, 2007

… 167 Facts & Stats That May Surprise You about Word of Mouth

… 167 Facts & Stats

That

May Surprise You

about Word of

Mouth

WORD OF MOUTH WORD OF MOUTH Also known as: In Canada In the U.S.

i. WORDS ARE IMPORTANT

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Importance 67% - Percentage of consumer purchase decisions primarily influenced by word of mouth, #1 factor Source: Mckinsey/Thompson Lightstone 93% - Percentage of customers who identify word of mouth as the best, most reliable source about ideas and information on products and services - up 26 pts. vs. 25 years ago Source: NOP World - Percentage of Inc. 500 marketers planning a word of mouth program next year – #1 growing marketing vehicle Source: eMarketer 70% 66% - Companies who state “social media” is very important/somewhat important to company strategy Source: University of Massachussetts-Dartmouth 50% - Percentage of U.S. and U.K. executives highly likely to buy a product or service based on word of mouth Source: Keller Fay 46% - Percentage of senior marketers who believe generating “buzz and press” is the most important part of building a brand Source: Business Week

ii. IS THERE ANYBODY LISTENING, IS THERE ANYBODY WATCHING? …

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Filter 4% Estimated recall of TV ad from the last show we watched, down from 34% in 1965 . Source: Newspaper Bureau Association 43% 72% 18 70% of people frequently consume multiple media simultaneously Source: eMarketer Percentage of ads actively ignored on TV Source: CNW Marketing Research Inc. Percentage of ads skipped by DVR users Source: CNW Marketing Research Inc. - Amount of minutes of advertising in every hour of TV, double a generation ago and climbing 1-3% every year Source: AAAA 69% of people are interested in mechanisms that skip advertising completely Source: Yankelovich 117 TV ads required to hit 80% of the population at least once; in 1965, this number was three Source: james Stengel, P&G

Estimated recall of TV ad from the last show we watched, down from 34% in 1965 . Source: Newspaper Bureau Association

of people frequently consume multiple media simultaneously

Source: eMarketer

Percentage of ads actively ignored on TV

Source: CNW Marketing Research Inc.

Percentage of ads skipped by DVR users

Source: CNW Marketing Research Inc.

of people are interested in mechanisms that skip advertising completely Source: Yankelovich

TV ads required to hit 80% of the population at least once; in 1965, this number was three Source: james Stengel, P&G

iii. IT’S OK, BLAME THE MARKETER…

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Marketing Pain 10% Percentage of Financial executives who believe marketers can assess impact of budget on sales Source: Marketing Management Analytics 23 64% 66% 70% Average tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer (in months) Source: Carmichael Lynch - Percentage of marketers who will drop at least one agency this year Source: CMO Council - Percentage of marketers who have repositioned their brand in the last three years Source: Brand Channel - Percentage of firms who have reorganized their marketing departments in the last five years Source: Booz Allen Hamilton 60% - Percentage of consumers who have a much more negative opinion of marketing & advertising than they did a few years ago Source: Yankelovich

Percentage of Financial executives who believe marketers can assess impact of budget on sales Source: Marketing Management Analytics

Average tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer (in months)

Source: Carmichael Lynch

iv. WORD OF MOUTH -GEARED TO SPREAD…

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Prolific - of people hearing a personal, negative recommendation, were influenced to buy another brand Source: Millward Brown, 2005 the number of words spoken a day by an average person Source: University of Arizona 74% 16,000 the number of weak ties (associates, acquaintances, colleagues) we have in our lives percentage of people who believe word of mouth most affects purchase decision (vs. 48% sampling, 38% TV spots, 21% magazine ads) Source: Harris Interactive the number of word of mouth recommendations made everyday in Canada Source: Agent Wildfire the number of people needed to spread a word of mouth phenomenon to every Canadian with 4 generations of referral Source: Agent Wildfire 500-1500 68% 200M 20k

the number of words spoken a day by an average person

Source: University of Arizona

the number of weak ties (associates, acquaintances, colleagues) we have in our lives

percentage of people who believe word of mouth most affects purchase decision (vs. 48% sampling, 38% TV spots, 21% magazine ads) Source: Harris Interactive

the number of word of mouth recommendations made everyday in Canada Source: Agent Wildfire

the number of people needed to spread a word of mouth phenomenon to every Canadian with 4 generations of referral

