Resumen de Word of mouth marketing and international adoption agencies
Kristen Boyd Posey, Deborah Yarborough Layden, Barbara L. Neuby
Word-of-mouth is an important tool in marketing efforts to build a brand and clientele base. Nonprofits have relied on word of mouth as free advertising and need to focus on what keeps clients coming back. The demand for adoption of Chinese infants and children is high and competition among nonprofit American adoption agencies can be fierce. Nonprofit organizations need proven strategies to attract new clients and keep those they have. But, does positive word-of-mouth about nonprofit adoption agencies affect an individuals’ choice of agency and does word-of-mouth promote client retention? Data for 971 cases of international adoptions indicates word of mouth may initially lead someone to choose one agency over another, and the source of the word-of-mouth is influential in that decision but not strongly. Whether a nonprofit agency is successful in recruiting new or retaining existing clients depends more on the service experience of each client. The quality of the communication was the single strongest predictor of whether clients were satisfied, would recommend the agency, and whether they would choose that agency again. This research helps fill a gap in understanding the relationship between nonprofit adoption agencies and their clients.
