By: Liz Farmer

It’s kind of funny that sometimes the fancier the product, the more old school effective marketing can be.

Case in point: according to a Retail Advertising and Marketing Association survey conducted by BIGresearch, 43.7 percent of shoppers say word-of-mouth is the biggest influence in their electronics purchases.

“Hearing what other people have to say about a product gives shoppers the satisfaction of knowing what they purchased is peer-reviewed and worth their money,” said Mike Gatti, executive director of RAMA. “Whether it is based on a conversation with a friend or a customer review on a website, people put a lot of weight in other shoppers’ opinions.”

Fear not, retailers — advertising inserts, articles and in-store promotions also sway buying decisions. It’s just that for you, those methods cost money and they won’t be as effective as a free endorsement from a real live human being.

When I think about my shopping — which is mostly online — I love it when an unfamiliar product has a couple reviews for me to peruse. Another case in point: I was searching for a winter coat from Overstock.com last year and found one by Coffee Shop for a steal at $80 (including shipping). I read the customer reviews before I bought it and all of them raved so I figured I was safe.

Last winter I lost track of how many times people asked me where I got the coat and I know of at least one friend that went online and bought a similar coat from Overstock.com. And by the way, 33.6 percent of shoppers according to BIGresearch said their apparel decisions are also influenced by word-of-mouth.

Seems the more shopping we do on the Internet the more important good reviews become. In fact a large part of marketing firms’ “word-of-mouth” campaigns involve recruiting real customers to write good reviews for their clients online. They are not paid to endorse the products — but it’s a fine line.