Source: Agent Wildfire

v. WORD OF MOUTH: MARKETING ON STEROIDS …

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Powerful - Amount of reduction of negative word of mouth to generate 1% of business growth Source: London School of Economics 7% - Amount of lift in word of mouth to generate 1% in business growth – top correlated growth factor Source: London School of Economics 4x - Difference in growth rate of high net promoter score brands vs. low net promoter score brands Source: London School of Economics 7to1 - Percent of people who claim word of mouth is one of the most reliable info sources - ranked #1 & up 50% vs. 1977 Source: NOP World 93% - Ratio of positive word of mouth about products compared to negative word of mouth in the marketplace Source: Keller Fay 70% Percentage of word of mouth conversations having an impact on brand purchase (37% buy it/try it, 24% consider it, 9% avoid purchase based on WOM) Source: Keller Fay 2%

vi. HOCKEY, MAPLE SYRUP, WORD OF MOUTH…

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Canadian 1 st ,2 nd, 4 th - Percentage of Canadians Who Trust Mass Advertised Brands (vs. 44% for Americans to the same question) Source: Environics 67% 56% 17% #1 Canada’s rank globally on broadband connection, visiting blogs & per-capita Facebook members Source: comScore/Facebook - Friends, spouses and parents rank in most passionately embraced subjects by Canadians Source: Arnold Mood and Mindset - of Canadians who have stopped doing business with a company that doesn't respect them Source: Arnold Mood & Mindset - Percentage of Canadians are willing to provide emails to websites that ask (up from 61% in 2005) Source: ipsos-NA 65% - of Canadian consumers feel bombarded by ads Source: Yankelovich

vii. TRIED, TESTED & TRUE

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Trusted People who claim to buy the same brands as their friends, up 28 points vs. 2003 Source: Edelman/Yankelovich - Trust Rank of Advertising practitioners among 21 professions - #19 Lawyers, #21 Car Salesmen Source: Gallup 90&82 - Percentage of People Who Trust Their Spouse and Friends on product purchase decisions respectively Source: Henley Centre 14&8 - Percentage of People Who Trust Advertising & Celebrities on product purchase decisions respectively Source: Henley Centre - of consumers who believe companies don’t tell the truth in advertising Source: Yankelovioch 61% 76% 20 98% - Percentage of People who believe “Integrity” is the #1 driver of their trustworthiness in professions Source: Ipsos-Na

People who claim to buy the same brands as their friends, up 28 points vs. 2003 Source: Edelman/Yankelovich

viii. SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

Word of Mouth By Numbers – The Influencers 6 Types 184 - Number of word of mouth conversations an influencer will have every week Source: Keller Fay - Percentage of Influencer conversations that mention brands or products Source: Keller Fay - Number of people influencers will email when advocating a brand and number of people they will directly impact within an organized word of mouth program Source: Agent Wildfire/Burston Marsteller Influencer participation levels vs. the mainstream: Reading, Politics, Tech, Social Activism, Travel, Volunteerism, Investing, Career Choice, Arts, Photography, Health & Fitness, Self-development Various Sources 20-10-1 - The composition of your customer base’s involvement 20% - Referrers, 10% - Advocates, 1% - Zealots Source: Agent Wildfire 1.7% of Wikipedia’s users contribute 70% of its content Source: Wikipedia 27% 2x 14&40

Influencer participation levels vs. the mainstream:

