New findings About Media-Usage and Brand-Recommendation behavior of Chinese internet users.

Shanghai, China (PRWEB) October 29, 2007 -- "How likely is it that you will recommend a brand, a company, a product to a friend, a colleague, a family member?" Since Prof. Dr. Reichheld launched the idea a few years ago that recommendations influence actual purchase (and proved it with real market data), more and more research is done in that field.

i-merge/boondoggle* - an interactive agency - promotes already the growing value of "human media" right form the start of the company in Europe in 1999. (opened an office in Shanghai only since 2006).

i-merge wanted to know whether this recommendation phenomenon also existed in China among the 172 million internet users and how weak or strong it was. No specific research has been done yet in that field.

Therefore i-merge & Sinomonitor ** recently held an online survey in China among a sample of 1200 internet users (20-24 yrs old | having a monthly income of >1000 yuan/month).

Although the research didn't measure nor matched the sales results / market share year after year for specific recommended brands, the findings of these study in mainland China underline the truth and the value of Prof. Dr. Reichheld's NPS - theory and are hopefully a prelude to research on a larger scale.

The results also confirm what was has been claimed so often already by Booz | Allen | Hamilton, McKinsey, Edelman and many others in the field like Harvard Business Review, Doubleclick, CICdata e.a.

They illustrate that also in China a historical and global shift from "media" to "human media" is going on. But the marketing practice of the first years of this century proves that it will take a while before the majority of the marketing community acts according to what "facts" (and not only their guts) tell them to do. Indeed, one of the other striking overall results is that marketers in China (like probably in the rest of the world) continue to underestimate the power of customer recommendation and overestimate the power of advertising (and)(in) old media. Brands however (also in China!) are more and more builton really positive experiences and fanatic consumers talking to each other about these brands. These evangelists, influencers, advocates seem to become the real

driving force behind big brands. In reality "human media" dwarf what is usually called "media".

Some of the findings.

1. Consumers communicate with other consumers about brands. Not permanently, not as much as marketers might wish but quite often. And they influence each other. Not all consumers however are equal. On average, a Chinese consumer communicates in one month with 8 people about brands. 17% of the consumers however talk about brands with more than 10 people monthly.

2. These consumers who communicate monthly with more than 10 people about brands not only have the highest communication index they also score the highest influence index. Women communicate more than men, but men have a higher influencing power. Also those aged in between 30 and 39 have a greater influencing power. Also, the higher the education level, the higher the communication probability and the influencing power.

3. 31% of all respondents in the study are sure their peers bought something that was recommended by them. 26% are sure they convinced their peers not to buy a certain brand or to give up. A satisfying brand experience (or a dissatisfying one) is a lot more

powerful than positive or negative brand reputation.

4. The vast majority of the communication about brands is face2face. Nearly 90% is communicated during conversations. Using instant messages and phone calls are also common ways people communicate.

5. But although they use mainly face2face to communicate with

their peers the internet is declared as being the most important

medium in their life

6. The Internet is the most important medium for consumers to learn - for the first time- about a new brand or a new product, followed by TV commercials. Comparatively, male consumers tend to choose the Internet and the newspapers. Women are a bit more TV-minded. Older people are more likely to get the information from the newspapers. The higher the education, the higher the percentage of people using the Internet.

7. For further information on these newly discovered products, the Internet again is the most important medium: for all age-groups, for all education levels, for both men and women. Women - although the internet scores here highest too - are more likely to go to the shop or ask their friends with experience. Older people prefer to get further information from the newspapers rather than from their friends.

8. Again a vast majority of the respondents also want to stay informed about a brand after they bought it. Again it's the web that is their preferred medium.

9. To discover brands. To find more information on brands. To keep oneself informed after the sales.?it's the internet which is the most important tool. But apparently it's also the most effective medium when they decide to buy a brand. The second most influential medium being their friends. Our respondents deem that for their family and friends, friends' recommendations are the most important influencing factor and the Internet is the second one. 7% of the respondents think that they themselves can influence their family and friends the most on purchasing decision.

10. Again the internet is considered having the most influencing power in all age-groups, education levels and for both men and women. Comparatively speaking, women are more likely to also be influenced by their friends, men by the Internet. Compared with the older people, the younger are influenced more by the Internet, and they are less influenced by their friends. The higher the education level, the more the people are influenced by the Internet.

Additional literature

1. Booz | Allen | Hamilton

HD Marketing 2010: Sharpening the conversation

2. Mc Kinsey

How companies are marketing online.

Doing business in China.

3. Reichheld, Fred

The one question

4.Doubleclick Touchpoints IV study

5. Harvard Business Review

How valuable is word of mouth

6. Edelman - Stakeholder Study (2007)

7. http://www.cicdata.com/

For the complete study (the ideas of the 100's of marketers

who did the same survey e.g.) pls email me at jevedebe(at)i-merge.com.cn.

Sinomonitor

Sinomonitor is China's leading business database supplier

and the main market and media research supplier.

i-merge/boondoggle

www.i-merge.com.cn ; the agency in Shanghai

www.boondoggle.eu: the European agencies

http://blog.boondoggle.eu/: the blog of both i-merge & boondoggle

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