Perilous word-of-mouth: Bad news travels fast
When it comes to word-of-mouth (WOM) in the U.S., brands should keep in mind that bad news travels fast. Twenty-six percent of U.S. adults are far more likely to spread the word to family, friends and coworkers about a bad experience with a product or service than a good one, according to Cincinnati loyalty marketing company Colloquy. Colloquy has adopted the term Madvocates for consumers predisposed to engage in negative WOM practices after suffering a bad experience. The corresponding attitude can be called Madvocacy.
Even among consumers who are most loyal to, engaged with and willing to recommend brands they like (known as WOM Champions), 31 percent said they too are far more likely to share information about a bad experience with a product or service than a good one.
“Negative word-of-mouth is a function of the bad experience we all may have on occasion,” said Kelly Hlavinka, managing partner, Colloquy. “Rather than uncover a separate group of brand curmudgeons, we instead discovered an overlap of positive and negative stances found among all groups. It’s notable that the Madvocacy attitude is significantly more prevalent among word-of-mouth Champions [31 percent[ than the general population [26 percent]. One lesson is clear, hell hath no fury like a champion scorned.”
Other key Madvocacy findings include: 7 percent of the general population are Pure Madvocates - consumers who aren’t connected to brands and aren’t willing to advocate for them but who are oriented to negative WOM. Three-quarters of the general population said that when they’ve had a bad experience with a product or service they advise friends and family. That surpasses the 42 percent who always recommend a product or service they really like; the 71 percent who are always looking to experience something new; and the 67 percent who love telling people about something new they’ve learned.
“WOM Champions can spread the good word or switch to Madvocacy mode, depending on the treatment they receive,” said Colloquy partner Jim Sullivan.
Among demographic groups, affluent consumers scored highest (30 percent) at being far more likely to spread a bad experience. Seniors scored the lowest at 19 percent. In the other demographics, 25 percent of young adults and 25 percent of women are far more likely to share a bad experience. Hispanics’ score was 21 percent.
College students text in classes - but they’re sorry!
Rest assured, when it comes to texting in class, college students have a conscience. Although 65 percent of students send at least one text message in a typical class - whether prohibited or not - many don’t believe texting should be allowed during class and almost half feel guilty about doing so when they’re not supposed to, according to a survey conducted among 1,043 University of New Hampshire (UNH) students by student researchers at the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics, Durham, N.H.
While a full 51 percent of students are distracted from class material when they text, texting is alarmingly allowed at UNH. Fifty-one percent of students are prohibited from texting in up to half of their classes and the remaining 49 percent reported being prohibited from texting in more than half of their classes.
“I wasn’t surprised by the results, but I was surprised to see that some teachers didn’t prohibit texting in their classes,” said Gretchen Eastman, one of the lead student researchers on the study.
The study found that business students are the most prolific texters and that women are more apt to text than men.