Reading, Politics, Tech, Social Activism, Travel, Volunteerism, Investing, Career Choice, Arts, Photography, Health & Fitness, Self-development Various Sources

of Wikipedia’s users contribute 70% of its content

Source: Wikipedia

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Influencers Feel a Connection To - Religious/spiritual group Source: NOP World - Neighborhood/town Source: NOP World 53% 72% 85% 96% 58% 57% - Youth related group Source: NOP World - Professional group Source: NOP World - Workplace Source: NOP World - Political group Source: NOP World - (tie) Alumni association or hobby/interest group Source: NOP World 43%

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Ranking Influencers’ Beliefs #1 I love talking to friends about things I have just discovered. Source: Agent Wildfire #2 #5 - I like to try out new products well before other people I know do. Source: Agent Wildfire #3 - I'm not shy about expressing my opinion and enjoy a good debate. Source: Agent Wildfire #4 I am always looking for new and different things to do. Source: Agent Wildfire - Staying informed and keeping up on current trends is very important to me. Source: Agent Wildfire #6 - People frequently ask me for advice on whether to buy something. Source: Agent Wildfire #7 - I enjoy meeting new people and find it easy to make friends. Source: Agent Wildfire I lead an active life, love to travel and explore new places. Source: Agent Wildfire #8

I love talking to friends about things I have just discovered.

Source: Agent Wildfire

I am always looking for new and different things to do.

Source: Agent Wildfire

I lead an active life, love to travel and explore new places.

Source: Agent Wildfire

ix. NOT JUST THE WATERCOOLER…

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Where 77% Of word of mouth is face to face. Source: North Eastern University 17% 6% 76% 40-27 Of word of mouth by phone. Source: North Eastern University Of word of mouth online. Source: North Eastern University Of organized seeded word of mouth is spontaneous. Source: North Eastern University Percentage of word of mouth that happens at home and work respectively. Source: North Eastern University 14-8-7 Percentage of word of mouth that happens in a commercial area, campus and or community/fitness/party area respectively. Source: North Eastern University

Of word of mouth is face to face.

Source: North Eastern University

Of word of mouth by phone.

Source: North Eastern University

Of word of mouth online.

Source: North Eastern University

Of organized seeded word of mouth is spontaneous.

Source: North Eastern University

x. IT STARTS WITH A GREAT EXPERIENCE

Word of Mouth By Numbers – It’s an Experience Thing of business leaders believe Customer Experience is the new battleground Source: MCE Who say majority of customer experiences are “bland” Source: Gallup 69% - Of consumers who say emotions account for ½ of their customer experience Source: Strategic Resource Development Group, 2006 #2&#3 - Customer Service and Customer Experience rank in achieving growth goals (behind business strategy) Source: Microsoft Executive Circle Of consumers who had a negative service experience in the past year AND those that subsequently severed the relationship. Source: Customer Focus 95% 96&80% 49% 22% - Of customers agreed that companies “currently provide an excellent customer experience.” Source: Customer Focus

of business leaders believe Customer Experience is the new battleground Source: MCE

Who say majority of customer experiences are “bland”

Source: Gallup

xi. AND THEY TOLD XX PEOPLE AND SO ON…

Word of Mouth By Numbers – The Passalong Effect of people ever pass on content through email Source: Sharpe Partners of people pass on content every week Source: Sharpe Partners 46% of people pass on content daily Source: Sharpe Partners 6 - Average number of recipients that people pass on content through email Source: Sharpe Partners 89% 10&13 63% 75,38, 39, 52 Average number of friends on teen’s social networks, cell phone directories, email address list and IM directory” Source: Deloitte & Touche Bloggers average number of blogroll links and links to their blog Source: Pew Internet

of people ever pass on content through email Source: Sharpe Partners

of people pass on content every week

Source: Sharpe Partners

of people pass on content daily

Source: Sharpe Partners

Average number of friends on teen’s social networks, cell phone directories, email address list and IM directory”

