Abstract:
WOM communication is one of the most powerful forces in the marketplace and tends to
be highly persuasive and, in turn, extremely effective. It is accepted that this form of
communication has valuable source credibility. It occurs on a regular basis amongst friends
and families and has been recognized as an important promotional tool for organizations.
There is a close and inseparable relationship between WOM communication and brand
equity for a product or service. The reason is that, through WOM communication, customers
can contribute to the image of product or service. This ultimately reflects on building image
or equity for a product or service. Keeping this reality in mind, this study investigates the role
of WOM communication on Consumer Based Brand Equity (CBBE) of personal care
products. This study is conducted through a survey method among 720 users of personal care
products. The study, by using factor analysis, identified seven predominant factors
influencing WOM communication, such as, information sharing desire, reciprocity, self
enhancement, source credibility, brand selection, purchase decision and opinion seeking.
The result of the analysis reveals that there is a high degree of positive correlation between
the WOM communication and brand equity (0.60). It indicates that positive information
through WOM communication effectively influences the Consumer-based Brand Equity of
personal care products. As a result, the sellers understand the effectiveness of WOM
communication and takes utmost care to see that positive WOM is spread and customer base
is increased.
