Are Social Networks more persuasive than traditional Word-of-Mouth

I
DISSERTATION REPORT
ON
“Are Social Networks more persuasive than traditional Word-of-Mouth”.
Submitting in partial fulfilment of the requirements
For the Award of the Degree of
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
By
SIMRAN DAS
18MG1A3194
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Vinod Joseph George
KRISTU JAYANTI COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)
K. NARAYANAPURA, KOTHANUR POST,
BANGALORE-560077
2020-2021

II
CERTIFICATE FROM GUIDE
This is to certify that this dissertation work titled “Are Social
Networks more persuasive than traditional Word-of-Mouth” is based on an original
project study conducted by Simran Das (18MG1A3194) of 6th
semester BBA under my
guidance.
This project work has not formed the basis for the award of any
degree/ diploma by Bangalore University or any other University.
Place: Bangalore
Date: Prof. Vinod Joseph George

III
CERTIFICATE FROM COLLEGE
This is to certify that this dissertation work titled “Are Social
Networks more persuasive than traditional Word-of-Mouth” is based on an original
project study conducted by Simran Das (18MG1A3194) of 6th
semester BBA under the
guidance of Prof.Vinod Joseph George
This project work is based on original has not formed the basis for the
award of any degree/ diploma by Bangalore University or any other University.
HOD Principal
Place: Bangalore Place: Bangalore
Date: Date:

IV
DECLARATION
I Simran Das, hereby declare that this dissertation work titled, “Are Social Networks
more persuasive than Traditional Word-of-Mouth” is based on the original project
conducted by me under the guidance of Prof.Vinod Joseph George
This has not been submitted earlier for the award of any other degree/diploma from
Bangalore University or any other University.
Place: Bangalore
Date: Simran Das
Reg No: 18MG1A3194

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am indebted to Kristu Jayanti College Autonomous, Bangalore and Department of
Business Administration, which has accepted me for BBA program and provided me with
an excellent opportunity to carry out the present dissertation work.
Firstly, a big thanks to the Principal Father Augustine George, the Financial
Administrator Father Lijo Thomas, the Director, Library, and Information Technology
Father Som Zacharia and the Director Jayantian Extension services and Jayantian Alumni
Association Father Emmanuel PJ for providing the necessary facilities.
I extent my deep sense of gratitude to the head of the department
Surendranath Reddy and my guide Prof.Vinod Joseph, for guiding us to do this work for
our academic growth and development. He has been very kind and warm as a person. My
refreshing and encounters and experience with him is noteworthy his wisdom, knowledge
and commitment to the highest standards inspired, motivated, and encouraged me to
accomplish this study.
My parents for giving me education and supporting me in all my endeavours.
Finally, I am sincerely obliged to all those who have helped me directly and
indirectly in the completion of this study. Above all I am thankful to all mighty God whose
grace and blessing made everything possible.
Simran Das
18MG1A3194

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
NUMBER
PARTICULARS PAGE NUMBER
1 Introduction 1-2
2 Subject
Definitions
3-9
3 Industry Profile 10-16
4 Research Design 17-18
5 Data Analysis and
Interpretation
19-47
6 Findings and
Recommendations
48-50
7 Conclusion 51
Appendices I:
Questionnaire
Appendices II:
Bibliography

VII
LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Title of the Table Page No.
5.1 Age of respondents 19
5.2 Gender of
respondents
20
5.3 Level of education of
respondents
21
5.4 Occupation of
respondents
23
5.5 Personal Income per
month
25
5.6 Reason for using
Internet
27
5.7 Are you aware of
marketing made
through Social
Networking?
29
traditional WoM
30
5.9 Are social
networking and
WoM relatable?
31
5.10 Does your purchase
decision gets
influenced by social
networking/WoM?
33
5.11 Purchase decision is
more likely to get
influenced by
recommendations by
social networking or
WoM?
35
5.12 Will you pay extra
for a product having
positive WoM or
Social networking?
37
5.13 Is it difficult to
spread positive
WoM?
39
5.14 Social Networking
provides enough
information about
the product?
41
5.15 Why social networks
and WoM is in
headlines nowadays?
43
5.16 Social networking is
more effective than
WoM?
45
5.17 Which one do you
trust the most?
47

VIII
LIST OF GRAPHS
Graph No. Title of the Page No.
5.1 Age of respondents 19
5.2 Gender of
respondents
20
5.3 Level of education of
respondents
22
5.4 Occupation of
respondents
24
5.5 Personal Income per
month
26
5.6 Reason for using
Internet
28
marketing made
through Social
Networking?
29
traditional WoM
30
5.9 Are social
networking and
WoM relatable?
32
5.10 Does your purchase
decision gets
influenced by social
networking/WoM?
34
5.11 Purchase decision is
more likely to get
influenced by
recommendations by
social networking or
WoM?
36
5.12 Will you pay extra
for a product having
positive WoM or
Social networking?
38
5.13 Is it difficult to
spread positive
WoM?
40
provides enough
information about
the product?
42
5.15 Why social networks
and WoM is in
headlines nowadays?
44
5.16 Social networking is
more effective than
WoM?
46
5.17 Which one do you
trust the most?
47

