For many bloggers, webmasters and entrepreneurs there's nothing quite as exciting as seeing an article or brand mention taking on a life of its own and gener
Advantages of Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Word of mouth referrals come with built in levels of trust that ensure higher conversion rates and better returns, making it a great 'low hanging fruit' marketing hack.
Far too little attention is given to good old fashioned word of mouth.
Most companies focus on sexy marketing strategies like paid advertising (PPC), social media likes, tweets & follows, and organic search traffic from Google.
I thought I would contrast the huge differences between traffic to my own businesses and compare and review the benefits that I have noticed arising from people making natural recommendations to their friends, families and colleagues.
Digital Marketing Quick Start
Get explosive growth with the top digital marketing tools at a fraction of the cost of a full team or agency.
-
FREE DIY Digital Marketing
Drive more valuable traffic to your website using our free DIY digital marketing service.
Learn online marketing fundamentals (competitor research & analytics). Beat competitors, dominate organic search results and grow fast.
Free marketing support, tools & guides empower you to use a wide range of digital marketing strategies.
-
SEMRush (SEO)
-
SocialPilot (Social)
-
AWeber (Email)
-
HubSpot (Inbound)
So, if you are working hard to build up a client/customer base using a wide range of online marketing strategies, take a quick time-out and check out what your business may be missing out on.
What is word-of-mouth?
I think it's worth quickly defining what I mean by word of mouth when it comes to growing a business online.
In other words, you have not solicited a review - there is no incentive offered to them from you. Word-of-mouth is, more often than not, a passive form of marketing.
It doesn't matter what medium it takes place on either. It could be over Facebook among friends, it could be at a convention down town, or in a forum, or at a church bake sale.
What are the benefits?
Ok, aside from the obvious fact that having people talking about company is good news, there are some pretty subtle advantages that you may not expect.
Why?
- Understanding: People who have been recommended to your site, generally have a good idea of what they are doing there. They understand what they are going to get because someone has already explained it to them.
By contrast, people who drop in from other traffic streams might still need a complete explanation of what you offer, and this takes effort, which in Internet speak translates to "lower conversion rate".
- Trust: If someone you know well trusts and recommends something to you, it is far more likely that the level of trust you have in that product or service is higher than an average person.
Trust is also a commodity that is in short supply in the online world.
- Proof: If someone you know had a good experience with a previously unknown company, it is a good indicator that you will too. In other words, new customers completely bypass the usual suspicion and skepticism that goes with trying something new online.
- Positive approach: Many people who arrive expecting great service tend to be very positive in their outlook. For example, if they have a problem, they won't hesitate to drop you a line and ask (because they know that your support will handle their query efficiently - because their friend told them).
By contrast new customers are often hesitant to engage with complete strangers.
I guess the quickest way to sum up the benefits is by saying that:
People arriving from advertising , organic search traffic, and other online marketing channels still need to be convinced. They are a step or two up the sales funnel.
How to get more word-of-mouth traffic
It is really difficult to get people talking about your site/service in a meaningful way - especially when your business is small and online.
Here are the areas you can focus on:
- Customer service
- Support
- Engagement
- Special offers & deals
- Loyalty offers
- Friendly
- Professional
- Efficient
- Generous
- Proactive
I guess the magic ingredient is really contained within a combination of factors that boil down to your approach to people in general. Whatever combination of strategies works for you, there should be one overriding goal,
Here are a few examples to consider:
- Offer refunds to customers for virtually anything because if they didn't get the service they were after, you don't want to take their money. Go after loyal customers who are going to stick with you - people who drift in and out have a significantly lower lifetime value to your business.
- Ensure queries are dealt with efficiently and professionally.
- Be proactive about support. Complaints are a gold mine waiting to happen because people using your products and services often have great insight into how you can improve.
- Take note of complaints. Acknowledge there is room to improve (if there is). Show how you are going to deal with those problems and follow up once they're resolved.
Work hard to reach a positive outcome. Happy customers are often more than willing to share their great experiences. Don't be shy about asking them to do exactly that.
"Are you looking for some great content marketing strategies that will help to generate plenty of buzz around your blog posts and articles?"
Content marketing is not only important for getting your content read by other people.
One of its primary purposes is to help establish authority so that your content enjoys high page rankings and gets plenty of organic search traffic from Google.
Every company in the world is obsessed with marketing and sales - trying desperately to get in front of potential clients, gain visibility, join the conversa
Take charge of your business' growth by mastering one or more of the leading digital marketing tools and learn to make better strategic decisions to save mon
Check out this list of ten great hyperlocal marketing strategies, by Carlo Pandian, that can help to drive local consumers to your site.
Coming up with marketing ideas for small business can be a challenge.
Learning how to be an effective affiliate marketer on one of the top affiliate programs is a great skill to have for entrepreneurs and anyone looking to star
Any company that outsources their customer service is being silly, and are inviting competitors to swoop in and pilfer their client base.
Customer service is one of the few real opportunities you have to forge a solid relationship with people. Why on earth would you want to hand it over to someone else (who hides you from the people that sustain your business)?
And while handling customer complaints and queries can seem like a chore, it can be converted into one of the most powerful marketing strategies available to you.
Social media marketing is one of those things that most entrepreneurs and small business owners wonder if they really need.
In general, my answer is yes, but I need to qualify that by saying that the amount of time, effort and cash you invest must be proportional to the returns you want (and can realistically achieve).
I serve on the board of a wonderful not-for-profit, registered charity, and we have utilized the tools and technologies provided by the Web, and in particular, social media, to drive visibility, engagement, and awareness that would simply be out of reach otherwise.
Imagine you could hire a Jedi to sell your products and reach out to new people using their famous mindtricks. Seems almost unfair, right?
For sales and marketing people looking to get more leads for their business, the Internet offers great opportunity wrapped up in some interesting challenges.