If you ever doubted the power of word-of-mouth marketing, you have only to look at the results of a recent global Nielsen Internet survey, which shows us that despite an ever-expanding array of advertising platforms and sources, consumers around the world still place their highest levels of trust in other consumers.
Two times a year Nielsen (the same folks responsible for compiling information related to TV viewership) poll 26,486 Internet users in 47 markets worldwide and their most recent survey asked participants about their attitudes to 13 different types of advertising including traditional TV and newspapers ads, branded Web sites, ads before movies, radio advertising, banner ads, etc.
The results are in and according to David McCallum, the global managing director for Nielsen’s Customized Research Services,” Advertisers around the world are able to reach consumers across an increasingly diverse range of media platforms. Even so, the recommendation of someone else remains the most trusted sources of information when consumers decide which products and services to buy.”
This is yet another important reason why business networking is so important to master. When you know how to network you can have consumer advocates singing your praises and acting like an unpaid sales staff working for you 24/7.