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The word of Mouth has gained a massive growth since 2004. Since that time, the Word-of-
Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has grown from 3 to 350 corporate members
(WOMMA 2007). This growth is specifically evident in online and social networking media.
WOM has become a significant feature of Internet where Internet provides number of venues
for customers to share their views, preferences and experiences which further provide
opportunity for the firms to take advantage of the information gathered from WOM
marketing.
In order to understand the customer and to acknowledge the customer’s ideas, one of the
best standouts is WOM or Word-or-mouth which further helps to assume the essential part
regarding customer’s attitude and practices. Therefore, customers seek information related
to brand name, items etc. from their relatives, colleagues, relatives and peers who frequently
produces effect on their buying behaviour. However, this is an unmistakably traceable in
boosting and advertising writing. It is determined that WOM is a proficient drive inside of
the customer commercial centre. The overall movement from the strongest and dominant
print culture in the 19th century to the current electronic and digital society of the 21st
century has clearly affected WOM by the development of electronic Word-of-Mouth.
Electronic Word-of-Mouth has made purchasers to exchange discussions, messages etc
through Social networking. Generally, social networking gives customers chance to talk
about, suggest or criticize items, and Social Networking Sites provides a perfect medium for
electronic WOM, as purchaser open up to provide brand related data inside of their online
systems. Social networking sites provides a tool that is easy to use for the potential or current
users and can also invite or inform the new or other users. Practically, these members are
also considered as customers because their exposure to the advertisement while using the
site is equally beneficial to the association or the firm to grow and expand their businesses.

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Empirical evidence is currently scant regarding the relative effectiveness of WOM
marketing in increasing firm performance over time. This raises the need to study how firms
can measure the effects of WOM communications and how WOM compares to other forms
of marketing communication. WOM marketing is particularly a prominent feature on the
internet. The internet provides numerous venues for the consumers to share their views,
preferences or experiences with others as well as creates opportunities for the firms to take
advantage of Word-of-Mouth marketing.
The social network setting offers an appealing context to study Word-of-Mouth. The site
provides easy-to-use tools for current users to invite others to join the network. The
electronic recording of these outbound referrals opens a new window into the effects of
WOM, giving researchers an unobtrusive trace of this often hard-to-study activity.
Internet therefore uses several types of Word-of-Mouth marketing activities. The
major categories include.
1.VIRAL MARKETING
2.REFERRAL PROGRAMS
3.COMMUNITY MARKETING
In this project we tried to compare and measure the effectiveness of recommendations made
through social networking and traditional Word-of-Mouth. Here social networking involves
the online forum, groups, blogs, that contain positive or negative reviews of the goods and
services. While traditional Word-of-Mouth involves recommendations made offline.

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CHAPTER 2
SUBJECT DEFINITION
It is a social network where group of individuals are linked together by different social ties,
ranging from casual acquaintance to work relationships and family ties.
The Social Network is therefore meant to be a service whose primary function is to allow or
facilitate the organisation and management a map of a social community.
Social Networks are a means but not a medium in the sense of “intermediary” (as in the mass
media) but in the sense of a social tool, social media.
A social networking service (also social networking site or social media) is an online
platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people
who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life
connections.
Social networking services vary in format and the number of features. Online
community services are sometimes considered social-network services by developers and
users, though in a broader sense, a social-network service usually provides an individual-
centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Defined as
"websites that facilitate the building of a network of contacts in order to exchange various
types of content online," social networking sites provide a space for interaction to continue
beyond in person interactions. These computer mediated interactions link members of
various networks and may help to both maintain and develop new social and professional
relationships.

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2.1.1 Importance of Social Networking:
Figures of daily traffic pulled by these sites are enough, for anyone to realize the power and
influence that social media commands over inhabitants of our world, both virtual and
physical.
Social media has evolved from being cyber world geek buzz to a massive platform for
businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals, and organizations that seek greater recognition and
identification at a very economical price.
Social media has its claws deeply dug in the cyber world and failing to acknowledge that,
and not take advantage of its influential powers, is a crime unforgivable.
In today’s fast paced world where nearly every other person you meet is short on time, the
importance and advantage of this feature of social media cannot be denied.
2.1.2 Characteristics of Social Media: Discussed below are some of the
characteristics that make social media so unique.
 Social media is easily accessible and it’s also the meeting point of today’s internet
savvy audience.
 Major portion of younger generation, teenagers and middle-aged people, are major
percentage of the total social media user population.
 Social media opens possibilities of direct access to clients without any third-party
intervention.

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 Advertising through social media is pretty cost friendly as compared to costs incurred
by print, TV, or other traditional media.
 Social media also helps in search engine optimization and increase in rankings of
any company websites.
Above characteristics are crucially important for any business in today’s world.
2.1.3 Power of Social Media in Today’s Marketplace:
Social media with its viral videos, blogs and articles, has more than what could be called a
healthy turnover of innovative Ideas that keep customers occupied and continue to grab their
attention.
It is not strange for women, (men too, of course), to come across attention grabbing blog
article on antique jewellery and by the time they reach the end of that article, they have made
up their mind to buy it.
Conveniently provided in the body of the article or at the end of it or both there is a link to
online jewellery store. Mission accomplished! Five minutes of reading something of their
interest and customer is ready to purchase. That’s a one-liner, defining the power of social
media in today’s marketplace.
From global giants like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon all the way down to little restaurants just
around the corner and small locally owned businesses are using social media as platform to
identify and reach out to their target audiences.
More and more e-marketers who are new to the field, are honing their skills to emerge as
expert practitioners of social network marketing.
The entire advancement is targeted towards achieving social marketing objectives and
achieving and improving that promised return on investment (ROI).

