2015考研英语阅读集中练Word on the Street_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读集中练Word on the Street

　　This unscripted strategy might sound like a big risk, but despite the conventional wisdom that consumers are much more likely to voice complaints than praise, recent research finds the opposite. In one study, Andrea Wojnicki, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, looked at self-styled experts and found that they were likely to keep negative experiences to themselves, lest their skill-at, say, picking a restaurant-be called into question.

　　And why are these citizen marketers so willing to shill for free? Inside access to products and the feeling that companies care about what you and your friends think are such strong motivating forces that other forms of compensation pale in comparison. BzzAgent s members earn reward points, which they can cash in for prizes like DVDs and booksyet 87% of them never do.

　　Word of mouth has been around for ages- Try the apple, said Eve-and it continues to prove resilient. A consultancy called the Kelley Fay Group found that 18% of word-of-mouth marketing took place on the phone, and 72% face to face, despite the ubiquity of electronic communication. Or perhaps because of it. Inundated by ads, says Tremor CEO Steve Knox, Consumers have gone back to their most trusted source-family and friends.

　　Naturally, some people aren t happy about marketers following them there. In 2005 the advocacy group Commercial Alert asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate company-fed word of mouth and other buzz tactics, which the group says take authentic relationships and unduly commercialize them. Not all firms ask word of mouthers to disclose their corporate connection, but the Word of Mouth Marketing Association requires its 400-odd members to do so as part of its ethics code. There might also be a business case for disclosure. Word of mouth is built on trust, explains Gerald Zaltman, a sociologist and professor emeritus at Harvard Business School. Fessing up reinforces that.