http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 204 editor@iaeme.com
International Journal of Management (IJM)
Volume 8, Issue 3, May–June 2017, pp.204–212, Article ID: IJM_08_03_023
Available online at
http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=8&IType=3
Journal Impact Factor (2016): 8.1920 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com
ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
© IAEME Publication
EXPANDING THE HORIZON OF MARKETING:
CONTEMPLATING THE SYNERGY OF BOTH
TRADITIONAL WORD OF MOUTH AND E-
WORD OF MOUTH
Dr. Rajesh Singh Kumabam
Post Doctorate Fellow (ICSSR) in Manipur Institute of Management Studies (MIMS),
Manipur University (A Central University), Imphal-795003, India
Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei
Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei is Professor in Manipur Institute of Management Studies (MIMS),
Manipur University (A Central University), Imphal-795003, India
Dr. Seram Sureshkumar Singh
Guest Faculty in Centre for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development (CESD),
Manipur University (A Central University), Imphal-795003, India
Thokchom Pratap Singh
Faculty in Ibemhal IAS Academy, Imphal-795001, India
ABSTRACT
Opinions by other consumers influences considerably on consumers’ buying
decisions as well as on post-purchase product perceptions. This is called word of mouth
(WOM) and it is assumed to be more efficient than conventional marketing tools like
advertising and personal selling. With the dawn of the Internet, major changes to the
way consumers express their opinions about product or services have seen a sea change.
Customers can now interact with other consumers via social media, e-mail, instant
messaging, homepages, blogs, forums, online communities, chat rooms and review sites.
Such interactions now commonly known as electronic WOM (eWOM) also influence
consumer behavior. The Internet’s accessibility, reach, and transparency have
empowered marketers in influencing consumers. There is also need for understanding
to what extent e-WOM is similar or different from offline WOM. Influence of e-WOM
and traditional WOM cannot be undermined in today’s highly competitive business
environment. Market is ruled by organizations that can influence consumer behavior in
its favour. Consumers are inclined to consider their friends and relatives are more
credible and trustworthy than any form of sales promotional activity like advertising,
public relations, and sales people. Thereby consumer-dominated communications tend
Expanding The Horizon of Marketing: Contemplating The Synergy of Both Traditional Word of Mouth and E-
Word of Mouth
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 205 editor@iaeme.com
to be more powerful and influential than information from other sources. This indicates
that individuals are more inclined to embrace the information disseminated through
WOM than commercial promotion. The advances of information technology and the
emergence of online social networking sites have profoundly changed the way
information are transmitted and have transcended the traditional limitations of WOM.
The effect of e-WOM on consumers is similar to that of traditional WOM. Previous
consumer’s reviews on products and services have been an influential tool as an
information source for consumers. Effectiveness in influencing customer behavior of
both traditional WOM and eWOM cannot be undermined. However, there are some
differences between traditional WOM and e-WOM. In traditional WOM
communication, the information is exchanged in face-to-face conversation while in e-
WOM consumers need only to interact with their computers to post or search consumer
reviews. That is senders and receivers of information are separated by both space and
time. Thus, it is a many-to-many communication in which the information exchanged is
more voluminous in quantity compared to information obtained from traditional
contacts in the offline world. As traditional WOM comes from friends and relatives
while the source is anonymous in e-WOM differences of influence between the
traditional and the online process may also depend on other factors. The relative
influence of WOM and e-WOM may be dependent on the volume of information obtained
from both sources. When consumers obtain more information from traditional WOM
than from e-WOM, WOM influence is likely to be higher than e-WOM influence.
Equally, the reverse effect is expected for consumers who obtain more information from
e-WOM than from WOM. The differences between online and traditional process could
affect the degree of influence on consumer behavior. Understanding the strength of both
traditional WOM and eWOM can broaden the horizon of marketing products and
services of an organization.
Key words: Traditional WOM, Electronic WOM, Consumer’s buying decisions, Post-
purchase product perceptions.