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2.2 Word-of-Mouth Communication
It is a consumer dominated channel of marketing communication where the sender is
independent of the market. It is therefore perceived to be more reliable, credible and
trustworthy by consumers compared to firm initiated.
Traditional communications theory considers word-of-mouth as having a powerful influence
on behaviour, especially on consumers ‘information search’, evaluation, and subsequent
decision making.
Word of mouth or viva voce is the passing of information from person to person using oral
communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling
is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a story
about a real event or something made up.
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOM marketing) is when a consumer's interest in a company's
product or service is reflected in their daily dialogues. Essentially, is it being free advertising
triggered by customer experiences—and usually, something that goes beyond what they
expected. Word-of-mouth marketing can be encouraged through different publicity
activities set up by companies, or by having opportunities to encourage consumer-to-
consumer and consumer-to-marketer communications. Also referred to as "WOMM" or
"word-of-mouth advertising," WOM marketing includes buzz, viral, blog, emotional,
and social media marketing.
Word-of-mouth marketing differs from natural word-of-mouth references to a company's
products and services in how it may come as the result of a promotion, encouragement, or
other influence by a company, otherwise known as "seeding." When a diner has a wonderful
time at a restaurant because their expectations were exceeded and later tells tweets about it,
or when someone had a great experience using a product in a new way and tells everyone
they know about it, those are examples of word-of-mouth marketing. Also, word-of-mouth
marketing does not stop at the first interaction; it tends to lead to a cascade of follow-on
interactions.

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2.2.1 Importance of Word-of-Mouth:
Word-of-mouth advertising is considered one of the most effective forms of marketing, and
many companies have adopted strategies that focus on giving people reasons to talk about
their positive experiences with their products or services. Businesses are very aware that
people generally prefer to consult family and friends before making many buying decisions,
including choosing a lawyer or doctor, buying a car or finding a mechanic or hair salon.
2.2.2 Effective Recommendations
One of the major advantages that word-of-mouth advertising has over other forms of
marketing is the inherent power of recommendations. People are conditioned to trust
recommendations from family and friends; they tend to value them more highly than
anything companies themselves can say through various advertising methods. More
companies are recognizing the importance of the effectiveness of recommendations and are
going the extra mile to keep customers happy and willing to promote their products and
services.
2.2.3 Inexpensive Marketing
Word-of-mouth marketing is a cost-effective method of spreading information about
products and services. While companies must purchase most forms of marketing, such as
print advertisements and TV or radio airtime, word-of-mouth marketing requires no out-of-
pocket expenditure. By merely providing a quality product or service, and doing so in a
customer-friendly way, companies are banking on the fact that their happy customers will
tell families and friends about their experience.

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2.2.4 Enhanced Products and Services
Because word-of-mouth marketing relies on loyal customers to promote products or
services, companies have to keep their customers happy and satisfied. To do this, they can't
produce goods and services that are barely average in value. The preponderance of word-of-
mouth advertising -- especially online -- is driving the creation of vastly improved products
or services. It's also led to an enhanced level of customer service and the careful
consideration of customer feedback.
2.2.5 Stronger Brand Image
Companies that have realized the great potential in word-of-mouth marketing continually
strive to stand out from the crowd, rather than be one of many. The driving force behind this
marketing strategy has led companies to focus greater efforts on building customer loyalty,
since it's through loyal customers that word-of-mouth advertising is successful. The more
customers are encouraged to be loyal to a product or service, the greater the level of
promotion they do for it, something that enhances the company's brand image.
2.3 VIRAL MARKETING: Viral marketing or viral advertising is a business
strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social
media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with
other people, much in the same way that a virus spreads from one person to another. It can
be delivered by word of mouth, or enhanced by the network effects of
the Internet and mobile networks.
Viral advertising is personal and, while coming from an identified sponsor, it does not mean
businesses pay for its distribution. Most of the well-known viral ads circulating online are
ads paid by a sponsor company, launched either on their own platform.

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(company web page or social media profile) or on social media websites such as YouTube.
The ultimate goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing programs is
to create viral messages that appeal to individuals with high social networking potential and
that have a high probability of being presented and spread by these individuals and their
competitors in their communications with others in a short period.
2.4 REFERRAL PROGRAMS: Referral marketing is a word-of-mouth initiative
designed by a company to incentivize existing customers to introduce their family, friends
and contacts to become new customers. Different to pure word-of-mouth strategies which
are primarily customer directed with the company unable to track, influence and measure
message content; referral marketing encourages and rewards the referrer for allowing a
company to do so. Different to multi-level marketing, there is no incentive for the original
existing customer to drive or influence the subsequent referrals of the new customer – only
the conversion of the initial, primary customer is rewarded.
2.5 COMMUNITY MARKETING: Community marketing is a strategy to engage
an audience in an active, non-intrusive prospect and customer conversation.
Whereas marketing communication strategies such as advertising, promotion, PR, and sales
all focus on attaining customers, Community Marketing focuses on the perceived needs of
existing customers. This accomplishes four things for a business:
 Connects existing customers with prospects.
 Connects prospects with each other.
 Connects a company with customers/prospects to solidify loyalty
 Connects customers with customers to improve product adoption, satisfaction, etc.

