1 How will you define viral marketing?

2 What do you think is the difference between viral marketing and traditional marketing? 3 Do you usually trust what your friends/family are saying about a product/ service? Do you think that word!of mouth helps you to learn more about brands of product/services? " Have you purchased a product that your friend/family recommended? # Have you used a service that your friend/family recommended? $ Do videos help you to remember a brand better after watching them? % Does hearing about what others say on forums help you to learn more about a product/service? & Does hearing about what others say on forums help you to decide whether to actually purchase a product/ service? 1' Do you open up e!mails from unknown senders? Why or why not? 11 Do you always read emails sent from people you know? 12 Do you generally believe what other people say in their blogs? 13 Have you ever read blog entries which are promoting a certain brand of product/service? What was your reaction? 1 How do you define spam emails? 1" Do you open up e!mails from unknown senders? Why or why not? 1# (s it more important to listen to others feedback before 1) buying a product or 2) trying out a service* or are they e+ually important? 1$ ,re you more affected about negative comments and feedback about a product/service than positive comments? (f so* why?

-uestion .ain +uotes from respondents /ummary of findings 1 How will you define viral marketing? 01irus spreading fast2 03on!traditional means of marketing2 04sing word of mouth* or internet2 05ast spreading information2 0/omething rampant2 06ike swine flu because it is epidemic2 0/imilar to word!of!mouth marketing* but has a greater effect due to the power of the internet2 .a7ority of the respondents understand to an e8tent what viral marketing means9 /ome tie the word viral to current disease outbreaks and think that it spreads fast and rampant9 (n general* respondents know that viral marketing involves the spreading of information over the internet9 2 What do you think is the difference between viral marketing and traditional marketing? 05aster and cheaper2 0,ble to reach out to more consumers* and unknowingly2 01iral has a stronger call for action while traditional marketing is more passive2 01iral marketing advertises online but traditional advertises through traditional methods like :1 commercials* pamphlets* brochures and posters2 0.ass penetration2 01iral is not so trustworthy* traditional is more stable2 0:raditional media is more tangible2 01iral marketing is a new concept2 0:raditional .arketing probably engages in more traditional mediums like print* :1 and radio etc9 However* for viral marketing* it uses more advanced technology that deals more with (nternet like ;logs and 5orums2 0:raditional .arketing seems more controllable <in the sense you can control what is passed on to consumers) but for viral marketing* it can go off in all directions from what you e8pect2 =espondents generally believe that traditional marketing involves traditional mediums such as print* :1* radio and other collaterals such as posters9 :hey correctly point out that 1.> is a relatively new concept and makes use of more advanced technology9 (nterestingly* one respondent said that 1.> is not trustworthy9 >ertain benefits and weakness of 1.>* such as reaching out to more consumers and being uncontrollable* have also been identified9 3 Do you usually trust what your friends/family are saying about a product/ service?

0%' per cent2 04sually trust2 0Depends on how much ( trust the persons 7udgment2 03ot always* ( believe in my own 7udgment2 0(f it is bad feedback* yes9 ( wont waste time on that product or service9 (f it is good feedback* then "'!"'2 0?es* and super yes if ( see the results on him or her2 03ot really2 0?es2 0Half half2 0?es* ( think theres no need for lies2 2'@ of the respondents said in favor that they do trust what friends and family say about a product or service9 Athers had varying responses and do not fully trust what friends and family say9 (nstead* they might depend on their own 7udgment9 , useful response from this +uestion was regarding negative and positive Wo.* and one respondent had a strong view that negative feedback should be trusted and positive feedback taken half!heartedly9 Do you think that word!of mouth helps you to learn more about brands of product/services? .ost of the respondents agree that Wo. helps them to learn more about products and services* especially if it concerns a new or unheard brand9 Ane respondent emphasiBed that the communicator must have e8perienced the product or service in order for his or her feedback to be helpful9 Anly one respondent disagreed and treated Wo. as personal comments9 " Have you purchased a product that your friend/family recommended? 0?es* skincare2 03o* there is no real need2 0?es* ( have* +uite a few times2 03o* ( think product +uality is very sub7ective2 03o* unless ( myself think that that brand is good and worth buying or ( need it2 03o* ( think you should use your own 7udgment for your decisions2 .ost respondents said that they have bought a product which was recommended by others9 Athers still depended on self 7udgment for their purchasing decisions9 Ane respondent stressed his view that product +uality perception is a sub7ective matter and thus preferred to 7udge for himself9 # Have you used a service that your friend/family recommended? .ost respondents answered yes to this +uestion and some gave e8amples of what services they had used9 :his was more than the number of respondents who had purchased a recommended product in the previous +uestion95or respondents who said no*

again they are of the opinion that they prefer to e8perience for themselves and decide whether they like a service or not9 $ Do videos help you to remember a brand better after watching them? 03o* ( generally remember the type of product but not the brand2 0?es2 03ot really2 0/ubconsciously2 05or me* ( cant remember unless the brand name is really corny2 0Depending if its impressionable* and usually humor helps2 While over half of the respondents agreed that videos do help them to remember brands better* others revealed that they do not usually remember brands even after watching videos9 /ome said that the brand would have to be really catchy and impressionable* and humour content present in videos may help9 % Does hearing about what others say on forums help you to learn more about a product/service? 0?es2 0(n some ways* yes2 0:o a certain e8tent2 0( dont think so2 .ost respondents agree that hearing from others in forums help them to learn more about a product or service in a way9 :his means that their awareness is increased as a result9 & Does hearing about what others say on forums help you to decide whether to actually purchase a product/ service? 03o2 04sually not2 0:hey contribute in a way2 0( usually make the last call to buy or not2 0(t depends on me* not on others2 0( sometimes still buy things that people do not recommend2 0?es* ( am cautious of things that people say are bad2 %'@ of respondents disagreed with the statement* stressing that their purchase decisions ultimately lies in their hands and sometimes it may be contrary to what other people recommend9 :he other respondents agree that feedback from others do contribute to their final decision* especially if a product or service has been deemed bad by others9

