Word of mouth #1 influence for b2b purchase decisions

A May 2007 study of market research firm Keller Fay Group, sponsored by experiential marketing agency Jack Morton Worldwide, provides some interesting insights on the influence of word of mouth on business-to-business purchase decisions. As far as I can see (through Technorati), the world of PR hasn't taken notice.
Keller Fay interviewed 700 executives in the US (288) and UK (406) between March and April 2007 and combined these with interviews with 2,188 executives participating in Keller Fay's TalkTrack tracking study of word of mouth. The key findings are:

1. Word of mouth is the #1 purchase influencer for business decision-makers (53 % in the US, 65 % in the UK). Sales reps follow on rank 2 (US 39 %, UK 35 %), Meetings/events/ conferences on rank 3 (US 38 %, UK 40 %), the Internet on rank 4 (US 37 %, UK 40 %) and press coverage on rank 9 (US 23 %, UK 24 %).
2. Face-to-face is the #1 way for decision-makers to have word of mouth conversations (75 %). The phone follows on rank 2 (19 %), E-mail on rank 3 (3 %), instant or text message on rank 4 (1 %) and online chat rooms and blogs on rank 5 (< 1 %)
3. First-hand experience of a brand is the #1 basis for brand conversations (86 %). Compared to that other aspects of the brand play a minor role (14 %).

There are some important conclusions to draw from this study. Business leaders base most of their purchase decisions on direct personal relationships: They trust their peers more than any other source. They prefer face-to-face over any mediated relation. And direct, first-hand experience is by far the most important motive for them to talk about a brand. In other words, media programs, old or new, are not the most powerful way to win their trust. We have to think beyond media relations, if we want to reach business leaders making decisions on purchases. We have to help creating positive first hand brand experiences and facilitating face-to-face meetings with advocates of our clients' brand.

Georg Kolb

Technorati Tags: Word of mouth, BtoB, Keller Fay Group, Jack Morton Worldwide, PR, Public Relations