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CHAPTER 3
INDUSTRY PROFILE
3.1 HISTORY:
The word-of-mouth communication style has been adopted by our kind from the beginning
of the civilisation and is being followed on till date. This style of communication has a great
significance due to its adaptability by us. This is the reason that people are more inclined
towards word-of-mouth style of communication rather than relying on the social network. In
the context of customer behaviour, a standout amongst the most generally acknowledged
ideas, i.e., WoM or Word-of-Mouth communication style, which has a great significance in
forming customer's demeanors and practices. Therefore, shoppers acquire data about items,
brands or administrations from people by WoM communication style. For example,
companions, peers, relatives or colleagues who frequently impact their sales by choice
making.
Additionally, this style is flawless and traceable in promoting and publicising writing. It is
demonstrated that WoM is an effective and most suitable way of communication inside the
commercial customer centre. Moreover, the previous examination bolsters the case that WoM
is more persuasive to conduct than all further controlled sources. For example, prints or other
publicising configurations. This happens for most of the part because of the more significant
amount of dependency and adaptability on interpersonal WoM communication style.
On the other hand, the overall movement from the dominant print culture in the nineteenth
century to the current computerized society of the 21st century has unequivocally affected
WoM by the development of electronic Word-of-Mouth. An electronic Word-of-Mouth or
(eWoM) is the communication style to exchange words between person to person with the
help of the internet. This implies a buyer's corresponding surroundings changed and was
enhanced by the capacity to impart in new ways.

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Such electronic WoM or eWoM correspondence is a result of the exchange of discussions,
messages, news bunches or inside prevalent Social Networking Sites and is commonly given
by future, real, or previous purchasers of an organization, item or specific brand. Specifically,
social networking offers purchasers the chance to talk about, suggest or condemn articles.
Moreover, social networking sites act as a perfect instrument for electronic WoM. This is
necessary as shoppers are dedicated to make and scatter item or brand related data stored in
their online systems. To make shopping more comfortable for customers, it is expressed with
the help of an example. Suppose while purchasing a car, the buyer conducts extensive research
before paying for the product. This is because of the expensive nature of the item. So, the
significance of electronic Word-of-Mouth is high as it has choice making the setting.
Moreover, the forced movement of imparted messages about items or brands is noteworthy
inside of the WoM field. Thus, it is disconnected from the net and on the web. Because of
that possibility, it is contended that the achievement of an item emphatically relies on upon
its created WoM. The complete flow of data processes when the conveyed data begins.
3.2 GROWTH: (Social Networking)
The evolution of social media has been fueled by the human impulse to communicate and by
advances in digital technology. It is a story about establishing and nurturing personal
connections at scale.
According to Merriam-Webster, social media is defined as “forms of electronic
communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which
users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other
content (such as videos).” The 2019 Pew Research Center report on social media use in the
United States showed that 72% of American adults use some form of social media. In 2005,
the year after Facebook went live, that number was 5%.
In less than a generation, social media has evolved from direct electronic information
exchange to virtual gathering place, to retail platform, to vital 21st-century marketing tool.

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3.2.1 The Launch of Social Sites
In the 1980s and ’90s, according to “The History of Social Networking” on the technology
news site Digital Trends, the internet’s growth enabled the introduction of online
communication services such as CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy. They
introduced users to digital communication through email, bulletin board messaging, and
real-time online chatting.
This gave rise to the earliest social media networks, beginning with the short-lived Six
Degrees profile uploading service in 1997.
This service was followed in 2001 by Friendster. These rudimentary platforms attracted
millions of users and enabled email address registration and basic online networking.
Weblogs, or blogs, another early form of digital social communication, began to gain
popularity with the 1999 launch of the LiveJournal publishing site. This coincided with the
launch of the Blogger publishing platform by the tech company Pyra Labs, which was
purchased by Google in 2003.
In 2002, LinkedIn was founded as a networking site for career-minded professionals. By
2020, it had grown to more than 675 million users worldwide. It remains the social media
site of choice for job seekers as well as human resources managers searching for qualified
candidates.
Two other major forays into social media collapsed after a burst of initial success. In 2003,
Myspace launched.
By 2006, it was the most visited website on the planet, spurred by users’ ability to share new
music directly on their profile pages. By 2008, it was eclipsed by Facebook. In 2011,

13
Myspace was purchased by musician Justin Timberlake for $35 million, but it has since
become a social media afterthought.
Google’s attempt to elbow its way into the social media landscape, Google+, launched in
2012. A rocky existence came to an end in 2018, after the private information of nearly
500,000 Google+ users was compromised by a data security breach.
3.3 GROWTH: (Word-of-Mouth)
Word of mouth marketing (WOMM), also called word of mouth advertising, is the social
media era’s version of simple word of mouth.
Traditionally, word of mouth marketing was spread from one person to another based on
recommendation. Modern word of mouth marketing describes both targeted efforts and
naturally occurring instances where users share their satisfaction with a brand.
In today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation can have far greater impact –
leading to word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) or word of mouth advertising strategies to
capitalize on the opportunity.
Many best practices and marketing tactics encourage natural word of mouth, but campaigns
— particularly on social media — can have the explicit aim of promoting an online business’
social exposure.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over
any other type of advertising. Even academic research into WOMM has proven its
effectiveness in conversion.
In the International Journal of Market Research, M. Nick Hajili wrote:
“Trust, encouraged by social media, significantly affects intention to buy. Therefore, trust
has a significant role in ecommerce by directly influencing intention to buy and indirectly
influencing perceived usefulness.”

