營(yíng)銷策略分析 外文文獻(xiàn)

落筮大學(xué)外文文獻(xiàn)及其譯稿題目德芙巧克力在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)的營(yíng)銷策略分析姓名謝謝學(xué)號(hào)專業(yè)班級(jí)所在學(xué)院指導(dǎo)教師（職稱）黃彩云二。壹。年五月十日外文文獻(xiàn)Amarketer’sguidetobehavioraleconomicsApirl.2010?NedWelch?McKinseyQuarterlyMarketershavebeenapplyingbehavioraleconomics-oftenunknowinglyforyears.Amoresystematicapproachcanunlocksignificantvalue.Longbeforebehavioraleconomicshadaname,marketerswereusingit.“Threeforthepriceoftwo”offersandextended-paymentlayawayplansbecamewidespreadbecausetheyworked—notbecausemarketershadrunscientificstudiesshowingthatpeoplepreferasupposedlyfreeincentivetoanequivalentpricediscountorthatpeopleoftenbehaveirrationallywhenthinkingaboutfutureconsequences.Yetdespitemarketing'sinadvertentleadershipinusingprinciplesofbehavioraleconomics,fewcompaniesusetheminasystematicway.Inthisarticle,wehighlightfourpracticaltechniquesthatshouldbepartofeverymarketer'stoolkit.Makeaproduct’scostlesspainfulInalmosteverypurchasingdecision,consumershavetheoptiontodonothing:theycanalwayssavetheirmoneyforanotherday.That'swhythemarketer'staskisnotjusttobeatcompetitorsbutalsotopersuadeshopperstopartwiththeirmoneyinthefirstplace.Accordingtoeconomicprinciple,thepainofpaymentshouldbeidenticalforeverydollarwespend.Inmarketingpractice,however,manyfactorsinfluencethewayconsumersvalueadollarandhowmuchpaintheyfeeluponspendingit.Retailersknowthatallowingconsumerstodelaypaymentcandramaticallyincreasetheirwillingnesstobuy.Onereasondelayedpaymentsworkisperfectlylogical:thetimevalueofmoneymakesfuturepaymentslesscostlythanimmediateones.Butthereisasecond,lessrationalbasisforthisphenomenon.Payments,likealllosses,areviscerallyunpleasant.Butemotionsexperiencedinthepresent—now—areespeciallyimportant.Evensmalldelaysinpaymentcansoftentheimmediatestingofpartingwithyourmoneyandremoveanimportantbarriertopurchase.Anotherwaytominimizethepainofpaymentistounderstandtheways“mentalaccounting"affectsdecisionmaking.Consumersusedifferentmentalaccountsformoneytheyobtainfromdifferentsourcesratherthantreatingeverydollartheyownequally,aseconomistsbelievetheydo,orshould.Commonlyobservedmentalaccountsincludewindfallgains,pocketmoney,income,andsavings.Windfallgainsandpocketmoneyareusuallytheeasiestforconsumerstospend.Incomeislesseasytorelinquish,andsavingsthemostdifficultofall.Technologycreatesnewfrontiersforharnessingmentalaccountingtobenefitbothconsumersandmarketers.Acreditcardmarketer,forinstance,couldofferaWeb-basedormobile-deviceapplicationthatgivesconsumersreal-timefeedbackonspendingagainstpredefinedbudgetandrevenuecategories—green,say,forbelowbudget,redforabovebudget,andsoon.Thebudget-consciousconsumerislikelytofindvalueinsuchaccounts(althoughtheyarenotstrictlyrational)andtoconcentratespendingonacardthatmakesuseofthem.Thiswouldnotonlyincreasetheissuer'sinterchangefeesandfinancingincomebutalsoimprovetheissuer'sviewofitscustomers'overallfinancialsituation.Finally,ofcourse,suchanapplicationwouldmakeagenuinecontributiontotheseconsumers'desiretolivewithintheirmeans.HarnessthepowerofadefaultoptionTheevidenceisoverwhelmingthatpresentingoneoptionasadefaultincreasesthechanceitwillbechosen.Defaults—whatyougetifyoudon'tactivelymakeachoice—workpartlybyinstillingaperceptionofownershipbeforeanypurchasetakesplace,becausethepleasurewederivefromgainsislessintensethanthepainfromequivalentlosses.Whenwe're“given”somethingbydefault,itbecomesmorevaluedthanitwouldhavebeenotherwise—andwearemoreloathtopartwithit.Savvymarketerscanharnesstheseprinciples.AnItaliantelecomcompany,forexample,increasedtheacceptancerateofanoffermadetocustomerswhentheycalledtocanceltheirservice.Originally,ascriptinformedthemthattheywouldreceive100freecallsiftheykepttheirplan.Thescriptwasrewordedtosay,“Wehavealreadycreditedyouraccountwith100calls—howcouldyouusethose?”Manycustomersdidnotwanttogiveupfreetalktimetheyfelttheyalreadyowned.Defaultsworkbestwhendecisionmakersaretooindifferent,confused,orconflictedtoconsidertheiroptions.Thatprincipleisparticularlyrelevantinaworldthat'sincreasinglyawashwithchoices—adefaulteliminatestheneedtomakeadecision.Thedefault,however,mustalsobeagoodchoiceformostpeople.Attemptingtomisleadcustomerswillultimatelybackfirebybreedingdistrust.Don’toverwhelmconsumerswithchoiceWhenadefaultoptionisn'tpossible,marketersmustbewaryofgenerating“choiceoverload,"whichmakesconsumerslesslikelytopurchase.Inaclassicfieldexperiment,somegrocerystoreshopperswereofferedthechancetotasteaselectionof24jams,whileotherswereofferedonly6.Thegreatervarietydrewmoreshopperstosamplethejams,butfewmadeapurchase.Bycontrast,althoughfewerconsumersstoppedtotastethe6jamsonoffer,salesfromthisgroupweremorethanfivetimeshigher.Largein-storeassortmentsworkagainstmarketersinatleasttwoways.First,thesechoicesmakeconsumersworkhardertofindtheirpreferredoption,apotentialbarriertopurchase.Second,largeassortmentsincreasethelikelihoodthateachchoicewillbecomeimbuedwitha“negativehalo”一aheightenedawarenessthateveryoptionrequiresyoutoforgodesirablefeaturesavailableinsomeotherproduct.Reducingthenumberofoptionsmakespeoplelikeliernotonlytoreachadecisionbutalsotofeelmoresatisfiedwiththeirchoice.PositionyourpreferredoptioncarefullyEconomistsassumethateverythinghasaprice:yourwillingnesstopaymaybehigherthanmine,buteachofushasamaximumpricewe'dbewillingtopay.Howmarketerspositionaproduct,though,canchangetheequation.Considertheexperienceofthejewelrystoreownerwhoseconsignmentofturquoisejewelrywasn'tselling.Displayingitmoreprominentlydidn'tachieveanything,nordidincreasedeffortsbyhersalesstaff.Exasperated,shegavehersalesmanagerinstructionstomarkthelotdown"x%”anddepartedonabuyingtrip.Onherreturn,shefoundthatthemanagermisreadthenoteandhadmistakenlydoubledthepriceoftheitems—andsoldthelot.2Inthiscase,shoppersalmostcertainlydidn'tbasetheirpurchasesonanabsolutemaximumprice.Instead,theymadeinferencesfromthepriceaboutthejewelry'squality,whichgeneratedacontext-specificwillingnesstopay.Thepowerofthiskindofrelativepositioningexplainswhymarketerssometimesbenefitfromofferingafewclearlyinferioroptions.Eveniftheydon'tsell,theymayincreasesalesofslightlybetterproductsthestorereallywantstomove.Similarly,manyrestaurantsfindthatthesecond-most-expensivebottleofwineisverypopular—andsoisthesecond-cheapest.Customerswhobuytheformerfeeltheyaregettingsomethingspecialbutnotgoingoverthetop.Thosewhobuythelatterfeeltheyaregettingabargainbutnotbeingcheap.Sonyfoundthesamethingwithheadphones:consumersbuythematagivenpriceifthereisamoreexpensiveoption—butnotiftheyarethemostexpensiveoptiononoffer.Anotherwaytopositionchoicesrelatesnottotheproductsacompanyoffersbuttothewayitdisplaysthem.Ourresearchsuggests,forinstance,thaticecreamshoppersingrocerystoreslookatthebrandfirst,flavorsecond,andpricelast.Organizingsupermarketaislesaccordingtowayconsumersprefertobuyspecificproductsmakescustomersbothhappierandlesslikelytobasetheirpurchasedecisionsonprice—allowingretailerstosellhigher-priced,higher-marginproducts.(Thisexplainswhyaislesarerarelyorganizedbyprice.)Forthermostats,bycontrast,peoplegenerallystartwithprice,thenfunction,andfinallybrand.Themerchandiselayoutshouldthereforebequitedifferent.Marketershavelongbeenawarethatirrationalityhelpsshapeconsumerbehavior.Behavioraleconomicscanmakethatirrationalitymorepredictable.Understandingexactlyhowsmallchangestothedetailsofanoffercaninfluencethewaypeoplereacttoitiscrucialtounlockingsignificantvalue—oftenatverylowcost.不可或缺的營(yíng)銷四技巧多年來(lái)，營(yíng)銷商一直在運(yùn)用行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)，但往往是不自覺(jué)地運(yùn)用。一種更系統(tǒng)的做法則能為營(yíng)銷商開(kāi)發(fā)出巨大的價(jià)值。早在行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)成為一門(mén)學(xué)說(shuō)之前，營(yíng)銷者就已經(jīng)在使用它了。