Consumer Generated Media and the Purchasing Behavior of Consumers

ABSTRACT

CGM (Consumer Generated Media) such as Blogs, SNSs and product review sites are having a significant impact on the purchasing behavior of consumers. Specifically, through the utilization of CGM consumers proactively gather information on the products they want to purchase, and as a result product satisfaction increases and buyers then actively share their own experiences. This was quantitatively demonstrated through the analysis of an internet survey targeting consumers. In addition, based on the demonstrated results a new purchasing behavior model called ASDES (Attention, Desire, Search, Experience, Share) is presented, the main points for companies to remember when utilizing CGM are summarized, and new marketing strategies that utilize CGM are discussed.