You know word of mouth is effective, but do you know how it works? We love how Brand Autopsy’s article “Ernest Dichter on Word of Mouth Marketing” explains the process, so we distilled the key points of the article with illustrations and statistics. Enjoy!

1. Demystifying
W o rd o f
Mo ut h
Ernes t
Di c h t er
With
Marketing
Legend
PART ONE
Why Customers Talk

2. W o rd O f
Mo ut h
Re fer ral s
are a
Rec u r r i ng
3 St ep
Process

3. These st eps are :
Talking
about
Listening to

4. Ac t i ng o n
t h e Re fer ral
AN D

5. In this 3 part
series, find out
why each step
happens
and
how to use this
knowledge to
acquire more
customers through
word of mouth
referrals...
With the help of
marketing legend,
Ernest
Dichter

6. W h y
c us tomers
t alk

7. Per so nal
Experie nc e

8. Personal Experience
with a product
spurs customers
to talk about them.
Ernest
Dichter
writes
“… it is talk about
the product which
confirms for the
speaker his
ownership and joy
in the product, or
his discovery of it.”

9. 49% Of participants in a study
by the New York Times said
that they shared to
inform others of products
they care about and to
potentially change opinions
or encourage action. I’M ALL ABOUT THIS BASS
SOURCE:
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/
social-sharing-psychology_b53786

10. CrossFit ballooned
from 13 gyms to
7,000, -without
traditional
advertising-in
just 9 years
And that’s how it happened SOURCE:
http://www.channelsignal.com/fresh-signal
s/by-the-numbers-the-growth-of-crossfit

11. Se l f
Co n f ir mat i o n

12. There are 8 types of
self-confirmation
sought through
talking about
products and
services, notably:
Ernest Dichter notes
that customers share
to feel good about
themselves.

13. Showing
Connoisseurship
Having Inside
Information
Spreading the “Gospel”
by Converting the
Listener to Use
the Product

14. Independent musicians
are dominating the
music industry
controlling 34.5%
of the business, more
than any major label.
le Connoisseurship.
SOURCE:
http://nypost.com/2014/01/02/indie-artist
s-are-new-no-1-in-music-industry/

15. Twitter users share
to feel more involved
with the world.
Twitter users share to
define their identity
69%
68%
OF
OF

16. ei ng Nic e
B

17. So m e re fer ral s
are made
b ec au se s h ar i n g
some t hi ng
h e l p fu l
feel s li ke a n
ac t o f
nic e nes s

18. “Here the prevailing
attitude is the need and
intent to help, to share
with the other person
enthusiasm in, and benefits
of, things enjoyed. Products
serve mainly as
instruments which help to
express sentiments of
neighborliness, care,
friendship, and love.”
E r n e s t
Dic ht e r
e xplai ns:

19. Tupperware has
been relying on
neighbourliness and
niceness as it’s sales
weapon since 1948.
66 years later, they
turn an annual
revenue of 2.3
billion dollars.
SOURCE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupperware

20. 78% of twitter users
share content to
nourish relationships
SOURCE:
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/
social-sharing-psychology_b53786

21. I n f l ue n c e d
by Ad ver t i si ng

22. Advertising can
spark word of
mouth by being
entertaining or
controversial.

23. “Since it is difficult
for consumers to avoid
exposure to
advertising, many
people have turned to
accepting it for its
independent
attraction and
entertainment value.
Thus entertainment
value and originality
of ads have become
topics of talk.”
Ernest
Dichter
found:

24. Old Spice’s viral “The
Man Your Man Could
Smell Like” campaign
generated a 2700%
increase in Twitter
followers, a 60%
increase in Facebook
Fans, a 150%
increase in Youtube
followers and a 107%
increase in sales. #Winning
SOURCE:
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/08/30/11-social-media-marketing-
lessons-from-the-old-spice-campaign/

25. Audiences chose to
watch ads
4.6 billion
times in 2012
SOURCE:
http://ten-stats-
adage.com/article/digitalnext/change-video-2013/238915/

26. In Summary
Customers talk
about a product
because:
1. To share personal
experience
2. For self
confirmation
3. To be nice
4. They’re
influenced by
advertising

27. Coming soon: Demystifying
Word of Mouth
PART 2:
Why People
Listen to
Referrals

28. Word of mouth has
been shown to
improve marketing
effectiveness by
up to 54%!
Visit
for more tips and
strategies on using word
of mouth to acquire
more customers!
SOURCE:
http://blog.getambassador.com/word-of-mou
th-marketing-statistics/
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