WOM: Hear it and Believe it...

Today's Notable Quote: "People say believe half of what you see, Son, and none of what you hear. I can't help bein' confused- If it's true please tell me dear..."  - Partial lyric to I Heard it through the Grapevine from the 1967 song by Motown writers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong.

WOM (Word of Mouth) recommendations top all forms of media when it comes to credibility with consumers, according to a recently released study shared by Ben McConnell via his Church of the Customer Blog . It appears as though we Americans have grown wary of Radio, Television--and even the Internet (with the exception of posted consumer opinion polls)  when it comes to determining what to buy and where to buy it. An interesting side note in this study is the surprising popularity of newspapers--which ranked second (albeit a somewhat distant second) to WOM.

Evidently, ever-savvier consumers are refusing to be "cowed" by clever campaigns - designed by big firms and delivered via traditional and emerging mass media formats.