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3.4 SCOPE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING:
This is the age of contacts for interaction between people to people through social platforms
in the web. The tremendous popularity of using the social media networking could never
have been realized before. In fact, social media have become an important tool of marketing
in true sense of customer orientation. The scope of social networking is widening, and today
it offers a strong support to the companies in providing the much-desired touch of concern.
Future of social media networking brings exciting promises as expected from the experience
of limited users from a few companies in the top bracket.
This is the beginning of interweaving social media networking as a positive business process
bringing two people together than merely two organizational entities. People can
communicate their message to the suppliers or customers and also convey any difference of
opinion over the social networks. The business community has started to take a keen interest
in the enormous possibilities of reaching and serving the buyers in this emerging domain of
marketing.
Social media networking is a more practical approach for dealing with the consumers. It
may be for improving the products listening to the customers’ views with critical
appreciations. It may also help improving the ways of dealing with buyers using them as
ears and the eye of the organizations. All the big companies are quite optimistic about the
positive impact of Social media networking and gone into developing fully integrated
processed with a holistic touch. Take the example of activities the companies like IBM,
Microsoft and Google performs to strengthen their networking platforms via social networks
like Twitter and Facebook.
The bright future prospect of social networking is also proven with the fact that the
technology is integrated in the mobile phones as well. Look at the devices designed with
powers of interpersonal communication on a globalized outlook. These devices are now
being created to with the perspective of global interaction and messaging across
geographical boundaries. The concept is one, wherever on the earth; reach the common
platform of the people for everybody’s benefit.
Social networking has tremendous prospects in future.

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3.5 SCOPE OF WORD-OF-MOUTH
Influencing and encouraging organic discussions about a brand, organization, resource, or
event. To put it most simply, word of mouth marketers and advertisers seek to create
something worth talking about and then actively encourage people to talk about it. This study
encompasses the Word of Mouth in the new product development cycle that an organization
follows. This defines the scope as discussion, communication and opinion of people related
to a product or service.
Word of mouth marketing is a tactic used to generate natural discussions about and
recommendations for a product or company. Essentially, getting people to talk about your
brand, product, or business is the goal of this type of marketing.
Everyone wants people talking about their products, because those conversations are what
drive business.
Word-of-mouth networking gives people a chance to build deeper relationships and increase
trust. This increased trust often leads to more qualified referrals, longer professional
relationships, and more profitable transactions.
3.6 Social Networking Vs Traditional Word-of-Mouth
Social media is a fantastic method of networking, in fact, we are big fans! The stats are
impressive regarding the power of social media to influence consumers through people
networking digitally. For instance:
 50% of shoppers have made a purchase based on a recommendation through a social media
network.
 51% of Facebook users are more likely to buy the products of brands they follow online
 The average consumer mentions brand 90 times/week in in their interactions with other
people.
Whereas,

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Some refer to this style of networking as “old fashioned” or “traditional” networking. It’s
been around since the first product was put up for sale and it’s still incredibly persuasive in
purchase decisions. In fact:
 3.3 billion brand mentions in 2.4 brand-related conversations happen offline in America every
day.
 54% of Americans say that their purchase decisions are driven by word-of-mouth.
 59% of Americans believe offline or word-of-mouth to be highly credible.
Word-of-mouth networking gives people a chance to build deeper relationships and increase
trust. This increased trust often leads to more qualified referrals, longer professional
relationships, and more profitable transactions.

17
CHAPTER 4
RESEARCH DESIGN
4.1 TITLE OF THE STUDY:
Are Social Networks more persuasive than traditional Word-of-Mouth.
4.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: The problem identified for the present
investigation is to know if social networking is more effective than the traditional Word-of-
Mouth, which of the two influences the purchase decision of the consumers differently.
4.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
 To weigh the consistency of the suggestions made by Word-of-Mouth and Social
Networking.
 To study the effectiveness of both Social Networking and Word-of-Mouth.
 To compare the texture of the ideas formed by Word-of-Mouth and Social Networking.
4.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY: This study is to analyse and understand what
influences the buying behaviour of the consumers while making purchase of a product or
service in today’s modern world.
4.5 SAMPLING METHOD: RANDOM SAMPLING TECHNIQUE, this technique
has been used as the collected data are from random people who make various purchases in
their day-to-day lives. The questionnaire was sent to 150 people, out of which I have
collected the responses of 100 people considering their interest and convenience.
4.5.1 SAMPLE SIZE: 100

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4.6 DATA SOURCES:
PRIMARY DATA: Questionnaire
SECONDARY DATA: To meet the objectives, the study used is qualitative research.
The descriptive study was done through review of existing literature that helped in validation
and extraction of the important variables and factors.
4.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:
 Representation of larger population is not possible.
 The study is not product specific; it is conducted only to understand the different
perception of consumers.
 As the behaviour of the consumers keep fluctuating, we may not get the exact figures.
 We might not be able to achieve the absolute results due to changing behaviour of
consumers.

19
CHAPTER 5
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Table No 5.1 Gender of respondents:
GENDER RESPONSES PERCENTAGE
MALE 41 41%
FEMALE 59 59%
OTHERS 0 0%
ANALYSIS: Here, 59.00% are female respondents and 41.00% are male respondents
and others are marked as 0.00%
Graph No 5.1 Gender of respondents:
INFERENCE: Here, female respondents are slightly more than the male respondents.
GENDER
MALE FEMALE OTHER

20
Table No 5.2 Age of respondents:
AGE RESPONSES PERCENTAGE
15-30 75 75%
31-45 15 15%
46-60 10 10%
ANALYSIS: Here, 75.00% respondents are aged between 15-30, 15.00% respondents are aged
between 31-45 and the rest 10.00% respondents are aged between 46-60.
Graph no 5.2 Age of respondents:
INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents are aged between 15-30.
15-30
75%
31-45
15%
46-60
10%
AGE

21
Table No 5.3 Level of Education:
OPTIONS RESPONSES PERCENTAGE
ILLITERATE 01 01%
UPTO HIGH SCHOOL 12 12%
UNDERGRADUATE 57 57%
POSTGRADUATE 19 19%
PROFESSIONAL 09 09%
OTHERS 02 02%
ANALYSIS: Here,57.00% respondents are Undergraduate,19.00% are Post Graduate,12.00% have
studied up to High School,9.00% are professional, 2.00% are from other category and 1.00% are illiterate.

