Word Of Mouth Pushes Online Brands

Brands have a key role to play in the online world, where shoppers’ main reasons for choosing a website are trust and reliability, according to a new survey from CIA MediaLab. Two thirds of net users trust brands they know from the real world more than pure dotcom brands, yet old economy players have some way to go to leverage their brand in the e-world.

A total 79% of people placed brand trustworthiness as their priority when visiting an e-commerce site, above low prices (65%) and great customer service (56%). Online brand loyalty mirrors that of the real world, with 89% of online shoppers prepared to return to a site after a good experience and 85% unlikely to return after a bad experience.

Although brands from the real world are trusted more than pure dotcoms, a positive and trouble-free shopping experience with a dotcom can create brand loyalty. Online bookseller Amazon is the classic example of this; as a brand it is rated much more highly than both its dotcom rival BOL and established real world bookseller WHSmith.

Amazon is one of four online brands which has managed to cut through the clutter and stand out from the crowd with over 90% awareness; Yahoo, Altavista and Lycos all achieved similar results. ISP’s however have largely failed to generate much loyalty from consumers: just over 75% of people said they would change their service provider for a better deal and 53% declared no loyalty at all.

With so much advertising activity around, the survey suggested brands need to work harder and use smart media planning to build their identity. At present 43% of websites are discovered by net users through search engines and 41% through word of mouth, while just 5% of net users were led to sites through banner advertising and 23% through other types of ads.

CIA MediaLab: 020 7803 2000