“買(mǎi)三送一”的招攬和延長(zhǎng)付款時(shí)間的“先用后付”計(jì)劃已被商家廣泛采用，之所以這樣，是因?yàn)檫@些做法很有效，而并不是因?yàn)闋I(yíng)銷商做了什么科學(xué)研究，證明了人們更喜歡得到看似免費(fèi)的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)，不那么喜歡同等程度的價(jià)格折扣，或是證明了人們?cè)诳紤]將來(lái)的后果時(shí)常常表現(xiàn)得不理性。然而，盡管營(yíng)銷在運(yùn)用行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)原理方面無(wú)意間走到了前頭，但卻很少有商家能夠以系統(tǒng)的方法來(lái)運(yùn)用這些原理。本文重點(diǎn)介紹了四種實(shí)用的營(yíng)銷技巧，它們應(yīng)成為每一位營(yíng)銷商不可缺少的工具。減輕人們花錢(qián)買(mǎi)產(chǎn)品時(shí)的心痛感幾乎在每一項(xiàng)購(gòu)買(mǎi)決策中，消費(fèi)者都可以選擇不買(mǎi)：他們總是可以把錢(qián)留下來(lái)，改日再買(mǎi)。正因?yàn)槿绱?，營(yíng)銷商的任務(wù)不僅僅是打敗競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，而且還要說(shuō)服購(gòu)物者從一開(kāi)始就掏出錢(qián)來(lái)。根據(jù)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)原理，對(duì)于我們花出的每一元錢(qián)，支付的痛感應(yīng)該都是同樣的劇烈。不過(guò)，在營(yíng)銷實(shí)踐中，許多因素會(huì)影響人們?nèi)绾慰创辉X(qián)的價(jià)值，影響他們?cè)诨ㄟ@一元錢(qián)時(shí)痛感的程度。零售商都知道，讓消費(fèi)者推遲付款的安排能極大地提高買(mǎi)家的購(gòu)買(mǎi)意愿。推遲付款之所以有效，其中的一個(gè)原因是非常符合邏輯的：金錢(qián)的時(shí)間價(jià)值使得將來(lái)付款比立即付款更便宜。但這種現(xiàn)象的背后，還有另外一個(gè)不是那么理性的原因。付款，就像所有其他損失一樣，讓人本能地覺(jué)得不爽。但此時(shí)此刻的情感體驗(yàn)是極其重要的。所以，即使是略微推遲付款，也能減輕馬上拿錢(qián)出去的那種刺痛感，從而消除阻止人們購(gòu)買(mǎi)的一個(gè)大障礙。另一個(gè)能夠最大程度地減輕付款痛苦的方法是，了解“心理會(huì)計(jì)”影響購(gòu)買(mǎi)決策的各種方式。消費(fèi)者會(huì)將他們從不同來(lái)源獲得的錢(qián)劃分到不同的“心理賬戶”中，而不是像經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家認(rèn)為他們會(huì)或應(yīng)該的那樣，平等地看待所擁有的每一元錢(qián)。常見(jiàn)的“心理賬戶”有意外之財(cái)、零花錢(qián)、收入和儲(chǔ)蓄等。通常，意外之財(cái)和零花錢(qián)是消費(fèi)者最容易花出去的錢(qián)。收入不太容易花出去，而花掉儲(chǔ)蓄是最難的。技術(shù)創(chuàng)造了一些利用“心理會(huì)計(jì)”的新領(lǐng)域，讓消費(fèi)者和營(yíng)銷商都受益。例如，信用卡營(yíng)銷商可以提供一項(xiàng)基于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)或移動(dòng)設(shè)備的應(yīng)用，向消費(fèi)者實(shí)時(shí)反饋支出與預(yù)先確定的預(yù)算及收入類別的比較情況，比如說(shuō)，綠色表示低于預(yù)算，紅色表示超出預(yù)算等等。這些賬戶的設(shè)置并不完全符合理性，但對(duì)預(yù)算十分在意的消費(fèi)者可能會(huì)覺(jué)得這類賬戶很有價(jià)值，并且把支出集中在利用這類賬戶的卡上。這樣，不僅能增加發(fā)卡公司的交易費(fèi)收入和融資收益，還能讓發(fā)卡公司更好地了解其客戶的總體財(cái)務(wù)狀況。當(dāng)然，這樣一項(xiàng)應(yīng)用程序最終能夠?yàn)槟切┫Ｍ咳霝槌龅南M(fèi)者做出真正的貢獻(xiàn)。利用默認(rèn)選擇的力量有壓倒多數(shù)的證據(jù)表明，如果提供一種選擇作為默認(rèn)選擇，會(huì)提高這種選擇被選中的可能性。默認(rèn)選擇是人們不用費(fèi)心勞神就能得到的選擇，它起作用的部分原因在于，讓人們?cè)谌魏钨?gòu)買(mǎi)發(fā)生之前產(chǎn)生了一種擁有感，因?yàn)槲覀儚氖斋@中得到的快樂(lè)沒(méi)有從等價(jià)的失去中感受的痛苦那么強(qiáng)烈。當(dāng)我們被默認(rèn)地“給予”某樣?xùn)|西時(shí)，它就變得比原來(lái)沒(méi)有被“給予”時(shí)更有價(jià)值，因此，我們更不愿意失去它。精明的營(yíng)銷商可以利用這些原理。例如，一家意大利電信公司在顧客打電話要取消服務(wù)時(shí)，卻成功地提高了向顧客提供該服務(wù)的接受率。一開(kāi)始，顧客會(huì)聽(tīng)到一段錄音告訴他們說(shuō)，如果他們繼續(xù)接受服務(wù)，則可獲得100次免費(fèi)電話。后來(lái)，這段錄音改為：“我們已經(jīng)向您的賬戶贈(zèng)送100次電話，您打算如何使用呢？”結(jié)果，許多顧客不想放棄他們覺(jué)得自己已經(jīng)擁有的免費(fèi)通話時(shí)間。當(dāng)決策者在考慮他們的選擇時(shí)覺(jué)得無(wú)所謂、困惑或矛盾時(shí)，默認(rèn)選擇最能發(fā)揮作用。在一個(gè)充斥著大量選擇的世界里，這個(gè)原理尤其有用，一項(xiàng)默認(rèn)選擇可以讓人們不必再費(fèi)力作出決定。不過(guò)，對(duì)大多數(shù)人來(lái)說(shuō)，這個(gè)默認(rèn)選擇必須是一個(gè)好的選擇。如果試圖誤導(dǎo)顧客，最后只會(huì)適得其反，導(dǎo)致顧客的不信任。切勿讓選擇壓垮消費(fèi)者如果不可能給出一項(xiàng)默認(rèn)選擇，營(yíng)銷商必須警惕“選擇超載”，這會(huì)降低消費(fèi)者購(gòu)買(mǎi)的可能性。在一個(gè)經(jīng)典的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)實(shí)驗(yàn)中，某家食品店的顧客可以品嘗24種果醬，而另一些食品店的顧客只可以品嘗6種。24種果醬吸引了更多顧客去品嘗，但購(gòu)買(mǎi)的人卻很少。相比之下，雖然停下來(lái)品嘗6種果醬的顧客相對(duì)較少，但該群體貢獻(xiàn)的銷售額卻高出5倍以上。店內(nèi)品種繁多至少在兩個(gè)方面對(duì)營(yíng)銷商不利。首先，太多的選擇讓消費(fèi)者更難找到自己喜歡的品種，對(duì)購(gòu)買(mǎi)造成潛在阻礙。其次，大量的品種會(huì)增加每個(gè)選擇都被“負(fù)面光環(huán)”籠罩的可能性，“負(fù)面光環(huán)”是一種被強(qiáng)化的感覺(jué)，好像每種選擇都會(huì)讓你放棄一些你想要的而且其他某個(gè)產(chǎn)品可以提供的功能。減少選擇的數(shù)量不僅會(huì)提高人們做出決定的可能性，而且會(huì)讓人們對(duì)自己的選擇感覺(jué)更滿意。精心定位首推品種經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家認(rèn)為，每一種東西都有一個(gè)價(jià)格：你的花錢(qián)意愿也許比我高，但我們每個(gè)人都有一個(gè)愿意支付的最高價(jià)格。然而，營(yíng)銷商定位一個(gè)產(chǎn)品的方式卻有可能打破這個(gè)公式。以一家珠寶店老板的經(jīng)歷為例，在她店里寄售的綠松石珠寶賣(mài)得不好。把這款珠寶放在顯著位置也沒(méi)有起什么作用，銷售人員努力推銷也無(wú)濟(jì)于事。一怒之下，她指示銷售經(jīng)理將這批珠寶的標(biāo)價(jià)降低一半，然后就出門(mén)去購(gòu)物旅行了。