22
Graph No 5.3 Level of Education
INFERENCE: Here, almost 3/4th
are students from Undergraduate and Postgraduate together compared
to other respondents.
1%
12%
57%
19%
9%
2%
LEVEL OF EDUCATION
ILLITERATE UPTO HIGH SCHOOL UNDER GRADUATE
POST GRADUATE PROFESSIONAL OTHERS

23
Table No 5.4 Occupation:
SELF-EMPLOYED 17 17%
SALARIED 19 19%
BUSINESS 08 08%
STUDENT 56 56%
ANALYSIS: Here, 56.00% respondents are students, 19.00% respondents are salaried individuals,
17.00% respondents are self-employed, and the rest 8.00% respondents are having their own business.

24
Graph No 5.4 Occupation:
INFERENCE: Here, majority of respondents are students and salaried individuals.
17%
19%
8%
56%
OCCUPATION
SELF-EMPLOYED SALARIED BUSINESS STUDENT

25
Table No 5.5 Personal Income Per Month:
ANALYSIS:
Here, 46.00% respondents are having Nil income, 25.00% respondents are having income above 20,000,
11.00% respondents are having income below 10,000. 10.00% respondents are having income between
10,001-15,000, and the rest 08.00% respondents are having income between 15,001-20,000
NIL 46 46%
BELOW 10,000 11 11%
10,001-15,000 10 10%
15,001-20,000 08 08%
ABOVE 20,000 25 25%

26
Graph No 5.5 Personal Income Per Month:
INFERENCE: Here, majority of respondents have no income; Nil as most of them are students.
PERSONAL INCOME PER MONTH
NIL BELOW 10,000 10,001-15,000 15,001-20,000 ABOVE 20,000

27
Table No: 5.6 Why do you use the Internet.
MAKE
FRIENDS
14 14%
SHOPPING 08 08%
ONLINE
BUSINESS
13 13%
GATHER
INFORMATION
49 49%
OTHERS 16 16%
ANALYSIS: Here, 49.00% of my respondents use internet to gather information,14.00%
of respondents use internet for making friends,13.00% of respondents for online business,
08.00% of respondents for shopping and the rest 16.00% of respondents use the internet for
other reasons.

28
Graph No: 5.6 Why do you use the Internet.
INFERENCE: Here, mostly the respondents use the Internet to gather information.
14%
8%
13%
49%
16%
Make Friends Shopping
Online Business Gather Information
Others

29
Table No 5.7 Are you aware of marketing made through Social Networking:
YES 94 94%
NO 06 06%
ANALYSIS: Here, 94.00% respondents are aware of marketing made through social networking and the
rest 06.00% respondents are not aware of it.
Graph No 5.7 Are you aware of marketing made through Social Networking:
INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents are aware of marketing made through Social Networking.
YES
NO
RESULT
YES NO

30
Table No 5.8 Are you aware of traditional Word-of-Mouth:
YES 87 87%
NO 13 13%
ANALYSIS: Here, 87.00% respondents are aware of traditional Word-of-Mouth, and the rest 13.00%
respondents are not aware of it.
Graph No 5.8 Are you aware of traditional Word-of-Mouth:
INFERENCE: Majority of respondents are aware of traditional Word-of-Mouth.
YES
NO
RESULT

31
Table No 5.9 Do you believe recommendation made through Social Networking and
Word-of-Mouth are relatable:
OPTIONS RESPONSES PERECNTAGE
STRONGLY AGREE 25 25%
AGREE 35 35%
NEUTRAL 36 36%
DISAGREE 04 04%
STRONGLY DISAGREE 0 0%
ANALYSIS: Here, 36.00% respondents are neutral, 35.00% respondents agree that Social Networking and
Word-of-Mouth are relatable, 25.00% respondents strongly agree with the above statement, rest 04.00%
respondents disagree with the above statement.

32
Graph No 5.9 Do you believe recommendation made through Social Networking and
Word-of-Mouth are relatable:
INFERENCE: Most of the respondents are neutral about recommendation made through Social
Networking and Word-of-Mouth are relatable.
RESULT
STRONGLY AGREE AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

33
Table No 5.10 Does your purchase decision gets influenced by Social
Networking or Word-of-Mouth:
AGREE 44 44%
NEUTRAL 33 33%
DISAGREE 03 03%
ANALYSIS: Here,44.00% respondents agree with the above statement, 33.00%
respondents are neutral, 18.00% respondents strongly agree with the statement. 03.00%
respondents disagree and the rest 02.00% respondents strongly disagree.

34
Graph No 5.10 Does your purchase decision gets influenced by Social
Networking or Word-of-Mouth:
INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents agree that their purchase decision gets
influenced by Social Networking or Word-of-Mouth.
18%
44%
33%
3%2%
RESULT

35
Table No 5.11 Your purchase decision is more likely to get influenced by
recommendations made through Social Networking or Word-of-Mouth:
SOCIAL
NETWORKING
31 31%
WORD-OF-
MOUTH
25 25%
BOTH
EQUALLY
44 44%
ANALYSIS: Here, 44.00% respondents opted for both equally, 31.00% respondents for
Social Networking and the rest 25.00% respondents for Word-of-Mouth.

