Nov 19, 2008
Are Baby Boomer Women’s WOM Higher Quality Than Younger Women’s?
Marketing Daily (MediaPost) published an article yesterday afternoon about a word-of-mouth study by the Keller Fay Group.
Key Takeaways:
That’s significant, since the study’s tracking of a year’s worth of online and offline conversations also determined that boomer women have “higher quality” WOM than younger women do–the conversations are more credible, and they are more likely than younger women to pass on what they hear to others, to seek additional information and, most significantly, to actually purchase the products talked about.
In fact, boomer women (ages 43-62) had higher purchase intent than younger women (18-39) for 14 of the 15 product categories tracked, the only exception coming in Media & Entertainment. The most positive word of mouth from the boomers occurred in Beauty & Personal Care, where they surpassed younger women in all six quality criteria measured–recommendation, credibility, pass-along, additional info-seeking, and purchase intent.
Reach is also a factor, no? Younger people usually have larger networks than older generations due to more widespread technology adoption (including social networks) in which they can distribute information. Baby Boomers have a greater income than women 18-39. I totally agree with this article as far as greater conversion rates with older WOM, due largely to those two factors. It has been that way since the beginning of time. If I am older and wiser, you are more inclined to trust what I tell you. If I own the saloon in town, I probably have enough money to afford a Christmas dress. I could nitpick each line in the quote I’ve included above as to why they are common-sense and should not need a study to define but will leave you with the aforementioned thoughts and see your perspective on this article.
