Word-of-mouth Marketing: Features and Prospects of Application

Marketing of enterprises is becoming an increasingly important component of their effective ac- tivities, however, with the development of technology, traditional ways of promoting goods are gradu- ally losing their effectiveness, because most people no longer trust advertising.

The essence and significance of innovative and perspective word-of-mouth marketing are ana- lyzed. It is a type of free advertising in which a person shares information about a product to another one orally or in writing. People tend to trust the word-of-mouth marketing much more than other sources of information, because: 1) a person advising a product / service is familiar or close to a cus- tomer; 2) he/she has no personal benefit; 3) the information is not advertising; 4) a positive opinion about the product is transmitted only if a consumer is personally satisfied with its quality.

The provided data showed the popularity of the word-of-mouth marketing in the modern world. Its subjects (loyal consumers, opinion leaders, brand advocates, brand prosecutors, influencers and brand ambassadors) and strategies (experience sharing, news providing and benefit emphasizing) are highlighted. The main stages of the word-of-mouth marketing implementation are formulated, and several successful examples of its implementation are considered. The key tactics of the word-of-mouth marketing are presented, as well as its advantages and disadvantages are summarized, which can in- crease the effectiveness of such an ambiguous type of marketing.

In general, the word-of-mouth marketing is needed not only to increase sales, customer base or revenue, but also to encourage companies to innovate.