RM Assessment 1 - Critical Revise (marketing) Essay

RM Assessment 1 - Critical Revise (marketing) - Essay Example This report critically reviews the Bansal and Voyer article. The current trend in WOM advertising and marketing includes ethically questionable tactics such as viral videos, guerrilla marketing and paid endorsements of email or Facebook friends and family, or celebrity pages. Litven, etal proposed this modern definition, â€Å"WOM is the communication between consumers about a product, service, or a company in which the sources are considered independent of commercial influence†. (2005) This statement implies the perceived independence is actually more important than the actual independence. The Litven, etal. Article considers travel and hospitality business and the attempt to capture positive WOM. Since many people consider travel risky in terms of settling onto a poor choice of destination or accommodation, travelers seek WOM advice from prior journeys. The internet has become a resource for destination information, some independent, some apparently independent. Email, websites and blogs are asynchronous communications that control the outgoing message. The travel industry as well as other high risk applications should indulge in this form of WOM. Pictures still tell a story better than words, and corporate WOM marketing should include photographic evidence, especially to combat negative WOM. The Lee, etal. article quantifies the effects of WOM on business bottom lines. This study demonstrates the long-term lifetime value of WOM as opposed to indirect marketing. WOM is shown to create a definite value. (2006) The Villanueva, etal study relates closely to the Lee article; however, Villanueva looks at acquisition costs and equity return of building clientele by mass marketing and WOM. WOM proves to be more cost effective, although slower, than mass marketing because WOM provides the best clientele. Long-term customers come from WOM whereas one time customers, the wrong customers, come from mass marketing efforts. (2006) A number of features of the