Power of Personal Recommendations

Kishore C.S. (December 2001)

When you visit lot of websites you will find links like 'Tell A Friend', 'Recommend this site'. These sites are trying to use one of the easiest ways of marketing 'Personal Recommendation'.

More than all the advertisements we watch on TV or in magazines when it comes to purchases we give lot of importance to personal opinions. When it comes to purchase decisions we don't want to make mistakes. Instead of getting carried away by the marketing done for a product, we would like to receive honest opinion about products from people we know. Remember the time you checked with your friend or relative before buying latest model of camera, TV or car? We do this because we will understand from others experience whether this product is really worth the investment we are making. We don't want to regret buying a wrong model, wrong brand after making a purchase. We want to take personal pride in the purchase decisions and we will certainly be upset when someone comments why you bought that cheap/inferior product when there is something better. We feel our capability to take decisions intelligently is being questioned. 

There are lot more psychological interpretations given to this aspect of purchase decisions. I will not go into details of the same. 

Every time I want to buy a major item I check with friends who are using similar products. This helps me a lot in my decision making. When I go shopping and looking at various models of the product, I can limit my search to a limited number of models based on the information I gathered.

Are you aware of these dynamics?

Decisions to buy a product can change drastically based on the personal recommendations. Most of the time we may be doing it unconsciously. Next time you are hear questions like "What kind of TV do you have?", "What kind Camera do you have?" remember that the other person is involved in the process of information collection that will help him in his decision making. Then volunteer to give all the information other person needs sincerely. Also be careful in giving correct information. If you give incorrect information, other person will not only loose faith in your personal recommendation, but end up buying a product that he is not happy with at all. 

This tendency is not just limited to products we buy, but also extends to some simple things like what movie is good to watch, what restaurant serves good food, which bank is good etc. 

Customer Satisfaction and Personal Recommendation

When business organizations realize power of Personal recommendation and tend to take additional steps to promote their business. In the internet world, 'Affiliates', 'Associates' is the terms used in to promote this concept. By allowing other companies to recommend their products by linking to their sites, they expect to attract more business. I don't have any statistics on how effective such systems are, but I also tried to build such links on my Recommended Products page. To a large extent I have been careful about the products I recommend. 

Customer satisfaction is important. But more than just meeting customer expectations, if we exceed customer expectations the business will grow faster. If I find food in a particular restaurant is very good, I will most probably recommend that restaurant. In addition to the good food, if I also receive very prompt service from waiters, that will be exceeding my expectations. I will not only just recommend but go out of way to praise the restaurant. I find so many good things to say about the restaurant. I found myself doing this many times. I also find that others listen to my recommendation. 

Recognizing this is very important for business organizations. Because a dissatisfied customer will do the opposite. Any time a customer feels not only the organization has not met expectations, but also antagonized him, the customer is sure to spread the negative word around. 

Summary:

Be aware of Personal recommendations you receive. Try to spread word around about good things to others. Others will be glad to receive information that helps them in their decision making. Use this method effectively in your life also. I do it and find it useful in majority of my personal purchase decisions and always thankful to people who extend their opinions eagerly. And I keep going to back them for more recommendations. 

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