36
Graph No 5.11 Your purchase decision is more likely to get influenced by
recommendations made through Social Networking or Word-of-Mouth:
INFERENCE: Most of the respondents purchase decision is more likely to get influenced
by both Social Networking and Word-of-Mouth equally
31%
25%
44%
RESULT
SOCIAL NETWORKING WORD-OF-MOUTH BOTH EQUALLY

37
Table No 5.12 Will you pay extra for a product having positive Word-of-
Mouth or Social Networking:
AGREE 26 26%
NEUTRAL 39 39%
DISAGREE 12 12%
ANALYSIS: Here, 39.00% respondents are neutral, 26.00% respondents agree to pay extra for a
product having positive word-of-mouth or social networking, 22.00% respondents strongly agree to
pay, 12.00% respondents disagree to pay, and 01.00% respondents strongly disagrees to pay.

38
Graph No 5.12 Will you pay extra for a product having positive Word-of-
Mouth or Social Networking:
INFERENCE: Most of the respondents are neutral and also agree to pay extra for a
product having positive Word-of-Mouth or Social Networking.
RESULT

39
Table No 5.13 Do you think it is difficult for a company to spread positive
Word-of-Mouth:
AGREE 38 38%
NEUTRAL 27 27%
DISAGREE 18 18%
ANALYSIS: Here, 38.00% respondents agree, 27.00% respondents are neutral about the
statement, 18.00% respondents disagree to it, 17.00% respondents strongly agree to it.

40
Graph No 5.13 Do you think it is difficult for a company to spread positive
Word-of-Mouth:
 INFERENCE: Most of the respondents agree with the statement that it is difficult for a
company to spread positive Word-of-Mouth.
RESULT
STRONGLY AGREE
AGREE
NEUTRAL
DISAGREE
STRONGLY DISAGREE

41
Table No 5.14 Do you think Social Networking provides enough
information about the product:
AGREE 33 33%
NEUTRAL 36 36%
DISAGREE 05 05%
ANALYSIS: Here, 36.00% respondents are neutral, 33.00% respondents agree to the
statement, 26.00% respondents strongly agree to the statement and the rest 05.00%
respondents disagree to it

42
Graph No 5.14 Do you think Social Networking provides enough
information about the product:
INFERENCE: Most of the respondents are neutral and also agree with the statement
that Social Networking providing enough information about a product.
RESULT

43
Table No 5.15 Why do you think Social Networking and Word-of-Mouth
is in headlines nowadays.
INCREASE
CONSUMERS
24 24%
TRADITIONAL
ADVERTISING
IS LOSING ITS
EFFECTIVENESS
13 13%
INCREASE THE
NO. OF
INTERNET
USERS
27 27%
COMPANY’S
ATTEMPT TO
ADDRESS THE
SOCIETY’S NEW
IDEAS
25 25%
OTHERS 11 11%
ANALYSIS: Here, 27.00% respondents opted for Increase the no. of Internet users,
25.00% respondents opted for Company’s attempt to address the society’s new ideas,
24.00% respondents opted for Increase consumers, 13.00% respondents opted for
Traditional advertising is losing its effectiveness, 11.00% respondents opted for others.

44
Graph No 5.15 Why do you think Social Networking and Word-of-Mouth
is in headlines nowadays.
INFERENCE: Most of the respondents think Social Networking and Word-of-Mouth is in
headlines nowadays to increase the no. of internet users and also to address the society’s new
ideas.
RESULTS
INCREASE CONSUMERS
TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING IS LOSING ITS EFFECTIVENESS
INCREASE THE NO.OF INTERNET USERS
COMAPANY'S ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS THE SOCIETY'S NEW IDEAS
OTHERS

45
Table No 5.16 In your opinion is Social Networking more effective than
traditional Word-of-Mouth:
AGREE 14 14%
NEUTRAL 25 25%
DISAGREE 36 36%
ANALYSIS: Here, 36.00% respondents disagree with the statement, 25.00% respondents are neutral,
20.00% respondents strongly agree, 14.00% respondents agree to it, and the rest 05.00% respondents strongly
disagree to it.

46
Graph No 5.16 In your opinion is Social Networking more effective than traditional
Word-of-Mouth:
INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents disagree with the opinion that Social
Networking is more effective than traditional Word-of-Mouth; they believe Word-of-Mouth
is more effective.
RESULT

47
Table No 5.17 Which one do you trust the most.
WORD-OF-MOUTH 55 55%
SOCIAL
NETWORKING
45 45%
ANALYSIS: Here, 55.00% respondents trusts Word-of-Mouth and the rest 45.00% respondents trusts
Social Networking
Graph No 5.17 Which one do you trust the most.
INFERENCE: Majority of respondents trusts Word-of-Mouth the most.
RESULT
WORD-OF-MOUTH SOCIAL NETWORKING

48
CHAPTER 6
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 FINDINGS
The key finding of the research is that most of the respondents were aware of Social
Networking and traditional Word-of-Mouth and marketing made through both the
platforms. After extensive analysis of the collected responses, the research has found out the
following findings about their choices and preferences.
 Majority of the respondents are females compared to males.
 Most of the respondents are aged between 15-30.
 Most of the respondents are pursuing / have pursued Under Graduation and
Post-Graduation.
 Most of the respondents are students.
 Personal Income of most of the respondents is NIL, as mostly they are students.
 Most of the respondents use the internet to gather information.
 Majority of the respondents are aware of marketing made through Social Networking.
 Majority of the respondents are aware of Traditional Word-of-Mouth.
 Most of the respondents are neutral about recommendation made through Social Networking
and Word-of-Mouth are relatable.
 Most of the respondents agree that their purchase decision gets influenced by Social
Networking or Word-of-Mouth.
 Most of the respondents purchase decision is more likely to get influenced by both Social
Networking and Word-of-Mouth equally.
 Most of the respondents are neutral about paying extra for a product having positive Word-
of-Mouth or Social Networking.
 Most of the respondents agree with the statement that it is difficult for a company to spread
positive Word-of-Mouth.

