Word of mouth....and how to get more of it

Earlier this week an amazing joiner completed work at my house. We were chatting, as you do, and I asked him how his business was going. He said it was going well, but he had nothing in his schedule from mid-October onwards. Most of his work came through ‘word of mouth’, he said, and that comes with peaks and troughs in demand. I asked him about his marketing, and he said what I expected him to say, which in summary, was that he knew he needed to do it but time always ran away with other work priorities and marketing just didn’t happen.

Word of mouth is without a powerful source of new leads and sales and helps spread the word about your business with happy customers telling others about the experience they had with your service. Recommending your business to their friends and family. We are all human, and we like to choose products and services that are recommended by people we trust.

In fact, WOM marketing is one of the most powerful forms of advertising as consumers trust their friends 92% more than traditional media.

But word of mouth could be described as reactive. In other words, it is unpredictable.

Isn’t it?

So what do we mean by 'word of mouth' marketing?

 

You do a great job for a customer. They love the experience they have had and the result. A friend asks them where they got it or if they know anyone who….and they recommend your business. As simple as that.

In the words of Shopify, “it’s a free advertisement from a customer that comes from having a positive experience with your brand. It is a strategy that convinces existing customers to tell their family and friends about products they’re happy with.”

 

How has it changed?

 

Well, in truth, it hasn’t. If you have customers that like whatever you provide, they will most likely recommend you to others. Some will even actively tell others about you in general conversations. The difficulty is that this is unpredictable and difficult to control. Which in turn means you don’t really know if and when this will lead to enquiries and new business.

But something HAS changed. Almost everybody is online and the vast majority of people use social media. Looking for recommendations has expanded from just being ‘word of mouth’ to being online and ‘out there’ through customer reviews, testimonials, mentions and so on.

You can take greater control of ‘word of mouth’ as a result.

 

Why WOM?

 

Word of mouth is always cited by small businesses as a primary means of new business. It is powerful in building awareness of your business, relationships with your customers and a great means of driving revenue.

We know that 65% of sales will typically come from existing customers. Making sure they have a great experience with your business is really important and they are more likely to recommend you to others.

In fact, 90% of people trust suggestions from family and friends. More than 74% of consumers identify word-of-mouth as an important influence in their buying decisions so helping it happen just makes sense. Consumers with referrals from friends are 4x more likely to make a purchase.

In the digital age, consumers look to recommendations among the top five influences on their purchasing decisions before making a purchase and online reviews have an impact on purchasing decisions. Reviews help customers feel they can trust a business - in fact, some 94% of consumers say positive reviews make them more likely to buy from a business.

Despite their value, when was the last time you asked previous customers to leave a review? Just a third of businesses actively do it.

 

How can a business influence word of mouth?

1. Provide a great experience and ask customers for feedback, reviews and product ratings. Ask for customer reviews in person, over email, or via SMS. If your customers buy from you online, add review links to order confirmation emails. Train your sales people to always ask for feedback after taking payment in-store. When people say positive things about your business, ask if you can use their comments on your website and/or promotional material. Make these visible in your marketing.
2. Thank your customers for their business. Possibly the simplest way of all to help your customers feel valued.
3. Ask customers for testimonials - to act as case study material for you to use in your marketing. Share them on your website, via social media, email, newsletters, etc.
4. Offer incentives. For example, entry into a competition or points for a loyalty program—in exchange for reviews on sites like Yelp, TrustPilot, etc.
5. Build an active social media following. Work out where your target audiences and existing customers are on social media. Connect with them and share something they will want to share (and make it easy for them to do so). Keep an eye out for social media mentions and respond quickly - amplify positive comments.
6. Become a local thought leader in your area of expertise. Be the business that others look to for advice and inspiration.
7. Keep in touch with customers and prospects by email. Show them your work, new projects, offers, incentives, new customer reviews, etc.

 

In summary, the GrowthBox view:

Word of mouth is the most common source of new business for small businesses however it is often left to chance. Provide a great experience for your customers and encourage them to tell others about you. Ask for their reviews and take a little control for yourself, sharing these reviews etc. online and via social media. You’ll be amazed at the results and we would love to hear your stories, ideas and successes. Reach out to us at www.growthbox.co.uk and find more helpful marketing help on our advice pages. Subscribe for regular marketing content to help you make your business the success you want it to be.

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