Word of mouth most powerful sales tool in India

Nielsen most recently surveyed consumers on their attitudes towards 13 types of advertising – from conventional newspapers and television ads to branded web sites and consumer-generated content.

As a consumer one is exposed to advertising in various media but what touches ones chord is either a very innovative message or a product, which is good value for money. Word of mouth brings with it a big “trust” factor, which is quite often missing in other forms of advertising. Indians by nature, tend to believe a friend or an associate while evaluating a product,” said Sarang Panchal, Executive Director, Client Solutions, The Nielsen Company.

87 % of Internet accessing Indians still trust recommendations from others over any other kind of advertising, making word-of-mouth advertising the most powerful tool in the industry today, according to a recent Nielsen survey. India comes 4th among the top 10 countries globally which trust in recommendations from consumers, with Hong Kong leading the list with 93 %, followed by Taiwan, Indonesia & India. 7 of the top 10 markets that rely most on “recommendations from consumers” are in Asia.

Ads in newspapers rank second (77 %) in India and also globally among all media categories at 63%.

To What Extent Do You Trust the Following Forms of Advertising?

1. Recommendations from Consumers - 87 %
2. Newspapers - 77 %
3. Consumer opinions posted online -73 %
4. Brand Websites - 72 %
5. Magazines - 71 %
6. TV - 65 %
7. Email I signed up for - 58 %
8. Radio - 55 %
9. Brand Sponsorships -52 %
10. Search Engine Ads - 41 %
11. Ads before Movies - 41 %
12. Online Banner Ads - 38 %
13. Text Ads on Mobiles - 24 %

The Nielsen survey found that new platforms like the Internet are beginning to slowly catch up with conventional media in terms of advertising revenues. Though the overall reach of Internet in India is yet to be widespread consumer opinions posted online and brand websites still make it to the list of top 10 countries (at 3rd and 6th position respectively), which trust these unconventional forms of advertising. Global consumer opinions posted online make it to the 3rd most trusted advertising form with 61 %.

“This result clearly shows that Indians are not averse to new forms of advertising and is a welcome sign for marketers to explore different advertising opportunities, which are very cost effective too! Blogs and Social Networking sites are becoming a big tool in the western world to generate consumer opinion, especially regarding new product launches. Though in a nascent state and popular with only certain sections of the society, these have the potential to become an interesting advertising avenue for the marketers” added Panchal.