To Study the Impact of Word of Mouth Communication to the Purchase of Home Appliance Products in North Tehran

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1 To Study the Impact of Word of Mouth Communication to the Purchase of Home Appliance Products in North Tehran Alireza Valojerdi Department of Management, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran Hamid Reza Razavi 2 * Department of Management, Shomal University, Aoml, Iran *Corresponding Author hr.razavi1@gmail.com Abstract The aim of the present study was to study the impact of word of mouth communication to the purchase of home appliance products in North Tehran. The research method was descriptive and survey. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Content validity was used for the validity of the questionnaire, and to measure reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used that this coefficient obtained 0.914, indicating the appropriate reliability of the instrument. The study population includes all citizens of North Tehran who are using the appliance. The number of samples was 384 that to the same number, the questionnaire was distributed randomly. T-test was used to analyze data. Results of the study showed that expertise, confidence, customer loyalty, brand quality, price of brand, validity of brand, brand recognition, brand similarity and after-sales service had an importance in word of mouth communication to the purchase of home appliance products. Finally, suggestions for improvement were presented factors. Keywords: expertise, confidence, customer loyalty, brand quality, brand price. Page 1494

2 Introduction Have you ever asked yourself how many of these cosmetic products that you have used or landmarks that you have traveled and above all, good business partners that you have found that your friends, who are thinking of your needs, have been introduced and recommended to you? When you make your purchasing decision based on recommendations and experiences of others, a kind of marketing communication happens to which it is called word of mouth advertising (Javanmard and Soltanzadeh, 2009). Word of mouth communication process is one of the most powerful forces in the market and the reason is that consumers at purchase decision making process often rely on informal communication sources more than formal communication sources (advertising) (Khabiri et al, 2013). In fact, in an environment where consumer confidence has dropped to advertising, word of mouth communication can play an important role in influencing the opinions and beliefs of people. Research on interpersonal communication and their impact shows that word of mouth is 9 times more effective than traditional advertising and 4 times more effective than personal sales in changing unfavorable tendencies to good intentions. Therefore, word of mouth communication is a powerful and influential factor in the selection and purchase of many categories of products (Mazzarol, Sweeney and Soutar, 2006). Today, companies manufacturing household appliances with new appliances and using a variety of methods to promote are trying to achieve greater market share and increase sales of their products but many methods have not ability to encourage the consumer to make their buying decision. One of the ways that has a significant impact on individual's decision is called word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth communication in marketing is usually used to describe recommendations and suggestions of consumers to each other. Speed and lack of commercial prejudices to the brand specific product or service has changed it to an effective source of information for commercial choices consumers, especially shopping experience is limited (Margaret, 1998). Word of mouth has an important effect on shaping the attitudes of consumers on purchasing decisions and reducing the risk associated with buying (Kotler, 2006). However, the aim of the present study was to study the impact of word of mouth communication to the purchase of home appliance products in North Tehran. Methodology The research method was descriptive and survey. The study population consisted of all citizens of North Tehran who are using the appliance. According to Morgan, 384 of them randomly participated in the study. In the implementation of research, how to answer questions for participants were described and they were received consent to participate in research agreement. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire of a researcher. To formulate questions from a standard questionnaire and literature and related articles are used including 52 questions which measure the following components (Table1). Table1. Correspondence of components and questions of questionnaires Components Questions of questionnaires Expertise 1-3 Trust in people 4-10 Commitment of customers quality Page 1495

3 price After-sales service of brand validity recognition similarity Its validity was confirmed by professors and experts. To measure the reliability of the questionnaire after the questionnaire was distributed among 30 members of the population, using SPSS software reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was calculated. In this study, Cronbach's alpha was Since it is higher than 0.7, it enjoys an appropriate reliability. T-test was used to analyze data. In all analyses, the significance level of p <0/05 was considered. Findings Kolomogrov-Smirnov test results showed normal distribution of the data (p> 0/05). Test results are presented in Table 2. As it can be seen in Table 2, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that expertise of people in word of mouth communication affects the purchase of home appliance products. Table2. T test results of expertise of people Expertise of people As it can be seen in Table 3, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that trust of people in word of mouth Table3. T test results of trust of people Trust of people As it can be seen in Table 4, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that customer loyalty in word of Page 1496

4 Table4. T test results of customer loyalty Customer loyalty As it can be seen in Table 5, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that brand quality in word of mouth Table5. T test results of brand quality quality As it can be seen in Table 6, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that brand price in word of mouth Table6. T test results of brand price price As it can be seen in Table 7, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that brand validity in word of mouth Table7. T test results of brand validity validity Page 1497

5 As it can be seen in Table 8, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that brand recognition in word of Table8. T test results of brand recognition recognition As it can be seen in Table 9, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that brand similarity in word of Table9. T test results of brand similarity similarity As it can be seen in Table 10, with a confidence level of, it can be claimed that since the significant level (sig) is smaller than 0.05, it can be said that After-sales service in word of Table10. T test results of after-sales service Aftersales service Conclusion The aim of the present study was to study the impact of word of mouth communication to the purchase of home appliance products in North Tehran. The results showed that all subscales of word of mouth communication had a significant positive impact on purchase of home appliance products. The results are consistent with the results of previous studies. For example Jalilvand and Ebrahimi (2011) found in a paper titled "the impact of word of mouth communication to the purchase of domestic car (Case Study: Khodro Samand of Iranian company of Khodro Samand)" found that marketing through word of mouth communication Page 1498

6 was more successful than other marketing technique because only fourteen percent of people trust in things they see, in commercials, read or hear. More interesting is that ninety percent of people trust in their family, friends or co-workers they confirm the product or service because they know that for them there is no interest in this approval. According to the findings, it is suggested that home appliance products companies provide better after-sales service to lower costs for cost optimization is effective on the purchase of goods. It is also recommended that companies of home appliance products prove the ability to act on its promises to customers and that the company has a good relationship with customers and understands their needs because improving the validity on the purchase of products is effective. It is recommended that to buy domestic products, an action is taken and that some of the features of products are easily and quickly recalled by customers because improving this factor is influential on purchasing products. Page 1499

7 References 1. Jalilvand, M; Ebrahimi, A (2011), The impact of word of mouth communication to the purchase of domestic vehicles (Case Study: Khodro Samand of Iranian company of Khodro Samand), Journal of Business Administration, (9) Javanmard, Habibollah; Soltanzadeh, Aliakbar (2009), To study internet and web sites features and its impact on the trust and loyalty of customers (Case study: purchasing cultural products through the Internet) "Quarterly of Business Journal, Vol 14, No 53, pp Khabiri, Mohammad; Mohammadi, Rozgar and Sadeqi, Reza (2013), "To examine factors affecting customer participation of Fitness Club on word of mouth communication", Journal of Applied Sport Management, No Kotler, Philips and Gary Amstrong 2006, Principle of Marketing, Pearson-prentice Hall (11th ed). 5. Margaret, Craig-Lees 1998, "The brand concept and Australian consumer behavior texts: a review", Journal of product and Management, Vol.7, pp Mazzarol, T, Sweeney, J, Soutar, G (2006), "Conceptualizing word-of-mouth activity, triggers and conditions, European Journal of marketing, Vol 41, No. 11 and Page 1500

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