1' Do you open up e!mails from unknown senders? Why or why not? 0?es* ( do open to read but do not download the attachments for fear of getting virus! related issues on my computer2 03o* for fear of virus and unwillingness to waste my time online2 03o* to play safe2 0.ost of the time* no9 (f ( do open* it may be because the sub7ect sounds legitimate from organiBations2 03o* may contain virus2 03o* it is not a trusted source2 03o* ( am afraid it will have virus or is simply a spam mail so ( will 7ust thrash it2 .ost respondents said they would not open up e!mails from unknown senders* mainly due to the fear of virus9 Anly one respondent said that he will open up the e!mails 7ust to read the contents but will not download any attachment if there is9 11 Do you always read emails sent from people you know? 0?es* ( read every mail2 03ot always* those with headers which ( deem unnecessary or useless for me are usually deleted2 0?es2 03ot all the time9 (f there are huge files* lots of pictures* ( might trash them2 0Anly if they are closer friends2 03ot really2 0.ost of the time2 #'@ of the respondents indicated that they generally do read the e!mails sent from people they know9 :he remaining respondents said that they need to take other factors into consideration* for e9g9 siBe of the e!mail* strength of the tie between himself and the sender* and sub7ect of the e!mail9 12 Do you generally believe what other people say in their blogs? 0?es* ( do believe2 0.ostly* if they are my friends2 0(f they are friends* yes9 (f they are strangers* not really2 0/ometimes2 .ost respondents indicated their general belief in blogs9 However* they mostly emphasiBe that this is provided the blogger is their friend or someone they know9 (f the

blog is by an unknown party* the trust level decreases9 :his helps to validate the powerful potential influence 1.> possesses9

13 Have you ever read blog entries which are promoting a certain brand of product/service? What was your reaction? 03o* ( think ( will not be interested to read about products or services2 0?es* cynical9 :hey were probably paid for or marketing driven2 03o2 0?es* neutral9 ( 7ust looked at it2 0?es* ( think they are advertising it for e8tra pocket money or trying to get a free gift2 0?es9 ( know its paid so ( usually take it with a pinch of salt2 :wo!thirds of the respondents have come across blog entries which were promoting a product or service9 :hey are mostly aware that it constituted as paid advertising and thus remained neutral or skeptical about it9 1 How do you define spam emails? 0.essy and time wasting2 0.ails sent via unknown users promoting products2 0(rrelevant* marketing* one!to!many emails2 0(rritating* mass* recurring* hard to get rid e!mails9 .ight sometimes be from people you know2 0:hrash* those that you delete immediately and are sent from people you dont know2 0/pam e!mails are those not sent by my contacts9 :hey somehow got hold of your e!mail address and auto generate trash mails to you and choke up your inbo82 0C!mail used for advertising2 =espondents generally link spam e!mails with advertising or marketing and serve to promote a product or service9 .any of them are of the view that these e!mails come from unknown parties9 Anly one respondent said that it may come from people she knows9 1" Do you open up e!mails from unknown senders? Why or why not? 0?es* ( do open to read but do not download the attachments for fear of getting virus! related issues on my computer2 03o* for fear of virus and unwillingness to waste my time online2 03o* to play safe2 0.ost of the time* no9 (f ( do open* it may be because the sub7ect sounds legitimate from organiBations2 03o* may contain virus2

03o* it is not a trusted source2 03o* ( am afraid it will have virus or is simply a spam mail so ( will 7ust thrash it2 .a7ority of the respondents said they would not open up e!mails from unknown senders* mainly due to the fear of virus9 Anly one respondent said that he will open up the e!mails 7ust to read the contents but will not download any attachment if there is9

1# (s it more important to listen to others feedback before 2) buying a product or 2) trying out a service* or are they e+ually important? =espondents gave two general responses to this +uestion9 =espondents remained neutral and view that both buying a product and trying a service are e+ually important or unimportant9 :he other respondents believed that it is more vital to get feedback before trying a service than buying a product9 (nterestingly* no one had the view that feedback is more important in buying a product than trying out a service9 1$ ,re you more affected about negative comments and feedback about a product/service than positive comments? (f so* why? 0?es* that prevents me from impulsive purchases because the person obviously had a bad e8perience2 0?es* so ( can strike out that particular lousy product/service and narrow down my search for the perfect product/service2 0?es* negative comments turn people away2 0?es* people always like only positive comments2 03o2 .a7ority respondents agreed that they are more affected by negative commentsD citing reasons such as prevent impulsive purchases* eliminate inferior products/services or simply feel turned off9 :he other si8 respondents disagreed and some e8plained saying that they usually use their own 7udgment to decide if a product or service is good9