Why are Bright Side of Life-ers More Likely to Recommend?
November 26th, 2007
I am starting to hear more consistently that those who make word of mouth recommendations are far more likely to be optimistic people. According to Forrester’s 2006 NACTAS Benchmark study, 60% of the population share recommendations. Of that group of talkers, 90% “always tried to make the best of every situation” compared to 50% of the non-talkers.
Moving into armchair psychologist role, why do you think this is true?
- Do you think this is all linked by altruism that motivates most recommendations? Are those who are concerned with the welfare of others instead of being wrapped up in themselves more likely to be positive?
- Is this about status? Are those who are trusted enough to be looked to for their recommendations likely to enjoy more social status, which might also make them happier?
- Is the underlying factor simply the number of societal connections? (More friends = more WOMM opportunities & more optimism?)
From life experience, I certainly believe that optimism and likelihood to recommend are linked, but I haven’t seen anything on the underlying reason for that phenomenon. I’d love to read your thoughts (or links to other articles on this) in the comments.
Maybe a test for participants in future WOMM outreaches will be weighing in on this glass being half empty or half full….
Other posts by Virginia.
olivier Blanchard says:
At its most basic level, the assumption would be that positive people also tend to be more outgoing, which means that they should either a) have a larger network which they engage more often, or b) a propensity to be exposed to a broader range of brand experiences, or c) both (a) and (b). Because they have more opportunities for interaction with members of their network, they are more likely to share experiences with them - and make recommendations about this or that company.
Is anyone gathering data on where negative recommendations tend to come from? (Are they more likely to come from pessimists than optimists? Is there a certain personality type that is both outgoing AND prone to spreading bile instead of positive comments?)
November 26th, 2007 at 10:07 amWillem Simonis says:
Positive people likely have more confidence in their own assessments of products and experiences and are therefore more likely to share them (because of this positive, confident mindset).
November 27th, 2007 at 5:14 amIt would be interesting to see if marketing activities that reinforce one’s previous experiences have a positive effect on likelihood to recommend.