WORD OF MOUTH (WOM) DALAM INDUSTRI JASA : KAITANNYA DENGAN SIKAP DAN KEMUNGKINAN MEMBELI

Abstract

In buying a service, consumers often find it is difficult to choose a suitable service provider that will serve them as they are expected. This is happened because the nature of a service is intangibility so consumers can assess the quality of a service after they consume it. One easy way for consumers to obtain information about a service is by asking someone who has consumed  the same service before. This is called word of mouth = WOM. Some researches indicate that WOM can influence the possibility of a consumer to choose and buy a service. Furthermore, an unsatisfied consumer will tell more people about a bad service than a satisfied consumer who will tells less people about a good service. This means that someone who accepts the information especially about negative WOM will possibly not do the same service purchasing. WOM can influence the possibility of someone's intention to buy a service according to a research conducted by Charlett et al in 1995. Februadi and Kusdibyo conducted the same research in 2003 and the result showed sameness  to Charletrs.  Particularly, the research also indicated that the negative WOM have a stronger influence compared to positive WOM. Therefore, service providers have to improve their service quality in many ways in order to deliver the suitable value for consumers. A service marketing strategy is needed here which difference than a product marketing strategy. In lessening the negative impact of WOM, a service provider better to conduct a service marketing covering internal marketing, external marketing, and interactive marketing.