Cite this Article: Dr. Rajesh Singh Kumabam, Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei, Dr. Seram
Sureshkumar Singh and Thokchom Pratap Singh, Expanding The Horizon of
Marketing: Contemplating The Synergy of Both Traditional Word of Mouth and E-
Word of Mouth. International Journal of Management, 8 (3), 2017, pp. 204–212.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=8&IType=3
1. INTRODUCTION
Consumers often put trust on personal opinion, recommendations, and suggestions from
friends, family, and acquaintances when making many of their purchasing decision. In the realm
of marketing, traditional Word of Mouth (WOM) and electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) can
exclusively broaden the horizon of marketing. Personal influence appeared to have more
“impact” than the mass media on decisions (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1966). Opinions by other
consumers influences considerably on consumers’ buying decisions (Arndt, 1967; Chatterjee,
2001) as well as on post-purchase product perceptions (Bone, 1995). This is called word of
mouth (WOM) and it is assumed to be more efficient than conventional marketing tools like
advertising and personal selling (Engel et al., 1969; Goldsmith & Horowitz, 2006). Word-of-
mouth (WOM) marketing is an increasingly important technique for a firm to intentionally
influence customer to customer communications (Kozinets et al., 2010). Besides, word of
mouth (WOM) has been recognized as one of the most influential resources of information
transmission (Jalilvand et al., 2011). Positive WOM messages has a greater effect on people's
Dr. Rajesh Singh Kumabam, Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei, Dr. Seram Sureshkumar Singh and Thokchom
Pratap Singh
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 206 editor@iaeme.com
willingness to use a service than does negative WOM, besides brand equity enhances positive
WOM and acts as a buffer to negative WOM (Sweeney et al., 2014).
The introduction of the Internet and the expansion of the World Wide Web, however, have
given consumers an entirely new realm in which they can communicate and thus influence each
other (Negroponte & Maes, 1996). With the dawn of the Internet, major changes to the way
consumers express their opinions about product or services have seen a sea change. It has been
said that the new communication structure is an amorphous web of connections (Ahuja and
Carley 1999). Electronic peer-to-peer communication can take place in many alternative ways,
like emails, discussion forums, and news groups. These platforms are focused on being not only
user friendly, but also highly interactive, providing many unique ways to create and distribute
content. Customers can now interact with other consumers via social media, instant messaging,
homepages, blogs, online communities, chat rooms and review sites. Such interaction through
the Internet is now commonly known as electronic WOM (eWOM). Electronic Word of
Mouth (eWOM) is thus a form of buzz marketing. It can become viral if the message is
persuasive or funny enough. Evidenced by the sheer amount of social communication online,
marketers and managers acknowledged that eWOM has become a vital component of e-
commerce (Kirkpatrick et al., 2005). The Internet’s accessibility, reach, and transparency have
empowered marketers in influencing consumers (Kozinets et al., 2010). In sector specific
studies by Sotiriadis & Van Zyl (2013), electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) through social
medium (like twitter) is another marketing channel to be wisely used in integrated
communications marketing of tourism services.
Elaborate understanding of the power of both traditional Word of Mouth (WOM) and
electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) in expanding the horizon of marketing is lacking. This
paper is an effort to throw light on the importance of expanding the horizon of marketing using
both traditional and electronic WOM through literature reviews of relevant articles.
2. OVERVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING
2.1. Traditional Word of Mouth (WOM)
Elaborate studies on how personal influence works were carried out as early as 1960’s (Kaztz
& Lazarsfeld, 1966; Arndt, 1967). Sen and Lerman (2007) define WOM as “face-to-face
conversation between consumers about a product or a service experience” and it usually takes
place in an interpersonal communication, face-to-face, takes place between two people: the
source perceptions and the information seeker (Gilly et al., 1998). Definitions of WOM are
constantly evolving, according to Litvin et al. (2008), WOM is “the communication between
consumers about a product, service, or a company in which the sources are considered
independent of commercial influence”.
Any form of sales promotional activity like advertising, public relations, and sales people
sounds less credible and trustworthy than the WOM information permeated from their close
friends and relatives. Meaning, information transmitted from consumer-dominated
communication tends to be more powerful and influential than from other sources (Herr et al.
1991). Moreover, absence of any ulterior motive or incentive for the referrals, individuals are
more inclined to embrace WOM information than commercial promotions (Grewal et al.,
2003). Customer WOM can generate value through market expansion. In other words, it can
gain customers who would not otherwise have bought the product or service. Alternatively,
WOM can generate value by accelerating the purchases of customers who would have
purchased anyway (Libai et al., 2013). People often share opinions and information with their
social ties, and WOM has an important impact on consumer behavior (Berger, 2014). The
strength of the social tie relationship tends to influence a WOM receiver’s intentions to purchase
Expanding The Horizon of Marketing: Contemplating The Synergy of Both Traditional Word of Mouth and E-
Word of Mouth
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 207 editor@iaeme.com
a brand; however, social tie strength has a much weaker association with a consumer’s WOM
retransmission intentions (Baker et al., 2016).
