ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., March 31, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Word of Mouth (WOM) is among the top influences of new auto purchase, with over a third of new auto buyers saying they were moderately or completely influenced by it," said Nancy Walter, VP Business Development at Foresight.
"In the past few years, marketers tend to say Word of Mouth and mean social media. But it is so much bigger than that!" said Walter. "Word of mouth needs to be viewed from several vantage points to give marketers a full picture of its contribution to a purchase as complex as a new vehicle. So we look at influencers and what influences them, how public relations and press coverage influence buyers, social media influence, how WOM works with other marketing variables, what stage in the purchase process is influenced most by word of mouth, and much more.
In fact, when you are talking about new car purchase influences, social media is a very small group, even taking very large increases into account. Social media was used by 2% of those influenced by word of mouth in Foresight's 2008 study, and that was up to 6% in 2013. Texting went from 3% in 2008 to 9% in 2013. We expect both of them to continue growing when our 2014 Word of Mouth Immersion Report is released, but it still won't come near the consistent old school car advice "device" -- over 85% of people still report that influential car purchase advice comes face-to-face.
The Word of Mouth Immersion Report is one of many to come out of the Foresight Research Channel Immersion and Perspectives buyer study source data. Other 2014 Immersion Reports, which focus on a specific channel and its auto purchase influence, include Auto Shows, Dealerships, Digital Media, Motorsports, and Promotions.
About Foresight Research – www.foresightresearch.com
Foresight Research specializes in syndicated and custom studies focusing on the key influencers of purchase decisions in automotive and marine industries. Since 2008, Foresight Research publishes several syndicated reports each year that provide information, strategies and best practices to help auto companies and their partners build, frame, and support marketing insights and actions.