Word-of-mouth
advertising is crucial for every business (either big or small company), as one
happy customer can steer dozens of new ones your way. Then imagine having ten
happy customers each day. Word of mouth advertising is one of the most credible
forms of advertising because a person puts their reputation on the line every
time they make a recommendation and that person has nothing to gain but the
appreciation of those who are listening. What are you doing to make sure your
potential ambassadors feel confident enough in your business to recommend it?
What are you doing to trigger word-of-mouth?
Here are fifteen tactics you can adopt to drive word of mouth marketing for your business.
Hire the right set of people for your business. Nothing hurts people’s opinions of
you more than dealing with employees who act like they don’t want to be there.
Hire people who take customer service seriously. Make sure they value a job
well done even though they don’t own the business.
Thank people who refer business to you. How you thank
them will depend on the nature of your business. The thanks may be in the form
of a hand-written thank you card, a coupon, a cash reward, or whatever is
practical, expected, and ethical for your line of business. Thanking those who
help you will make them feel their efforts are appreciated, which will make
them be glad to recommend you to more people.
Thank your customers for their business. Everyone likes to be appreciated, and
customers are no exception. While you may have the words printed on receipts or
included in email confirmations of sales, or you or your staff may say
"Thank you" in person, doing something such as sending a handwritten
thank you card to new customers
or a returning customer will set you apart as a business owner who cares about
their customers and is worth recommending.
Refer business to noncompeting
businesses. When you refer customers, patients or clients to others, those businesses
are more likely to refer business to you.
Get PR to promote your business. Public relations should be ongoing to keep your business in
the public eye. Develop relationship with local journalist, members of the
media and bloggers, and keep them informed about your company’s latest news,
accomplishment and future plans.
Add social share buttons to your
website and email messages. The easier you make it for customers
and prospects to share your information and promotions, the more likely it is
they will do so.
Tap into your personal connections. Spread the word about your business among your
friend and family. Taking out an advert in the church bulletin or asking your gym
if you can leave brochures at the front desk could lead to new business.
Hand out extra business cards. Whenever you do business with a new client and know they’re
satisfied, give them extra business cards so they can pass them out to friends,
colleagues or family members who might need your business services.
Give away samples. Nothing does more to convince new people of the value of what you do than
actually letting them try your product. If you own a business that creates
products, give away samples at your doorstep and if you have a service oriented
business, offer a free consultation.
Build a mailing list and use it to offer advanced notice of specials. When customers make purchases, ask
them to provide their phone numbers or email addresses so you can contact them
with advance notice of specials and discounts. If the deals are good enough,
your customers are sure to pass them on to their friends and families.
Turn verbal praise into written testimonials. When a customer praises you for
something special that you have done, ask them if you can write down the
comment and use it in your marketing or on your website. More than likely, the
customer will be flattered that you want to use the comment and glad to help promote
your business.
Be personally visible to your market. Join networking groups and industry
groups that your customers join and be a regular attendee at meetings and
events. Talk to people at meetings to find out what they do and what’s
important to them and what challenges they face. When you can, give them tips
or point them to resources they need, even though it has nothing to do with
your business. Your goal is to be thought of as a friend and problem-solver -
not just a salesperson.
Pay special attention to unhappy customer. Unhappy customers
will tell more people about their experience than happy customers, unhappy
customers can do more harm than happy customer do good. So try and resolve
every angry customer’s complaint and turn them into a fan of your business.
Never ignore any customer’s complaint; go out of your way to find a solution
and offer quality service that will win them over.
Always ask new customers how they first heard about
you. Try to get as specific as possible. If they learned about you from a
friend at a particular place, try getting the exact place. Tracking how
customers learn about your company will help you assess how well your
word-of-mouth marketing efforts are working so you can focus on the most
productive avenues.
Always treat your customers well. This is like the
most important step you can take to generate good word-of-mouth comments and to
build your business overall, the best way to grow your word of mouth is to do
great work, if your work is great the message will spread.
If you are thinking of advertising in
Nigeria, please contact PoiseMedia Communications at www.poisemedianigeria.com or check our contact at the bottom of this
blog. We can help you identify your market and reach them. We apply both BTL
and ATL strategies to project our clients’ brands to the right audience. We can
do same for you at very affordable price.
Lilian Izuorah
Business Development Officer
PoiseMedia Communications Ltd