2.2. Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM)
As the population of Internet users grows, consumer-dominated communication on the Web,
also called eWOM, is also increasing. Consumer reviews, one of the ways consumers exchange
opinions and experiences on products and services on the Web, have been successfully
practiced. These technological advances have transcended the traditional limitations of WOM
(Shin, 2007). Companies are increasingly using online communities to create value for the firm
and their customers. To date, evidence regarding the effectiveness of online communities as a
marketing tool has been primarily anecdotal. Yet, industry practice suggests that online
communities add value when consumer share their product and service related experiences on
the Internet via e-mail, bulletin boards, chat rooms, forums, fan clubs, brand and user-groups
(Goldsmith, 2006). eWOM is defined as “all informal communications directed at consumers
through Internet-based technology related to the usage or characteristics of particular goods
and services, or their sellers” (Litvin et al., 2008). In short, scholars like Huang et al., (2009)
articulate eWOM communication process as “the informal communications through Internet”.
Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) concluded that eWOM has similar consumers effect to that of
traditional WOM. Web‐based technologies have created numerous opportunities for electronic
word‐of‐mouth (eWOM) communication. This phenomenon impacts online retailer as this
easily accessible eWOM information could greatly affect the online consumption decision of
customers (Cheung et al., 2008). eWOM has been found to be more effective than firm-
generated sources on the Internet (Bicakart & Schindler, 2001) and traditional media (Trusov
et al., 2009). Consumer tie strength, trust, normative and informational influence are positively
associated with users’ overall eWOM behavior (Chu & Kim, 2011). Teng et al.(2016)
concluded that argument quality, source credibility, source attractiveness, source perception,
and source style exerted varying influences to users’ attitudes and intentions.
2.3. Traditional Word of Mouth (WOM) vs Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM)
There are some patterns common to both forms of Word of Mouth. However, there exists some
differing characteristics, with a bearing on consumer decision making (Pokrywka & Gfrerer,
2012). In electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) communication, according to Sen and Lerman
(2007), consumers need only to interact with their computers to post or search consumer
reviews, while in traditional WOM, the information is exchanged in face to face conversation
(Park & Kim, 2008). Information sources in case of eWOM are mostly anonymous individuals
meaning there is little or no prior relationship between the two parties: the source of information
and information seeker (Xia & Bechwati, 2008). But, information sources in case of traditional
WOM are mostly synonymous. Thus, eWOM is a many-to-many communication as the
information exchanged is more voluminous in quantity compared to traditional WOM in the
offline world (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004). Unlike traditional WOM, in case of eWOM
consumers need not directly meet the other people to exchange their views, experiences and
opinions on products, services and trades (Shin, 2007). In eWOM, the sender and receiver of
information are separated by both space and time (Stefees and Burgee, 2009). Figure 1
illustrates the most important diverse characteristics of traditional WOM and electronic WOM
communications.
Dr. Rajesh Singh Kumabam, Dr. Ch. Ibohal Meitei, Dr. Seram Sureshkumar Singh and Thokchom
Pratap Singh
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 208 editor@iaeme.com
Figure 1 Diverse Characteristics of traditional WOM and electric WOM Communications
Source: Pokrywka & Gfrerer (2012)
As shown in the Figure 1, the channel for communicating information is either traditional
WOM (offline) through the social network of friends, family, peers and colleagues or electronic
WOM (online) through social media such as social networking sites, blogs or forums. As
already mentioned, traditional WoM is a synchronous conversation and occurs face-to-face,
electronic WoM is in general an asynchronous process, where time and geographical distance
are of little or no essence. Moreover, electronic WoM can reach a higher number of individuals
and has the implied characteristics of a rapid diffuse while in traditional WOM, the exchange
of information takes place with a relatively low number of people and hence low diffusing.
Moreover, eWoM is anonymous in nature, whereas, traditional WOM is non anonymous
characterized by an interpersonal environment. Interestingly, companies have limited influence
on customers’ online activity.
There are few characteristics of traditional WOM which set it apart from electronic WOM.
According to BuzzTalk Blog (Kremers, n.d.), the characteristics of traditional WOM and
eWOM are:
1. It consists of interpersonal communication which sets it apart from mass communication such
as advertising.
2. It's about commercial content and commercial entities such as companies, products, services
and brands.
3. The communicators are non-commercially motivated so communication is perceived as
unbiased, genuine and honest.