A recent study conducted by an independent polling firm RT Strategies who surveyed more than 2,000 travelers worldwide wanted to better understand how opinions of America differ among those that have and have not visited the U.S. Some of the key findings of the report reinforces what we already knew about the power Word of Mouth. Two key findings of the report included:
- Nearly nine in 10 travelers tell their friends, relatives about their travel experiences most or all of the time.
- Travelers expectations include clear communications, respect and courteous treatment.
Based on these two report findings, how do we tap into the greater potential of Word of Mouth [WOM]? Some of America’s market leading companies are now investing in WOM pilot projects, designing WOM solutions for targeted audiences in hopes of generating meaningful research and WOM success. One example of this is Proctor & Gamble’s Vocalpoint initiative. Vocalpoint includes Moms in P&G’s product development, feedback, product sampling, and targeted campaigns designed for WOM. P&G states that they are “developing products and services that moms care about and want to talk about.” P&G has had much success using Vocalpoint to connect and exchange meaningful information with one of their targeted audiences - Moms.
While WOM-based initiatives, programs and solutions continue to proliferate and evolve in North America, it’s clear that WOM needs to be a part of your marketing plans moving forward. By removing the complexities and the mechanics of WOM, we know in tourism that WOM is driven by great visitor experiences. By removing language barriers for domestic and foreign language guests, we deliver better vacation [visitor] experiences. By sharing captivating, entertaining, and educational stories with targeted audiences, we enrich the knowledge of travelers with stories that they can share with others. While delivering better tours is an integral component of differentiation, and an essential driver of WOM, it can’t stop there. It’s important to step back and analyze all visitor contact points within your business so that you can consistently make improvements in every aspect of your business. There are lots of great opportunities for improving the visitor experience and what’s required is the will to execute on them. WOM is about doing great things - creating visitor experiences worth talking about.
