A research about determining the importance of word of mouth marketing for choosing pre-school education institution in Trakya

Thanks to today's technology, consumers can easily obtain all kinds of information. In addition; the consumer who is directly exposed to many desired or undesired messages has difficulty in making a decision in the purchasing process. While consumers try to choose the best one for themselves among many alternatives, marketers who try to respond to variable needs and desires of consumers are also trying to develop new strategies. One of them is to use word-of-mouth marketing method in a positive way. Since the choice of pre-school education institution has an important place in the service sector, word-of-mouth marketing should be applied properly. The aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting word of mouth communication variables in the purchasing decision of pre-school education institutions. For this study; it is aimed to collect data from people in Trakya district. Due to the pandemic in 2020, data were collected through an online survey. Target audience can be parents or family elders and relatives who are providing financial support have chosen or will choose a pre-school education institution soon for at least 1 child. After the data collection; 225 surveys were valid and accepted. These data were synthesized in the SPSS program. In order to determine the factors that play a role in the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing in the selection of a pre-school education institution; frequency, factor, independent T-test, Kruskal Wallis test, Mann Whitney U test and One-way ANOVA analysis were considered appropriate. As a result of the research; it has been determined that most of the consumers get advice when purchasing pre-school education services and the people they get advice from are the people in their immediate surroundings such as colleagues/friends and people who are experts about education. Besides; pre-school education employees and the internet are also effective sources of information. In terms of the role of word-of-mouth communication during the selection of pre-school education institution, it is seen that the expertise variable differed according to education groups. Perceived risk differed according to gender and income level. It was concluded that the recommendation (advice) didn't make difference according to any demographic features, while the idea seeking differs according to gender and age groups. It was observed that opinion leadership didn't differ in any of the demographic groups. In conclusion; it has been seen that demographic variables affect word-of-mouth communication in the purchasing process of pre-school education institution. Keywords: Word of Mouth Communication, Word of Mouth Marketing, Pre-school Education Institution, Advice, Marketing, Sales, Consumer Decision Process, Marketing Communication, Integrated Marketing, Consumer Buying Behavior