Master Word-Of-Mouth Marketing
Word-of-mouth marketing can be an extremely powerful tool in helping a business to acquire new customers. It relies primarily on recommendations from friends and family. People trust the word of other people more than other forms of advertising due to their personal nature.
It is very easy to grow your customer base when you have key relationships with other businesses that already have your ideal customer but offer something different. For example, business bankers would naturally have the same clients as business insurance agents but they offer completely different products and services.
How Does Referral Marketing Work?
A referral program is when an existing customer introduces friends to a product or service and is rewarded if their recommendation leads to a sale. With word of mouth referrals, businesses can tap into the power of social proof. When potential customers see others talking positively about a product or service, it makes them more likely to make a purchase as well.
Influencer Marketing and UGC
Another form of word of mouth marketing is influencer marketing. This involves working with high profile individuals who have large followings on social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube. By leveraging their influence and having them share content related to your business, you can drive interest in your products or services. Of course, this requires good coordination and communication between the influencers and the business owners.
Encouraging user generated content (UGC) is another great way to drive word-of-mouth referrals. By asking customers to share photos or videos using their own voice, you can create authentic content. This content is more likely to resonate with potential customers better than traditional ads do.
User generated content helps build trust before potential customers consider making a purchase decision. This is because the positive point of view is from an outsider’s perspective. It is easy to think that because they are outside of your organization they are not motivated by the sale.
Since the message is coming from someone other than you, it is deemed as a reliable source of truthful information.
Creating A Word Of Mouth Strategy
When creating your word of mouth marketing strategy, there are several key factors you should consider:
Make sure your product or service is something worth talking about.
- Your offer should provide value beyond just price so that people want to share it with others
- Offer incentives for people who refer others
- Create social media posts specifically targeting potential customers
- Leverage influencers who have an established following related to your industry
- Encourage customers to share their experiences through UGC
- Use data analysis tools to track the results of your campaigns
Teach people how to spread the word about what benefits your business provides
Many people that do business locally rely on word of mouth. This is especially true of home services providers and people in industries that require more intimate knowledge of their clients such as financial advisors.
Words for Success
When done correctly, word of mouth marketing can boost awareness of your brand among potential customers. However, cultivating good referral partners does take time. You will need to commit to building personal relationships with people that you expect to refer to you.
Your word of mouth marketing campaign is only as strong as someone else’s recommendation. If the person recommending you doesn’t fully understand what you offer they could possibly do harm. Joining professional networking groups can greatly help you find better quality referral partners.
It can help increase sales from referrals and recommendations from friends and family members who already know about it. Consider implementing referral programs as part of your overall marketing strategy. Start harnessing the power of word-of-mouth marketing today!