1. Word of Mouth Theory

2. What is it? Do you use it? Do you believe that it works? Definitions W/M - Orally communicated Wikipedia - Refers to the oral communication and the passing of information from person to person WOMMA - The act of consumers providing information to other consumers

3. The Science We share our knowledge because we want something – there is no free lunch Two roles in word of mouth – speaker & listener both have their own motivations: Speaker – Product, Self, Other & Message Involvements Listener – Believes speaker is interested in their well-being and speaker’s experience is convincing

4. Speaker Motivation Product-involvement “I love my MacBook and I need to tell someone!” Self-involvement “Look at me, I am using an overpriced iPad too!” Other-involvement “I want to share this Mac experience with you.” Message-involvement “Did you see that Apple ad? It was dope!”

5. Listener Motivation Influential Groups Commercial Authorities Celebrities Connoisseurs Sharers of Interest Intimates People of Goodwill Bearers of Tangible Evidence

6. Conclusion Word of Mouth happens because both speaker and listener want something What they do get does not have to be material It is our very nature to share information

7. Questions How can we use WOM in marketing? How has social media changed the way word of mouth is conducted?