49
 Most of the respondents are neutral about Social Networks providing enough information
about a product.
 Most of the respondents think Social Networking and Word-of-Mouth is in headlines
nowadays to increase the no. of internet users.
 Majority of the respondents disagree with the opinion that Social Networking is more
effective than traditional Word-of-Mouth; they believe Word-of-Mouth is more effective.
 Majority of respondents trusts Word-of-Mouth the most.

50
6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
As a researcher, I would like to recommend the following suggestions:
 Companies should try to promote positive word about their products through Social
Networking and Word-of-Mouth as traditional advertising is losing its effectiveness.
 Social Networking should provide enough information about the product which can convince
the buyer to make the purchase.
 Social Networking platforms should try to gain the trust of the customers by following ethical
practices.
 People should also use the internet for starting up a new business/venture.

51
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
The study was conducted in order to bring out the effectiveness of Social Networking and
traditional Word-of-Mouth which influences the purchase decision of the consumers
differently. It is further taken forward to investigate the consistency of the suggestions made
by Social Networking and Traditional Word-of-Mouth. And also, to compare the texture of
the ideas formed by Word-of-Mouth and Social Networking. The study got us variables of
which is preferred more or less by consumers.
Hence, the Research Methodology move towards positivism as it satisfies the specific point
of this study, this study has also brought out the fact that the customers are aware and have
good knowledge of Social Networking and traditional Word-of-Mouth. Apart from this the
customers believe more in Traditional Word-of-Mouth than Social Networking due to their
own choices and experiences, each one of them had in their past purchases. And people are
much aware of social networks marketing because the education level in our society is high
and is in good percentage. The use of internet has also rapidly increased for which consumers
are aware of marketing made through social media.
From the survey we also found that Social Networking is more effective than Word-of-
Mouth but when we compared between the two, it is found that people trust Traditional
Word-of-Mouth more than Social Networking, which also implies that we still tend to
believe more in the traditional way of recommendations made by real people with personal
interaction and touch other than reading reviews through online platforms.

52
APPENDICE I
QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear Respondents,
This study is a sincere attempt to analyse the effectiveness of Social
Networking and Word-of-Mouth, which influences the purchase decision
of the consumer.
NAME: Simran Das
Reg No: 18MG1A3194
VI BBA
KRISTU JAYANTI COLLEGE
Personal Details:
NAME:
GENDER: a) Male b) Female
AGE: a) 15-30 b) 31-45 c)46-60
LEVEL OF EDUCATION: a) Illiterate b) Up to High School c) Undergraduate
d)Post Graduate e) Professional f) Others
OCCUPATION: a) Self-Employed b) Salaried c) Business
d) Student
PERSONAL INCOME P.M: a) Nil b) below 10000
c) 10001-15000 d)15001-20000 e) Above 20000

53
Give your opinion to the following questions:
1.Why do you use the Internet?
☐Make Friends ☐Shopping ☐Online Business ☐Gather Information.
☐Others
2.Are you aware of marketing made through Social Networking?
☐Yes ☐No
3.Are you aware of traditional Word-of-Mouth?
☐Yes ☐No
4.Do you believe recommendation made through Social Networking and Word-of-
Mouth is relatable?
☐Strongly Agree ☐Agree ☐Neutral ☐Disagree.
☐Strongly Disagree
5.Does your purchase decision gets influenced by Social Networking or Word-of-
Mouth?

54
6.Your purchase decision is more likely to get influenced by recommendations made.
through social networking or Word-of-Mouth?
☐Social Networking ☐Word-of-Mouth ☐Both Equally
7.Will you pay extra for a product having positive Word-of-Mouth or Social.
Networking?
8.Do you think it is difficult for a company to spread positive Word-of-Mouth?
9.Do you think Social Networking provides enough information about the product?
☐Strongly Agree ☐Somewhat Agree ☐Neutral ☐Disagree.

55
10.Why do you think Social Networking and Word-of-Mouth is in headlines nowadays?
☐Increase Consumers ☐Traditional advertising is losing its
effectiveness
☐Increase the no of internet users ☐Company’s attempt to address the
society’s ideas
☐Others
11.In your opinion is Social Networking more effective than traditional Word-of-
Mouth?
☐Strongly Agree ☐Agree ☐Neutral ☐ Disagree.
12.Which one do you trust the most?
☐Word-of-Mouth ☐Social Networking

56
APPENDICE II
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.makemyassignments.com/sample/are-social-networks-more-persuasive-than-
traditional-word-of-mouth/
https://www.gaebler.com/Importance-of-Social-Networking.htm
https://inspirationfeed.com/importance-and-benefits-of-social-media-in-todays-world/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/word-of-mouth-marketing.asp
https://www.marketing91.com/what-is-word-of-mouth-marketing/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referral_marketing
https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/
https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing/#what-is-word-of-mouth-
marketing

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