Germany: Bloggers influence purchasing decisions

Bloggers are faster than any PR department. And as a new study shows, private user comments are also increasingly influencing purchasing decisions. As reported by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the survey of 2000 Internet users in Europe conducted by the market research institute Ipsos revealed that around a quarter of European Internet users believe private comments on blogs or user comment sites. Thirty percent of German respondents stated that they would not have bought a product or used a service if they had found negative comments from private users on the Internet. In contrast, 56 percent stated that they would be prepared to purchase a product or service if they read positive comments online.
Although only around 15 percent of German users currently read blogs, the number is on the rise. However, blogs play a far greater role in purchasing behavior than company blogs, for example.
Companies are also increasingly observing discussions on blogs in order to obtain feedback on their products and services more quickly and honestly. But when it comes to attempts to influence the blogosphere, it is important to be careful not to make yourself unpopular. When it was discovered that Wal-Mart had hired two bloggers to spread positive comments about the company on their blogs, the company was inundated with negative comments on other blogs.