Many people seem to think that word of mouth marketing is outdated, and has no place in our impatient modern society. After all, we have everything at our fingertips, right?
Well…
No. With all of the scams and misinformation out there, word of mouth marketing is more important than ever. A long time ago, it was possible to take someone at face value – well, most of the time.
Today, you can’t even get someone’s personal info by doing a WHOIS search/lookup on the domain any more, so unless it is a trusted brand you are dealing with…
The person on the other end could be anybody. Literally. It could be a 12 year old kid pretending to be the CEO of a new startup.
Word of mouth marketing is more important now than ever before:
a. In this day and age of scammers and misinformation, people try to find sources they can trust. And who better to ask than someone you know? You are much more likely to listen to their recommendations than any advertising.
b. Word of mouth marketing helps you to increase the credibility and reputation of your business – significantly.
c. It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, like advertising does. Also, unlike normal advertising where the results depend on your continued ad spend, the results of word of mouth marketing tend to compound over time. The more people know about you, and the more people are talking about you, the more referrals you will get.
d. It has been determined – scientifically – that one person talking to other people about your business can influence the buying decisions of up to 250 people over time.
When you consider the lifetime value of one client or customer, that is a substantial amount of money.
The different forms of word of mouth marketing:
a. People have conversations in which your name comes up, online and offline.
b. People share your information on social media.
c. Reviews left on product pages and review sites.
d. Testimonials.
How to encourage word of mouth marketing:
a. Make the experience memorable. Combine quality products or services with exceptional customer service. As the old saying goes: The quality will be remembered long after the price has been forgotten. That goes both ways – for good and bad quality, both in terms of the quality of the product or service, and the customer service.
b. Ask for referrals. There is a sign we have noted in several businesses over the years: If you are unhappy, please tell us. If you are happy, please tell your friends.
c. Incentivize referrals.
d. Encourage happy customers to leave online reviews on Yelp or Google.
e. Respond to those reviews, even bad ones, to show everybody out there that you respect the feedback of your customers.
f. Personalize the customer experience – fair enough, it isn’t possible for every type of business. But if you – or people on your staff – take the time to memorize people’s names and preferences, it makes them feel important/valued. When people feel important, then (i) they are more likely to do what you want them to do, and (ii) they remember the experience (and want more of it).
g. Small gestures: Sending a message or a card on someone’s birthday, or giving away the odd freebie or upgrade to a regular customer, can encourage many people to share that specific experience with other people.
h. Listen to feedback: When you actively ask for feedback, and – where possible – implement suggestions to make improvements, your customers feel valued.
i. Ask satisfied customers to share their impressions of your business on their social media profiles.
j, Of course, you can also share those positive reviews and social media posts, as well as testimonials, on your own social media channels.
Leverage other people’s audiences:
When you partner with other related, but non-competing businesses, and cross-promote each other, a few things happen:
a. You are able to tap into their existing customer base.
b. Their customer base – or at least their loyal customers – sees their recommendation of you in a similar light as one coming from a friend.
c. Some of the new customers you acquire will also engage in word of mouth marketing, compounding the effect of what you have done up to that point in time.
In conclusion:
A few things to keep in mind…
a. Be authentic, and be consistent. Stay true to your brand message and brand values. Consistency builds trust, and people recommend brands and people they trust.
b. Measure the impact. When you acquire new customers, find out what brought them to you. Knowing which of your word of mouth (and other) channels work best, will allow you to double down on what works best.
c. Word of mouth marketing is all about people sharing positive experiences. When you consider how long it has been working for, it really is a timeless marketing strategy.