How WOM marketing contributes to new product adoption : Testing competitive communication strategies

Purpose – Communication strategy is a critical element of new product adoption. The decision to adopt a new product is determined by the success of a sequence of two stages: product awareness and product adoption. Previous studies have shown advertising to be the tool that works best during the first stage of introduction. However, the expansion of new media has facilitated the development and management of WOM campaigns. Recent research has called this strategy WOM marketing (WOMM). The aim of this paper is to determine which communication strategy is more appropriate at the early stages of the diffusion process. Design/methodology/approach – Two between‐subject experimental designs were developed, one with university students and another with a more general population. Findings – Contrary to assertions in previous literature, the results show that firms should start new product communication with WOMM and then continue it with advertising. Originality/value – To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies to analyze whether WOM should be actively promoted by firms, or naturally promoted by customers after an advertising campaign. The research also contributes to the few experimental studies that have been conducted into new product diffusion.