A new way to measure word-of-mouth marketing

This McKinsey article begins by putting into perspective the impact of word of mouth, which appears to be a decisive factor in 20 to 50 percent of our purchasing decisions. It plays a particularly important role when we must buy a product or service that we don’t know well or when the stakes of a purchase are high. Paradoxically, the more social networks grow in importance, the more our direct conversations with those around us become an effective source of information, because they help us to filter the ambient noise constantly generated by online networks.

Beyond this observation, the authors suggest a methodology for measuring the magnitude of the impact, defined to enable marketing managers to identify the most productive forms of word of mouth.

Above all, this article proposes a theoretical framework, rather than operational advice; but it still helps readers to ask themselves the right questions.