Why consumers engage in word of mouth communication?. The question applies both to motives for transmitting and to motives for seeking information and influence.
1) Motive for Transmitting Word of mouth Communication: There are several motives for talking about brands or products.
a) First product involvement is likely to encourage a consumer to transmit information and influence. For example,summer (1971) found that 86 percent of all transmitters of word of mouth communication owned the product before discussing it.
b) Another motive dir transmitting information is to erase any doubt about product choice. A consumer may try to reduce dissonance by describing the positive qualities of a recently purchased car to friends and relatives. If a friend buys a same make or model,,this will be seen as confirmation of the consumers original judgement.
c) A third reason for word to mouth communication is involvement with the group. The greater the importance of the group,the greater the likelihood that the consumers will seek to transmit information to it.
2) Motives for word of mouth communications.
Consumers have several motives for seeking word of mouth communication. These motives are examined below:
a) One motive is that friends and relatives are good source of product information.
b) A second motive is the information from personal sources facilitate the purchase task. A consumer might find out from a relative or friend that a store those not have the desired item, that it is priced too high, or that it is not made of desired materials. Shopping time has thereby been reduced.
c) A third motive for seeking word of mouth communication is that it reduce risk. Consumers who see risk in the purchase are more likely to initiate product related communication and to request for information from friends and relatives. The flow of word of mouth communication is therefore from those who see less risk in purchasing to those who see more risk (Cunningham 1966).