當(dāng)她回來(lái)時(shí)，她發(fā)現(xiàn)銷售經(jīng)理看錯(cuò)了她留下的便條，陰差陽(yáng)錯(cuò)地把價(jià)格調(diào)高了一倍，結(jié)果把這批珠寶都賣(mài)掉了。在這個(gè)例子中，購(gòu)物者顯然不是根據(jù)某個(gè)絕對(duì)的最高價(jià)格來(lái)購(gòu)買(mǎi)的。相反，他們根據(jù)價(jià)格來(lái)推斷珠寶的質(zhì)量，從而產(chǎn)生特定環(huán)境下的一種花錢(qián)意愿。這種相對(duì)定位的力量解釋了為何營(yíng)銷商有時(shí)候能夠從提供幾種明顯低劣的產(chǎn)品選擇中獲益。即使這些品種賣(mài)得不好，但它們可以增加那些稍微好一些產(chǎn)品的銷量，而后者正是商店想要賣(mài)出去的品種。類似地，許多餐館發(fā)現(xiàn)第二貴的瓶裝紅酒非常受歡迎，還有第二便宜的瓶裝紅酒也是這樣。購(gòu)買(mǎi)前者的顧客覺(jué)得自己得到某種特別的東西，但又不至于太過(guò)分。購(gòu)買(mǎi)后者的顧客覺(jué)得自己買(mǎi)到了便宜貨，但又不顯得小氣。索尼公司在耳機(jī)產(chǎn)品上也發(fā)現(xiàn)了同樣的現(xiàn)象：如果還有另一種更貴的產(chǎn)品，消費(fèi)者就會(huì)按照特定價(jià)格購(gòu)買(mǎi)這些產(chǎn)品，然而，同樣是這種特定價(jià)格，如果這些產(chǎn)品是最貴的，消費(fèi)者就不會(huì)購(gòu)買(mǎi)。另一種定位各種選擇的方式與企業(yè)提供哪些產(chǎn)品無(wú)關(guān)，而是與產(chǎn)品的陳列方式有關(guān)。例如，我們的研究表明，食品超市里的冰淇淋購(gòu)買(mǎi)者首先看品牌，然后看口味，最后才是看價(jià)格。根據(jù)顧客喜歡購(gòu)買(mǎi)的產(chǎn)品來(lái)布置超市的通道，這樣不僅讓顧客更愉快，而且降低了顧客根據(jù)價(jià)格來(lái)作出購(gòu)買(mǎi)決策的可能性，從而使商家能夠賣(mài)出價(jià)格和利潤(rùn)更高的產(chǎn)品。這解釋了為什么貨架很少按照商品價(jià)格來(lái)布置。相比之下，人們?cè)谫?gòu)買(mǎi)恒溫器時(shí)，一般首先看價(jià)格，然后是功能，最后看品牌。因此，這種商品的布置應(yīng)采取截然不同的方式。營(yíng)銷商很早就知道，消費(fèi)者的行為受到非理性因素的影響。行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)能夠提高非理性因素的可預(yù)測(cè)性。如果能夠確切了解產(chǎn)品細(xì)節(jié)上的小小變動(dòng)如何影響人們對(duì)它的反應(yīng)，則往往能夠以很低的代價(jià)釋放出巨大的價(jià)值。Anewwaytomeasureword-ofmouthmarketingApril.2010?JacquesBughin,JonathanDoogan,andOleJrgenVetvik?McKinseyQuarterlyConsumershavealwaysvaluedopinionsexpresseddirectlytothem.Marketersmayspendmillionsofdollarsonelaboratelyconceivedadvertisingcampaigns,yetoftenwhatreallymakesupaconsumer'smindisnotonlysimplebutalsofree:aword-of-mouthrecommendationfromatrustedsource.Asconsumersoverwhelmedbyproductchoicestuneouttheever-growingbarrageoftraditionalmarketing,wordofmouthcutsthroughthenoisequicklyandeffectively.Indeed,wordofmouth1istheprimaryfactorbehind20to50percentofallpurchasingdecisions.Itsinfluenceisgreatestwhenconsumersarebuyingaproductforthefirsttimeorwhenproductsarerelativelyexpensive,factorsthattendtomakepeopleconductmoreresearch,seekmoreopinions,anddeliberatelongerthantheyotherwisewould.Anditsinfluencewillprobablygrow:thedigitalrevolutionhasamplifiedandaccelerateditsreachtothepointwherewordofmouthisnolongeranactofintimate,one-on-onecommunication.Today,italsooperatesonaone-to-manybasis:productreviewsarepostedonlineandopinionsdisseminatedthroughsocialnetworks.SomecustomersevencreateWebsitesorblogstopraiseorpunishbrands.Asonlinecommunitiesincreaseinsize,number,andcharacter,marketershavecometorecognizewordofmouth'sgrowingimportance.Butmeasuringandmanagingitisfarfromeasy.Webelievethatwordofmouthcanbedissectedtounderstandexactlywhatmakesiteffectiveandthatitsimpactcanbemeasuredusingwhatwecall“word-of-mouthequity”一anindexofabrand'spowertogeneratemessagesthatinfluencetheconsumer'sdecisiontopurchase.Understandinghowandwhymessagesworkallowsmarketerstocraftacoordinated,consistentresponsethatreachestherightpeoplewiththerightcontentintherightsetting.Thatgeneratesanexponentiallygreaterimpactontheproductsconsumersrecommend,buy,andbecomeloyalto.Aconsumer-drivenworldThesheervolumeofinformationavailabletodayhasdramaticallyalteredthebalanceofpowerbetweencompaniesandconsumers.Asconsumershavebecomeoverloaded,theyhavebecomeincreasinglyskepticalabouttraditionalcompany-drivenadvertisingandmarketingandincreasinglyprefertomakepurchasingdecisionslargelyindependentofwhatcompaniestellthemaboutproducts.Thistectonicpowershifttowardconsumersreflectsthewaypeoplenowmakepurchasingdecisions.2Onceconsumersmakeadecisiontobuyaproduct,theystartwithaninitialconsiderationsetofbrandsformedthroughproductexperience,recommendations,orawareness-buildingmarketing.Thosebrands,andothers,areactivelyevaluatedasconsumersgatherproductinformationfromavarietyofsourcesanddecidewhichbrandtopurchase.Theirpost-salesexperiencetheninformstheirnextpurchasingdecision.Whilewordofmouthhasdifferentdegreesofinfluenceonconsumersateachstageofthisjourney,it'stheonlyfactorthatranksamongthethreebiggestconsumerinfluencersateverystep.It'salsothemostdisruptivefactor.Wordofmouthcanpromptaconsumertoconsiderabrandorproductinawaythatincrementaladvertisingspendingsimplycannot.It'salsonotaone-hitwonder.Therightmessagesresonateandexpandwithininterestednetworks,affectingbrandperceptions,purchaserates,andmarketshare.Theriseofonlinecommunitiesandcommunicationhasdramaticallyincreasedthepotentialforsignificantandfar-reachingmomentumeffects.Inthemobile-phonemarket,forexample,wehaveobservedthatthepass-onratesforkeypositiveandnegativemessagescanincreaseacompany'smarketsharebyasmuchas10percentorreduceitby20percentoveratwo-yearperiod,allotherthingsbeingequal.Thiseffectalonemakesacaseformoresystematicallyinvestigatingandmanagingwordofmouth.UnderstandingwordofmouthWhilewordofmouthisundeniablycomplexandhasamultitudeofpotentialoriginsandmotivations,wehaveidentifiedthreeformsofwordofmouththatmarketersshouldunderstand:experiential,consequential,andintentional.ExperientialExperientialwordofmouthisthemostcommonandpowerfulform,typicallyaccountingfor50to80percentofword-of-mouthactivityinanygivenproductcategory.Itresultsfromaconsumer'sdirectexperiencewithaproductorservice,largelywhenthatexperiencedeviatesfromwhat'sexpected.Consumersrarelycomplainaboutorpraiseacompanywhentheyreceivewhattheyexpect.)Complaintswhenairlinesloseluggageareclassicexampleofexperientialwordofmouth,whichadverselyaffectsbrandsentimentand,ultimately,equity,reducingbothreceptivenesstotraditionalmarketingandtheeffectofpositivewordofmouthfromothersources.Positivewordofmouth,ontheotherhand,cangenerateatailwindforaproductorservice.ConsequentialMarketingactivitiesalsocantriggerwordofmouth.Themostcommoniswhatwecallconsequentialwordofmouth,whichoccurswhenconsumersdirectlyexposedtotraditionalmarketingcampaignspassonmessagesaboutthemorbrandstheypublicize.Theimpactofthosemessagesonconsumersisoftenstrongerthanthedirecteffectofadvertisements,becausemarketingcampaignsthattriggerpositivewordofmouthhavecomparativelyhighercampaignreachandinfluence.Marketersneedtoconsiderboththedirectandthepass-oneffectsofwordofmouthwhendeterminingthemessageandmediamixthatmaximizesthereturnontheirinvestments.IntentionalAlesscommonformofwordofmouthisintentional—forexample,whenmarketersusecelebrityendorsementstotriggerpositivebuzzforproductlaunches.Fewcompaniesinvestingeneratingintentionalwordofmouth,partlybecauseitseffectsaredifficulttomeasureandbecausemanymarketersareunsureiftheycansuccessfullyexecuteintentionalwordof-mouthcampaigns.Whatmarketersneedforallthreeformsofwordofmouthisawaytounderstandandmeasureitsimpactandfinancialramifications,bothgoodandbad.Word-of-mouthequityAstartingpointhasbeentocountthenumberofrecommendationsanddissuasionsforagivenproduct.There'sanappealingpowerandsimplicitytothisapproach,butalsoachallenge:it'sdifficultformarketerstoaccountforvariabilityinthepowerofdifferentkindsofword-of-mouthmessages.Afterall,aconsumerissignificantlymorelikelytobuyaproductasaresultofarecommendationmadebyafamilymemberthanbyastranger.Thesetwokindsofrecommendationsconstituteasinglemessage,yetthedifferenceintheirimpactonthereceiver'sbehaviorisimmense.Infact,ourresearchshowsthatahigh-impactrecommendation—fromatrustedfriendconveyingarelevantmessage,forexample—isupto50timesmorelikelytotriggerapurchasethanisalow-impactrecommendation.Toassesstheimpactofthesedifferentkindsofrecommendations,wedevelopedawaytocalculatewhatwecallword-of-mouthequity.Itrepresentstheaveragesalesimpactofabrandmessagemultipliedbythenumberofword-of-mouthmessages.Bylookingattheimpact—aswellasthevolume—ofthesemessages,thismetricletsamarketeraccuratelytesttheireffectonsalesandmarketshareforbrands,individualcampaigns,andcompaniesasawhole.Thatimpact—inotherwords,theabilityofanyonewordof-mouthrecommendationordissuasiontochangebehavio—reflectswhatissaid,whosaysit,andwhereitissaid.Italsovariesbyproductcategory.What'ssaidistheprimarydriverofword-of-mouthimpact.Acrossmostproductcategories,wefoundthatthecontentofamessagemustaddressimportantproductorservicefeaturesifitistoinfluenceconsumerdecisions.Inthemobile-phonecategory,forexample,designismoreimportantthanbatterylife.Inskincare,packagingandingredientscreatemorepowerfulwordofmouththandoemotionalmessagesabouthowaproductmakespeoplefeel.Marketerstendtobuildcampaignsaroundemotionalpositioning,yetwefoundthatconsumersactuallytendtotalk—andgeneratebuzz—aboutfunctionalmessages.Thesecondcriticaldriveristheidentityofthepersonwhosendsamessage:theword-ofmouthreceivermusttrustthesenderandbelievethatheorshereallyknowstheproductorserviceinquestion.Ourresearchdoesnotidentifyahomogenousgroupofconsumerswhoareinfluentialacrosscategories:consumerswhoknowcarsmightinfluencecarbuyersbutnotconsumersshoppingforbeautyproducts.About8to10percentofconsumersarewhatwecallinfluentials,whosecommonfactoristrustandcompetence.Influentialstypicallygeneratethreetimesmoreword-of-mouthmessagesthannoninfluentialsdo,andeachmessagehasfourtimesmoreimpactonarecipient'spurchasingdecision.About1percentofthesepeoplearedigitalinfluentials—mostnotably,bloggers—withdisproportionatepower.Finally,theenvironmentwherewordofmouthcirculatesiscrucialtothepowerofmessages.Typically,messagespassedwithintight,trustednetworkshavelessreachbutgreaterimpactthanthosecirculatedthroughdispersedcommunities—inpart,becausethere'susuallyahighcorrelationbetweenpeoplewhoseopinionswetrustandthemembersofnetworkswemostvalue.That'swhyold-fashionedkitchentablerecommendationsandtheironlineequivalentsremainsoimportant.Afterall,apersonwith300friendsonFacebookmayhappilyignoretheadviceof290ofthem.It'sthesmall,close-knitnetworkoftrustedfriendsthathastherealinfluence.Word-of-mouthequityempowerscompaniesbyallowingthemtounderstandwordofmouth'srelativeimpactonbrandandproductperformance.Whilemarketershavealwaysknownthattheimpactcanbesignificant,theymaybesurprisedtolearnjusthowpowerfulitreallyis.WhenApple'siPhonewaslaunchedinGermany,forexample,itsshareofword-of-mouthvolumeinthemobile-phonecategory—orhowmanyconsumersweretalkingaboutit—wasabout10percent,orathirdlessthanthatofthemarketleader.YettheiPhonehadlaunchedinothercountries,andthebuzzaccompanyingthosemessagesinGermanywasaboutfivetimesmorepowerfulthanaverage.ThismeanttheiPhone'swordof-mouthequityscorewas30percenthigherthanthatofthemarketleader,withthreetimesmoreinfluentialsrecommendingtheiPhoneoverleadinghandsets.Asaresult,salesdirectlyattributabletothepositivewordofmouthsurroundingtheiPhoneoutstrippedthoseattributabletoApple'spaidmarketingsix-fold.Within24monthsoflaunch,theiPhonewassellingalmostonemillionunitsayearinGermany.Theflexibilityofword-of-mouthequityallowsustogaugetheword-of-mouthimpactofcompanies,products,andbrandsregardlessofthecategoryorindustry.Andbecauseitmeasuresperformanceratherthanthesheervolumeofmessages,itcanbeusedtoidentifywhat'sdriving—andhurting—word-of-mouthimpact.Bothinsightsarecriticalifmarketersaretoconvertknowledgeintopower.HarnessingwordofmouthTherewardsofpursuingexcellenceinword-of-mouthmarketingarehuge,anditcandeliverasustainableandsignificantcompetitiveedgefewothermarketingapproachescanmatch.Yetmanymarketersavoidit.Someworrythatitremainsimmatureasamarketingdisciplinecomparedwiththehighlysophisticatedmanagementofmarketinginmediasuchastelevisionandnewspapers.Othersareconcernedthattheycan'tdrawonextensivedataorelaboratemarketingtoolsfine-tunedoverdecades.Forthoseunsureaboutactivelymanagingwordofmouth,considerthis:theincrementalgainfromoutperformingcompetitorswithsuperiortelevisionads,forexample,isrelativelysmall.That'sbecauseallcompaniesactivelymanagetheirtraditionalmarketingactivitiesandallhavesimilarknowledge.Withsofewcompaniesactivelymanagingwordofmouth—themostpowerfulformofmarketing—thepotentialupsideisexponentiallygreater.Thestartingpointformanagingwordofmouthisunderstandingwhichdimensionsofword-of-mouthequityaremostimportanttoaproductcategory:thewho,thewhat,orthewhere.Inskincare,forexample,it'sthewhat;inretailbanks,thewho.Word-of-mouthequityanalysiscandetailtheprecisenatureofacategory'sinfluentialsandpinpointthehighest-impactmessages,contexts,andnetworks.Equippedwiththeseinsights,companiescanthenworkongeneratingpositivewordofmouth,usingthethreeformsweidentified:experiential,consequential,andintentional.Althoughtheimportanceofthesetriggersvariescategorybycategory,experientialsourcesarethemostimportantacrossthem.Harnessingexperientialwordofmouthisfundamentallyaboutprovidingcustomerswiththeopportunitytosharepositiveexperiencesandmakingthestoryrelatableandrelevanttotheaudience.Somecompanies,suchasMieleandLego,buildbuzzaroundproductsbeforelaunchandworktohaveearly,highlyinfluentialadoptersbyinvolvingconsumersinproductdevelopment,supportedbyonlinecommunities.Consistentlyrefreshingtheproductexperiencealsohelpsharnessexperientialwordofmouth—consumersaremorelikelytotalkaboutaproductearlyinitslifecycle,whichiswhyproductlaunchesorenhancementsaresocrucialtogeneratingpositivewordofmouth.Buzzalsocanbesustainedafterlaunch:ApplehasmaintainedinterestinandexcitementabouttheiPhoneviaitsappsstore,asconstantlyevolvinganduser-generatedcontentmaintainspositivewordofmouth.Mostcompaniesactivelyusecustomersatisfactioninsightswhendevelopingnewproductsandservices.Yetasatisfiedcustomerbasemaynotbeenoughtocreatebuzz.Tocreatepositivewordofmouththatactuallyhasimpact,thecustomerexperiencemustnotonlydeviatesignificantlyfromexpectationsbutalsodeviateonthedimensionsthatmattertothecustomerandthatheorsheislikelytotalkabout.Forinstance,whilebatterylifeisacrucialdriverofsatisfactionformobile-handsetconsumers,theytalkaboutitlessthanotherproductfeatures,suchasdesignandusability.Toturnconsumersintoaneffectivemarketingvehicle,companiesneedtooutperformonproductandserviceattributesthathaveintrinsicword-of-mouthpotential.Managingconsequentialwordofmouthinvolvesusingtheinsightsprovidedbyword-ofmouthequitytomaximizethereturnonmarketingactivities.Byunderstandingthewordof-moutheffectsoftherangeofchannelsandmessagesemployedandallocatingmarketingactivitiesaccordingly,companiescanequipconsumerstospreadmarketingmessagesanddrivetheirreachandimpact.Infact,McKinseyresearchshowsthatmarketing-inducedconsumer-to-consumerwordofmouthgeneratesmorethantwicethesalesofpaidadvertisingincategoriesasdiverseasskincareandmobilephones.Twothingssuperchargethecreationofpositiveconsequentialwordofmouth:interactivityandcreativity.Theyareinterrelated,andparticularlyimportantforbrandsinrelativelylow-innovationcategoriesthatoftenstruggletogainconsumerattention.OneexampleofacompanysuccessfullyharnessingthispoweristheUKconfectionerCadbury,whose“GlassandaHalfFull”advertisingcampaignusedcreative,thoughtful,andintegratedonlineandtraditionalmarketingtospurconsumerinteractionandsales.ThecampaignbeganwithatelevisioncommercialfeaturingagorillaplayingdrumstoaniconicPhilCollinssong.Thebizarrejuxtapositionwasanimmediatehit.Theconceptsoengagedconsumersthattheywerewillingtogoonline,viewthecommercial,andcreateamateurversionsoftheirown,triggeringatorrentofYouTubeimitations.Withinthreemonthsoftheadvertisement'sappearance,thevideohadbeenviewedmorethansixmilliontimesonline,year-on-yearsalesofCadbury'sDairyMilkchocolatehadincreasedbymorethan9percent,andthebrand'spositiveperceptionamongconsumershadimprovedbyabout20percent.Intentionalword-of-mouthcampaignsrevolvearoundidentifyinginfluentialswhobecomebrandandproductadvocates.Ofcourse,companiescan'tpreciselycontrolwhatconsumerstellothers.Butambitiousmarketerscanuseword-of-mouthequityinsightstoshiftfromconsequentialtointentionalcampaigning.Thetypeofcampaignthatcompanieschoosetoadoptdependsonthedegreetowhichmarketerscanfindandtargetinfluentials.Marketerscapableofundertakingone-to-onemarketing—suchasmobile-phoneoperators—areuniquelypositionedtoexecutecontrolledandeffectiveintentionalword-of-mouthcampaigns.Mobilecarriershavegranularcustomerdatathatcanpreciselylocateinfluentialswhoknowthecategory,talktomanypeople,andprovidethemwithtrustedopinions.Thatmeansmessagescanbedirectedatspecificindividualswhoaremostlikelytospreadpositivewordofmouththroughtheirsocialnetworks.Asamessagespreads,thisapproachgeneratesanexponentialword-ofmouthimpact,similartotherippleeffectwhenapebbleisdroppedinapond.Companiesunabletotargetinfluentialspreciselymusttakeadifferentapproach.WhileRedBull,forexample,can’tsendtextmessagestospecificconsumers,ithassuccessfullydeployedsciencetoorchestrateeffectiveintentionalword-of-mouthcampaigns.Afteridentifyinginfluentialsamongitsdifferenttargetsegments,theenergy-drinkcompanyensuresthatcelebritiesandotheropinionmakersseedtherightmessagesamongconsumers,oftenthroughevents.Whileitcan’tbesurewhowillattend,RedBullknowsthatthosewhodowillbethekindsofconsumersitseeks-andthatthepositivemessagestheywillrelayacrosstheirownsocialnetworkscangenerateasuperiorreturnforitsmarketinginvestment.Marketershavealwaysbeenawareoftheeffectofwordofmouth,andthereisclearlyanarttoeffectiveword-of-mouthcampaigning.Yetthesciencebehindword-of-mouthequityhelpsrevealhowtohoneanddeploythatart:itshowswhichmessagesconsumersarelikelytopassonandtheimpactofthosemessages,allowingmarketerstoestimatethetangibleeffectwordofmouthhasonbrandequityandsales.Theseinsightsareessentialforcompaniesthatwanttoharnessthepotentialofwordofmouthandtorealizehigherreturnsontheirmarketinginvestments.衡量口碑營(yíng)銷的新方法了解口碑口碑無(wú)疑頗為復(fù)雜，并擁有多種可能的根源和動(dòng)機(jī)，而我們則確定了營(yíng)銷者應(yīng)該了解的三種形式的口碑：經(jīng)驗(yàn)性口碑、繼發(fā)性口碑，以及有意識(shí)口碑。經(jīng)驗(yàn)性口碑經(jīng)驗(yàn)性口碑是最常見(jiàn)、最有力的形式，通常在任何給定的產(chǎn)品類別中都占到口碑活動(dòng)的50%?80%。它來(lái)源于消費(fèi)者對(duì)某種產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的直接經(jīng)驗(yàn)，在很大程度上是在經(jīng)驗(yàn)偏離消費(fèi)者的預(yù)期時(shí)所產(chǎn)生的。（當(dāng)產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)符合消費(fèi)者的預(yù)期時(shí)，他們很少會(huì)投訴或表?yè)P(yáng)某一企業(yè)。）航空公司丟失行李引起的投訴，是經(jīng)驗(yàn)性口碑的典型例子，它會(huì)對(duì)品牌感受產(chǎn)生不利影響，并最終影響品牌價(jià)值，從而降低受眾對(duì)傳統(tǒng)營(yíng)銷活動(dòng)的接受程度，并有損出自其他來(lái)源的正面口碑的效果。反過(guò)來(lái)，正面的口碑則會(huì)讓產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)順風(fēng)滿帆。繼發(fā)性口碑營(yíng)銷活動(dòng)也會(huì)引發(fā)口碑傳播。最常見(jiàn)的就是我們所稱的繼發(fā)性口碑：當(dāng)消費(fèi)者直接感受傳統(tǒng)的營(yíng)銷活動(dòng)傳遞給他們的信息或所宣傳的品牌時(shí)形成的口碑。這些消息對(duì)消費(fèi)者的影響通常比廣告的直接影響更強(qiáng)，因?yàn)橐l(fā)正面口碑傳播的營(yíng)銷活動(dòng)的覆蓋范圍以及影響力相對(duì)來(lái)說(shuō)都會(huì)更大。營(yíng)銷者在決定何種信息及媒體組合能夠產(chǎn)生最大的投資回報(bào)時(shí)，需要考慮口碑的直接效應(yīng)以及傳遞效應(yīng)。有意識(shí)口碑不像前兩種口碑形式那么常見(jiàn)的另一種口碑是有意識(shí)口碑一一例如，營(yíng)銷者可以利用名人代言來(lái)為產(chǎn)品發(fā)布上市營(yíng)造正面的氣氛。對(duì)制造有意識(shí)口碑進(jìn)行投資的企業(yè)是少數(shù)，部分原因在于，其效果難以衡量，許多營(yíng)銷商不能確信，他們能否成功地開(kāi)展有意識(shí)口碑的推廣活動(dòng)。對(duì)于這三種形式的口碑，營(yíng)銷商都需要以適當(dāng)?shù)姆绞綇恼磧蓚€(gè)方面了解和衡量其影響和財(cái)務(wù)結(jié)果?？诒畠r(jià)值計(jì)算價(jià)值始于對(duì)某一產(chǎn)品的推薦及勸阻次數(shù)進(jìn)行計(jì)數(shù)。這種方法有一定的吸引力并且比較簡(jiǎn)單，但是也存在一大挑戰(zhàn)：營(yíng)銷商難以解釋說(shuō)明不同種類的口碑信息的影響可變性。顯然，對(duì)于消費(fèi)者來(lái)說(shuō)，由于家人的推薦而購(gòu)買(mǎi)某產(chǎn)品的可能性要顯著高于陌生人的推薦。這兩種推薦可以傳達(dá)同樣的信息，而它們對(duì)接收者的影響卻不可同日而語(yǔ)。事實(shí)上，我們的研究表明，影響力高的推薦（例如，來(lái)自于所信任的朋友傳達(dá)的相關(guān)信息）導(dǎo)致購(gòu)買(mǎi)行為的可能性，是低影響力推薦的50倍。為了評(píng)估這些不同種類的推薦的影響，我們開(kāi)發(fā)了一種方法來(lái)計(jì)算我們所說(shuō)的口碑價(jià)值，它用一條品牌信息的平均銷售影響力來(lái)乘以品牌信息的數(shù)量。這個(gè)指標(biāo)既考查這些信息的影響力，也考查其總量，可以讓營(yíng)銷者準(zhǔn)確地測(cè)試這些信息對(duì)品牌、單項(xiàng)推廣活動(dòng)以及整個(gè)企業(yè)的銷售和市場(chǎng)份額的影響。這種影響（也就是任何口頭推薦或勸阻能夠改變購(gòu)買(mǎi)行為的能力）反映了信息所涉及的內(nèi)容、何人傳遞的信息、以及在何地所說(shuō)。這種影響會(huì)因產(chǎn)品類別而異。信息所傳遞的內(nèi)容是