When it comes to influencing purchase decisions, real friends and family are more than twenty times more influential than social media friends, according to a new study.
When it comes to influencing purchase decisions, real friends and family are more than twenty times more influential than social media friends, according to a new study.
The research, from the British Consumer Index, monitored a wide range of ‘Influences to Purchase’ as part of its continuous tracking of the population.
The latest publication of the data (Q1 2013) shows that more people are influences by their family and friends than anything else closely, followed by good experience in the past.
Looking at the population as a whole influences fall into three broad categories in terms of the number of people who are affected by them in their decision making.
Ranking of number of people whose choice of product, brand, shop or website when considering making a purchase is influenced by:
The ranking throws up some interesting points:
• Word of mouth and brand experience are still by far the most important influences. The implication being that organisations that get their quality, value and customer service right are more likely to succeed.
• Offers and discounts are far more important than endorsements, competitions and ‘buzz’.
• Leaflets through the door are far more influential than those handed out while shopping.
• Mobile is still very much in its infancy
• On and offline reviews both matter.
• TV is still important
• ‘Real World’ friends and family carry a lot more weight than ‘virtual’ friends.
Commenting on the figures Steve Abbott, Director; The British Consumer Index said; “These figures throw up some interesting dilemmas for marketers. The consumer landscape is, as we all know, changing rapidly to a more digital environment. The problem is that many in the marketing industry are far more advanced in their engagement with the digital world than the population in general. This data provides a ‘reality check’ which can help bring a better balance to the weighting of marketing spend.”
www.thebps.co.uk