Source: Deloitte & Touche

Bloggers average number of blogroll links and links to their blog

Source: Pew Internet

Word of Mouth By Numbers – The Passalong Effect Passalong Jokes and Humour Source: Sharpe Partners 32% 30% 88% 56% 25% 24% 24% Passalong News Source: Sharpe Partners Passalong Health/Medical Info Source: Sharpe Partners Passalong Religious/Spiritual Info Source: Sharpe Partners Passalong Games Source: Sharpe Partners Passalong Personal Finance Source: Sharpe Partners Passalong Sports/Hobbies Source: Sharpe Partners

Passalong Jokes and Humour

Source: Sharpe Partners

Passalong News

Source: Sharpe Partners

Passalong Health/Medical Info

Source: Sharpe Partners

Passalong Religious/Spiritual Info

Source: Sharpe Partners

Passalong Games

Source: Sharpe Partners

Passalong Personal Finance

Source: Sharpe Partners

Passalong Sports/Hobbies

Source: Sharpe Partners

xii. MAKE NEW FRIENDS AND KEEP THE OLD…

Word of Mouth By Numbers – The Transmitters 11% - Tastemakers – the ones who create Source: Agent Wildfire 7% 8% - Trendspotters – the ones who notice Source: Agent Wildfire 19% - Opinion Leaders – the ones who sell & convert Source: Agent Wildfire 36% - Experts/Mavens –the ones who know Source: Agent Wildfire - Celebrities – the ones who attract Source: Agent Wildfire 18% - Social Ringleaders – the ones who spread Source: Agent Wildfire

Word of Mouth By Numbers – The Recipients 35% - Friends Source: Agent Wildfire 24% 4% - Family Source: Agent Wildfire 20% - Work Colleagues Source: Agent Wildfire 9% - Neighbours Source: Agent Wildfire - Online community members Source: Agent Wildfire 4% - Hobby/interest/team members Source: Agent Wildfire

xiii. WORD OF MOUTH: THE LANGUAGEOF SOCIAL GROOMING

Word of Mouth By Numbers – What Do We Talk About Generally 25% - Life/Living(i.e. food, events, relationships) Source: Northeastern University 13% 10% 12% 11% 6% - The Arts (i.e. movies, music, TV) Source: Northeastern University - Buying/using services Source: Northeastern University - Technology/science Source: Northeastern University - Buying products Source: Northeastern University - Health Source: Northeastern University 4% - (tie) Workplace/Professional and Hobbies Source: Northeastern University 3% - (tie) Sports/Education/Current Events Source: Northeastern University

What Do We Word of Mouth About – Brand Conversations Per Week 12 - Media/Entertainment Source: Keller Fay 10 8 8 8 7 - Food & Dining Source: Keller Fay - Beverages Source: Keller Fay - Public Affairs Source: Keller Fay - Telecommunications Source: Keller Fay - (Tie) Tech & Travel Source: Keller Fay 7 - Health & Health care Source: Keller Fay 6 - (tie) Shopping/Auto/Financial/Beauty Source: Keller Fay

xiv. WORD OF MOUTH: WHAT MOTIVATES US TO BUZZ

#1 Reason Why We Word of Mouth – Products & Services That Are: 32% - Exciting/buzzworthy Source: Agent Wildfire 20% 9% 13% 13% 9% - Real problem solvers/smart ideas Source: Agent Wildfire - Exclusive and not yet discovered Source: Agent Wildfire 3% - Things You Personally Experience/Associate With Source: Agent Wildfire - New or just breaking Source: Agent Wildfire - Innovative and one-of-a-kind Source: Agent Wildfire - Fashionable & Stylish Source: Agent Wildfire

xv. CONNECTED 24/7…

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Connected 2.7B Cellphones in the world Source: Gartner 1.8B 1.1B 110M Number of videos streamed online every month Source: Comscore 8.5B Bloggers in the world Source: Technorati 75% Number of Facebook users who log in daily Source: Facebook Instant Messenger Users in the world Source: Communities Dominate Brands Internet users in the World Source: Gartner

