Personal Communication Skills

Question: Write about thePersonal Communication Skills. Answer: Mostafa, M.M., 2013. More than words: Social networks text mining for consumer brand sentiments.Expert Systems with Applications,40(10), pp.4241-4251. According to the above mentioned article, it has been highlighted that social network has a strong effect on the customers buying decisions. While the customers plan to buy a product, they prefer the online review of the products rather than believing on the companys advertisements. This is because, the online reviews of the products are unbiased and are obtained from a variety of customers, with diverse background. However, in case of company advertisement, it is presumed that the advertisement is a biased one. As opined by Mostafa, online reviews include the reviews of the social networking sites as well. The reviews of the social networking sites are better trusted, since the reviews might come from peers and friends. Social networking and online reviews have a great impact on the buying decision and choice of products of the potential customers. Moreover, it has been observed that the customers tend to rely on the online reviews or blogs and review websites and consider them genu ine. According to the author, the blogs, online reviewers and reviews at the social networking sites are less biased and the truth about the particular products of services are revealed. According to the author, the uses of social networking sites have significantly increased over the past decade. Hence, the buyers are more engaged in the social networking sites and hence the purchase decision is affected significantly by the online reviews. Forbes, 2017. Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/ [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]. This article highlights the fact that the word of mouth is the most powerful advertising tool. Customers tend to rely on the word of mouth and the online review than the advertisement of the company. The customers find it easy to align with the mentality of other similar customers. Moreover, the online review is given after the customers have actually used the products. Hence, the genuinity of the reviews are also trusted upon. This kind of marketing is more effective than the advertisements given by the companies(Forbes.com, 2017). Moreover, as mentioned in the article, the company often engages in celebrity endorsement, while advertising a particular product. However, the customers are well aware of the fact that the celebrity endorsement is for increasing the brand value of the product. The customers are also aware of the fact that their favourite celebrities do not use these products in their real lives, for which they pose an advertisement. Hence, the trust is withdrawn the very moment. However, the online reviews and recommendations are made by users who actually use the products in their real lives. Hence, the potential buyers decisions are influenced and they tend to trust the online reviews. Moreover, the disclaimer given by the company, while advertising their products makes a significant difference in trustworthiness of the advertisements made by the company. Consumer Trust in Online, S., 2017. Newswire | Consumer Trust in Online, Social and Mobile Advertising Grows | Nielsen. [online] Nielsen.com. Available at: https://www.nielsen.com/in/en/insights/news/2012/consumer-trust-in-online-social-and-mobile-advertising-grows.html [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]. This article highlights the fact that consumers have a deep trust on the reviews in the online media, consumer contents such as blogs as well as on reviews at the social media. This is because, with the increase in the use of social media and increase in the exposure, many customers rate the products and give online reviews, in order to assist the other customers. These reviews are likely to be genuine since, the writer or reviewer has no motive to defame the product about which the review is being given. With the increase in the mobile advertisement, people tend to lose trust on the conventional advertisement, and prefers to hear the real life experience, that the reeled ones (Consumer Trust in Online, 2017). Thus, the trust has shifted from the advertisement given by the companies, to the online reviews. The article also highlights the fact that, the reviews on the social networking sites and blogs are trusted much more, since the reader is able to interact directly with the review er. This interaction gives a clear idea of such review. Mohr, L.A., Webb, D.J. and Harris, K.E., 2001. Do consumers expect companies to be socially responsible? The impact of corporate social responsibility on buying behavior.Journal of Consumer affairs,35(1), pp.45-72. Companies often deny their social responsibility of what is shown in the advertisements of their products. The disclaimer given by them often highlights their lack of responsibility regarding the claims made in the advertisement. In contrast to this view, the reviewer of the products on the social media makes no such disclaimer and shares their own experience. Moreover, they take the responsibility of what they have given as review and the reasons of such review. However, since this article is not a recent one, hence the influence of the social media reviews and online reviews on the customers have not been highlighted. However, the fact that customers do not expect the companies to be socially responsible has been mentioned in details. This explains the reason why customers have more trust on the online reviews rather than the advertisement of the company. References Consumer Trust in Online, S., 2017. Newswire | Consumer Trust in Online, Social and Mobile Advertising Grows | Nielsen. [online] Nielsen.com. Available at: https://www.nielsen.com/in/en/insights/news/2012/consumer-trust-in-online-social-and-mobile-advertising-grows.html [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]. Forbes, 2017. Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/ [Accessed 19 Apr. 2017]. Mohr, L.A., Webb, D.J. and Harris, K.E., 2001. Do consumers expect companies to be socially responsible? The impact of corporate social responsibility on buying behavior.Journal of Consumer affairs,35(1), pp.45-72. Mostafa, M.M., 2013. More than words: Social networks text mining for consumer brand sentiments.Expert Systems with Applications,40(10), pp.4241-4251.