Consumers 50% More Likely to be Influenced by WOM than Radio/TV ads

According to Intelliseek's 2005 Consumer-Generated Media (CGM) and Engagement Study (via MediaPost), Consumers are 50 percent more likely to be influenced by word-of-mouth recommendations from their peers than by radio or TV ads - a slightly higher level of influence and trust than found in the 2004 study. But WOM can have a backlash: One-third of respondents said they'd be disappointed if a trusted contact did not carefully disclose a paid or incentive-based relationship, 26 percent said they would never trust the opinion of that friend again, and 30 percent said they would be less likely to buy a product/service.