Cellphones in the world

Source: Gartner

Number of videos streamed online every month

Source: Comscore

Bloggers in the world

Source: Technorati

Instant Messenger Users in the world

Source: Communities Dominate Brands

Internet users in the World

Source: Gartner

xvi. MARKETING IS NOW A TRIBAL GAME…

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Community 82% - Percentage of “brand community members” who recommend company/brand more often after membership Source: Communispace 89% Percentage of “brand community members” who believe company is truly concerned on what they have to say Source: Communispace 76% 75% 56% - Percentage of “brand community members” who felt MORE positively about the company Source: Communispace - Percentage of “brand community members” who felt MORE respect for the company Source: Communispace Uplift in revenue - community members vs. non-members Source: HBR 2x/4x/6x Ebay community members vs. control users – frequency of bids, frequency of listings and amount of earnings Source: HBR

Percentage of “brand community members” who believe company is truly concerned on what they have to say

Source: Communispace

Uplift in revenue - community members vs. non-members

Source: HBR

Ebay community members vs. control users – frequency of bids, frequency of listings and amount of earnings Source: HBR

xvii. GATHER ‘ROUND THE FIRE, WE’RE HAVING A SOCIAL…

Word of Mouth By Numbers - Social 850M Number of people on top 72 social networks Source: Wikipedia 668% Growth in social networks April 2007 (from April 2006) Source: Business Week 2,4 & 29 - Average number of confidants, close friends, strong ties Source: Agent Wildfire 4.2 79.9 Average Visits per month to social network sites (vs. 3.5 for other sites) by members Source: Comscore 217 Average minutes per visit to social network site (vs. 33.2 minutes for other sites) Source: Comscore Average No. of pages per visit to social network sites (vs. 53 for other online sites) Source: Comscore

Number of people on top 72 social networks

Source: Wikipedia

Growth in social networks April 2007 (from April 2006)

Source: Business Week

Average Visits per month to social network sites (vs. 3.5 for other sites) by members Source: Comscore

Average minutes per visit to social network site (vs. 33.2 minutes for other sites) Source: Comscore

Average No. of pages per visit to social network sites (vs. 53 for other online sites)

Source: Comscore

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Social Networks 91% Use social networks to stay in touch with friends they see a lot Source: Pew Internet 82% Use social networks to make new friends that they don’t see in real life Source: Pew internet 51% 84%,82%, 76% Percentage of online time spent by Millenials (14-26 years old) on social networks Source: Deloitte & Touche Use social networks and post to friend’s wall/page, send private messages, post comments to friend’s blog Source: Pew Internet Use social networks to make plans with friends, send a mass message, wink, poke or give e-props to friends Source: Pew Internet Use social networks to stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person Source: Pew Internet 49% 72%,61%, 33%

Use social networks to stay in touch with friends they see a lot

Source: Pew Internet

Use social networks to make new friends that they don’t see in real life

Source: Pew internet

Percentage of online time spent by Millenials (14-26 years old) on social networks Source: Deloitte & Touche

Use social networks and post to friend’s wall/page, send private messages, post comments to friend’s blog

Source: Pew Internet

Use social networks to make plans with friends, send a mass message, wink, poke or give e-props to friends Source: Pew Internet

Use social networks to stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person Source: Pew Internet

xix. PEOPLE WANT IN…

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Create & Share 52% - Of bloggers’ major reason for blogging is to express themselves creatively Source: Pew Internet 50% 68% Percentage of the net generation (14-26 years old) willing to collaborate with companies that engage them in dialogue Source: New Paradigm - Have registered for emails from companies at an average of 8.5 sites Source: Ipsos-NA 80% Of customers believe customer-generated ads are more customer-friendly, more creative and more innovative Source: American Marketing Association 68%,56%, 55% - Percentage of consumers who regular give and seek information about products Source: eMarketer - Of bloggers’ major reason for blogging to document personal experiences and share them with others Source: Pew Internet 94% & 91%

