New research just out of the University of Pennsylvania suggests that hearing about someone else's bad experiences can be worse than experiencing the problem yourself.

Paula Courtney, head if the Verde Group, who carried out the study on 1,200 US shoppers in the run up to Christmas says:

"This study is unlike anything we've seen before because it shows that for every 100 American shoppers, 64 people will be told about a store's poor products or services and no matter what that store does to entice shoppers - sales, promotions, advertising, marketing - those people will not set foot in their store."

Read more here.

The study reinforces the importance of referred experiences (the experiences of other people you hear about) in affecting your brand relationships. With more and more consumers asking for information and advice online before buying, referred experiences can only get louder and more impactful.

Courtesy of Ben McConnell of the Church of the Customer Blog.