What Is eWOM and Why Does It Matter for Marketers?

Before the internet, consumers relied heavily on recommendations from friends and family before making a purchase. And even though the purchasing channel has changed, the habit stays the same. In fact, eWOM has become one of the strongest indicators of social proof for businesses today.

What is Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM)?

eWOM, or electronic word of mouth, refers to the sharing of opinions, recommendations, and experiences about products or services through digital channels.

• Search engines (e.g., Google, Bing)

• E-commerce websites (e.g., Amazon, eBay)

• Discount websites (e.g., Slickdeals, HotUKDeals)

• Review sites (e.g., Yelp, TripAdvisor)

• Social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram)

• Video platforms (e.g., YouTube, Twitch)

• Forums (e.g., Reddit, Quora)

• Local news and bloggers

Unlike traditional word-of-mouth (WOM), eWOM reaches an exponentially larger audience in real-time, with reviews and recommendations having the potential to go viral. With 89% of consumers worldwide consulting online reviews during their digital shopping experience, you can do the math yourself.

Why Is eWOM Important?

Electronic word of mouth has emerged as a crucial factor for consumer decision-making and social proof, making it a vital asset for brands. BrightLocal's 2024 Local Consumer Review survey revealed that:

• 75% of customers ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ read online reviews

• 77% of customers check at least two different review sites

• 49% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations

But simply having reviews isn’t enough:

• 61% of customers expect a business to have 20-99 reviews

• 88% of customers prefer businesses that respond to all reviews

• 40% of customers only consider businesses with a 4+ average star rating

Why Is eWOM More Important Than Traditional WOM?

Electronic word of mouth reaches an audience far wider than the immediate network of a customer or the local community your business serves. It thrives on the possibility of virality, particularly if your business is active on social media.

Moreover, eWOM is a long-term asset. Once posted online, it remains visible and continues to shape purchasing decisions for years, unlike spoken recommendations that can easily fade away—all without the need for ongoing investment from the business.

Is eWOM Really Trusted?

Given the rise of fake reviews and review manipulation, consumers are more discerning than ever. However, 90% of consumers still turn to reviews before making purchasing decisions, indicating a strong reliance on eWOM.

To build and maintain trust in this environment, businesses must engage authentically and manage their reputation proactively. By focusing on genuine interactions and integrating eWOM effectively into your marketing strategy, you can ensure that your business remains credible and trusted—even as consumers’ skepticism grows.

What Are The Most Impactful eWOM Channels?

eWOM happens on multiple channels and comes in many different forms, including text reviews, images, videos, and star ratings. To maximize its potential, it's crucial to leverage all of them.

Search Engines and Review Site

Reviews on sites like Yelp, Trustpilot, and Google are crucial for influencing consumer purchasing decisions. The volume and quality of reviews impact your business's reputation, while responses to positive, negative and neutral reviews demonstrate engagement and credibility.

• Text reviews offer detailed, qualitative feedback—and maybe even images—for a deeper understanding of customers’ experiences and insights into your business's strengths and weaknesses.

• Star ratings provide a concise, quantitative snapshot of the overall customer satisfaction, where even a minor improvement can significantly boost your business’s attractiveness.

Social Media and Video Platforms

Social media and video platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter provide opportunities for users to recommend and share their experiences with your business. While social recommendations can initially be driven by users’ desire to help others, they now often serve as social proof.

Your Own Website

Your own website can be a strong platform for showcasing eWOM. Integrating customer reviews, social media feeds, recommendations, and testimonials directly on your local pages can make a positive impression and reinforce your brand’s credibility.

How Can Multi-location Businesses Leverage eWOM?

For multi-location businesses, eWOM represents a unique opportunity to drive customer engagement and local sales across various regions. Here’s how you can tap into the power of eWOM to grow your business:

1. Prioritize Review Management

Online reviews are the cornerstone of electronic word of mouth; opposed to the classic word of mouth that is fleeting and confined to personal interactions. So encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews is essential for generating reviews, which in turn drives greater visibility and trust in your brand.

With review platforms often acting as the first touchpoint between your business and new customers, it's crucial to maintain an active presence. Also, a well-crafted review response strategy ensures your brand is seen as both responsive and customer-focused.

Tip: A higher volume of positive reviews can positively impact local SEO, making your business more discoverable on search engines.

2. Create Shareable Social Media Content

Social media platforms offer limitless opportunities to promote eWOM. By encouraging customers to share their experiences, post pictures, and tag your business, you can spark valuable discussions around your brand.

Customers sharing your brand on social media is a form of digital word-of-mouth that goes beyond traditional advertising. So try to highlight customer stories, user-generated content, and share testimonials on your profiles to further spread positive eWOM.

Tip: Reviews accompanied by images and videos, as well as hashtags, provide a more engaging and authentic view of your business.

3. Leverage Local Influencers

Local influencers are powerful vehicles for generating eWOM, particularly for multi-location businesses. These influencers act as trusted voices within their communities, sharing your brand with their followers. Partnering with influencers to promote your products or services can, therefore, boost awareness and encourage more customer reviews.

Tip: Genuine recommendations tend to generate higher engagement and trust than paid advertisements.

How Can Multi-Location Businesses Measure eWOM?

To effectively gauge the success of your eWOM strategies, it's crucial to track several key metrics:

• Engagement rates reveal how well your eWOM content resonates with your audience, measured by interactions such as likes, shares, and comments.

• Conversion rates track the percentage of users who take desired actions, such as making a purchase, after interacting with eWOM content.

• Sentiment scores provide insight into the overall tone of reviews and feedback, categorizing them as positive, negative, or neutral.

• Share of voice measures your brand's presence in eWOM conversations compared to competitors, with a higher share indicating greater visibility and influence.

• Customer lifetime value (CLV) helps assess the long-term financial impact of your strategies by analyzing revenue from existing customers.

By monitoring these metrics, among other relevant marketing KPIs, you can gain actionable insights and continuously optimize your eWOM efforts.

How Can Review Management Software Help?

Managing eWOM effectively, especially for multi-location businesses, can be a daunting task. This is where review management software comes in, offering several advantages that help streamline your efforts.

1. Centralized Review Monitoring

With multiple locations, tracking reviews manually can quickly become overwhelming. Review management software allows businesses to monitor reviews from all platforms in one place. This centralized dashboard provides insights into customer sentiment, helping businesses identify common complaints or areas for improvement.

2. Automated Responses

Responding to reviews, whether positive or negative, is key to maintaining a healthy brand image. Review management tools often come with customizable templates that make it easier to respond to customer feedback in a timely manner. In fact, businesses that actively respond to customer reviews are seen as more trustworthy and transparent, increasing the likelihood of return visits.

3. Sentiment Analysis

Understanding the overall sentiment of reviews can be difficult, especially when managing feedback from hundreds of locations. Advanced sentiment analysis within review management tools allows businesses to gauge whether reviews are generally positive, negative, or neutral, and determine common trends in customer feedback.

4. Scalability

Review management software scales with your business. As your company opens new locations, the software can seamlessly integrate with additional profiles, ensuring no feedback slips through the cracks. This scalability is particularly crucial for multi-location businesses aiming to maintain a consistent brand reputation across regions.

5. Boost Local SEO

Responding to reviews and ensuring your business details are accurate across platforms (name, address, phone number, and website) are critical for improving local search rankings. Many review management platforms offer features that help keep NAP details consistent across your business locations, ensuring higher visibility on search engines.

In sum, the right review management software can help simplify and optimize your efforts, ensuring your brand remains top-of-mind for consumers and easily discoverable online. Reach out if you want to learn more about review and reputation management; and the big picture of local SEO!