Percentage of the net generation (14-26 years old) willing to collaborate with companies that engage them in dialogue

Source: New Paradigm

Of customers believe customer-generated ads are more customer-friendly, more creative and more innovative

Source: American Marketing Association

xx. GIVE UP SOME POWER TO GET SOME POWER…

Word of Mouth By Numbers – Not Well Practiced 80% - Of companies believe they deliver a superior customer experience. But only eight percent of their customers agree Source: Customer Focus 22% - Of marketers willing to let customers shape their marketing initiatives Source: University of Mass.-Dartmouth 3.4% Percentage of face to face WOM conversations stimulated by a marketing organization's promotional efforts Source: Journal of Services Marketing - Executives who believe they don’t engage in true dialogue with customers Source: Strativity 55% - Executives who believe they don’t deserve their customer’s loyalty Source: Strativity 45% 5.8% - Percentage of Fortune 500 companies with a public blog Source: Social Text

Percentage of face to face WOM conversations stimulated by a marketing organization's promotional efforts

Source: Journal of Services Marketing

Word of Mouth By Numbers – There is Hope Yet 36%,32%, 31% Breakdown of why companies will participate in social media more actively in the future to keep ahead of the competition to be cost-efficient to deal with declining credibility of ads and editorial Source: Manning, Selvage & lee 65% Percentage of business executives who social network online (Linked In, MySpace, Yahoo 360) Source: I4CP Percentage of Executives who believe: social media will grow social media is a fad Source: MS&L 70&3% Marketer’s expected use of online media over the next 3 years – percentage expected more/expected less Source: Association of National Advertisers 96% & 1% 4.5, 4.3, 4.1 Ratings out of 5 on why Corporate Blogs are a priority Another way to publish content and ideas Thought leadership Build a community Source: Backbone Media

Breakdown of why companies will participate in social media more actively in the future

to keep ahead of the competition

to be cost-efficient

to deal with declining credibility of ads and editorial Source: Manning, Selvage & lee

Percentage of business executives who social network online (Linked In, MySpace, Yahoo 360)

Source: I4CP

Percentage of Executives who believe:

social media will grow

social media is a fad Source: MS&L

Marketer’s expected use of online media over the next 3 years – percentage expected more/expected less

Source: Association of National Advertisers

Ratings out of 5 on why Corporate Blogs are a priority

Another way to publish content and ideas

Thought leadership

Build a community Source: Backbone Media

Brand Communities Word of Mouth Campaigns Word of Mouth Media Word of Mouth Insights Word of Mouth Consulting

Let’s Put your Word of Mouth on an Accelerator Pedal! Inquire: smoffitt (at) agentwildfire.com Phone: 647-436-6802 URL: www.AgentWildfire.com Join/Share: www.TheInfluencers.ca Blog: http://BuzzCanuck.typepad.com/ Learn: The Buzz Report (monthly e-newsletter)

Agent Wildfire Inc. 2006 Agent Wildfire President & Chief Evangelist - Sean Moffitt Led and managed some of Canada’s most loved brands VP Marketing/Strategy - Molson & Diageo-Guinness Various Brand/Innovation management roles - P&G VP Business Development/Client Service - Echo Successfully practiced word of mouth as a client, agency executive and now as a specialist expert Founded Agent Wildfire in 2004 , operates as a full service WOM marketing, media & research firm Frequent speaker at conferences, seminars and universities on new media & word of mouth Chair and organizer - Canadian Marketing Association’s word of mouth conferences and seminars Co-developed Canada’s 1st Word of Mouth MBA course at Schulich School of Business Author of Buzz Canuck blog and The Buzz Report e-newsletter Consultant with New Paradigm Group on the open source Future of Brands (Wiki Brands)