2010 is Not 2007
by John Moore TalkTrack(R) Conversationalist, October 4, 2010Tags: Brands, Keller Fay Group, Net Advocacy, research, Social media, TalkTrack®, WOM, word of mouth
The following abstract is the last in a series of posts sharing recent Keller Fay conversation data on the product categories Americans mention in daily conversations.
Remember the year 2007? This was the year Tony Blair resigned as British Prime Minister. Bob Barker hosted his last episode of The Price is Right. The video game Halo 3 was released and recorded $170-million in sales within its first day. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series. Spider-man was the highest grossing movie and Daughtry sold the most albums. The unemployment rate in the United States was 4.8%, with only hints of an economic downturn to come.
We’re in the throes of 2010 and much has changed from three years ago. The unemployment rate in the US has doubled and the economy, after hitting rock bottom, is slowly climbing out of a deep recession. Toy Story 3 is the highest grossing move of the year, “Beiber Fever” struck, the iPad is outselling the iPhone, and customer conversations around some important product categories has changed.
In its ongoing TalkTrack® study, Keller Fay monitors the positive and negative sentiment of people’s brand-related conversations. In general, Keller Fay data reveals brand-related word of mouth (WOM) conversations to be mostly positive. According to their four years of research data, 65% of all WOM conversations are mostly positive, 8% are mostly negative, and 15% are mixed in sentiment.
To measure the positive to negative sentiment people have when talking about brands, products, and services, Keller Fay also uses a “Net Advocacy” score. The Net Advocacy measurement is simply the percentage of positive talk minus the percentage of negative and mixed talk, with neutral talk not included. From the Net Advocacy measurement, marketers are able to discern the polarity of conversations customers have about specific brands in product categories.
The differences in the polarity of conversations people were having in 2007 to 2010 is striking in some product categories.
Conversation sentiment about brands/products in the Personal Care, Food & Dining, Shopping, and Household Products categories has become more positive in the past few years. Perhaps, consumers are finding more enjoyment in talking about brands they like that helps them feel better about themselves. Personal Care products, Restaurants, and Shopping activities are all personal experiences which can improve one’s outlook. All of these product categories have seen a rise in Net Advocacy scores from 2007 to 2010.
With the economic collapse, triggered in part by the failing mortgage industry and resulting in consumers’ dwindling retirement accounts, the Net Advocacy score for brands in the Financial Services sector has shifted dramatically. As the above chart shows, there is much more negative consumer sentiment with Financial Services brands today than there was in 2007.
The woes in the American automobile business are seen in the significant change of consumer conversation sentiment. As with the Financial Services category, the Automobile category has experienced a shift from positive to more negative conversations.
In this economic downturn and with future downturns, marketers would be wise to design and deliver marketing programs and products that emphasize the feel-good nature of brands in the Personal Care, Food & Dining, and Shopping product categories to spark positive brand-related conversations.
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