Word-of-mouth is one of the surefire ways for any business to gain more leads and sales. After all, there’s nothing better than a positive endorsement from an existing customer. Their feedback builds a strong impression on your behalf for potential customers. Long-term clients, after all, have first-hand experiences with your products and services; therefore, they know the benefits of working with you.
Combined with timely follow-up, customer referrals can increase your sales.
So how do you get more people to talk about your business? Should you start putting up more retail signs for your business? Or start posting more on social media? You can do both and do more – with “do more” referring to over-delivering to ensure customers enjoy a positive experience they can share with their family and friends.
Go Beyond Above Average With Your Products and Services
The first thing to mind when trying to get people to talk about your company is just that – your company. Assess your business from the point-of-view of a customer: do you sell average products? How is your customer service? Do you deliver above-average experiences?
If your answer to these questions is “no,” it’s time to change a few things in your business. Think of your business as a restaurant. If for example, you visit a vegan restaurant and the food is “just average,” will you say anything to your loved ones about it? Most likely not. You won’t feel the need to praise the food. On the other side of the spectrum, if customers think your services are “average,” they’re not going to talk about it. They may talk about it if the food was bad.
The same is true of your services and customer support. Even if you sell standard products, if you provide customers with an amazing service, they will talk about you.
Seek Feedback
How will you know if your products and services need improvement? The best person to ask is your customers.
Seeking feedback hits two goals at once: you gain more insight into your business and you build relationships with your clients. First, customers can share an unbiased opinion of your products and services. They can point out your strengths and weaknesses, so you can use their information to work on your business. Second, clients appreciate the opportunity to share their thoughts with you. It means you acknowledge them.
If a client gives you feedback, you can also ask if you can use their endorsement to let other customers know about their experience. A sentence or two of their thoughts will look great on your website, social media platforms, brochures and other marketing pieces.
Connect with the Influencers in Your Industry
The concept of “word of mouth” involves more people talking about your business positively. The more people share their positive insight, the more other people will be convinced to buy from your business. But some “word of mouth,” some tend to be more influential than others. This means having influencers to talk about your business.
If you can connect with industry influencers and have them talk about your brand, more people will listen. When more people pay attention to your brand, expect more traffic to your website or foot traffic to your store and, potentially, conversions from leads. This is why influencer marketing is considered as one of the more effective link building strategies.
Before you can connect with influencers, make your presence known by commenting on their content or mentioning them in blog posts. Once you’ve made your presence known, influencers will be more open to doing brand collaborations with you.
Create a Core Group of Insiders
Apart from connecting with influencers in the industry, get in touch with your “super customers,” aka the people who regularly buy from you or are big fans of your brand. These people can be transformed into effective brand advocates. They function as customers and word-of-mouth marketing heroes.
So, how can you transform customers into advocates? Make these people feel like they are insiders of your business. They’re the ones who get an ‘insider scoop’ on new releases, discounts and more.
To create a group of insiders, consider the following steps:
- Put a list of potential customers.
- Send an exclusive email to these customers, informing them that they are part of an exclusive list of insiders that will receive updates about your business.
- When you are releasing a new product or service, offer your products or services for free or at a discounted price. In return, ask your customers to write a review on your product page or if they could write down their experience on a blog.
Customers are the gateway to gaining more customers in the future. Instead of you bombarding people with way too many ads, let the customers do the talking for you!
