Recent studies show that 93% of people evaluate a product or service before making a buying decision. More than half (52%) of survey respondents said they influenced their purchase by how well-informed they were about the item, while 38% said it was because of the price. Only 10% said it was due to advertising. This shows that word-of-mouth marketing still works, you just have to improve your strategy.
With nearly one-third of your business coming from word-of-mouth, this is a crucial element in helping your business succeed. If you’re looking to increase traffic and sales, you must be willing to invest in marketing strategies that boost customer satisfaction.
A satisfied customer will tell others about what you offer and how great your services are! By offering quality products and excellent customer service, you’ll see an uptick in referrals.
Boosting referral and word-of-mouth effectiveness doesn’t happen overnight, but there are several ways you can start influencing customers’ experiences today. In this article, we’ll go through some easy steps to improve your company’s reputation with oral reviews.
Make eye contact when having word-of-mouth marketing conversations
When you look into someone’s eyes, you are showing them that you care about what they have to say. It is an easy way to gain their trust and influence their perception of you. Plus, it is natural!
Most people begin talking with a casual glance around the room or even through the window before they make direct eye contact. By incorporating more deliberate eye contact in your conversations, you will start to see changes in how people respond to you.
If you want to increase word-of-mouth for your business, create meaningful interactions and listen actively. Both are important parts of having successful conversations.
Let the person know you hear them
It’s impossible to improve your word-of-mouth marketing unless you let people know that you are listening to what they have to say. Your potential clients, customers, or audience members will feel discouraged from sharing their experiences if they don’t perceive that you aren’t interested in what they have to say.
However, it can be tricky to balance this with having false assumptions about someone’s experience or knowledge.
By showing some interest, you send a message to both the individual and other individuals like them that you take what they have to say seriously and that you want to learn more. This leaves them less likely to hesitate before telling you how good or bad their product or service is.
At the same time, you need to make sure that you’re not appearing disingenuous by pretending to care about their comments. If you truly don’t give a damn about what they have to say, then why should anyone else?
Your peers may also view you as being too focused on improving your own business instead of paying attention to theirs.
Ask more questions to improve your word-of-mouth marketing
When asking about someone’s opinion of a product or service, don’t ask only if they use the product. Also, be sure to show an interest in their life — what products they own, what sports teams they are a fan of, etc.
If you want to know how people feel about something, check out all the sources that a person has used for reviews. Or even better, do some research yourself and see whether this tool is worth it!
By asking not just yes-or-no questions, but also trying to get more information under those answers, you will learn more about why the person gave their answer as it is.
Improving word-of-mouth means looking outside of your company and industry to find potential clients. You can’t depend on everyone talking about you, so go where people talk and listen – and improve upon what you learned before.
Be consistent
Consistency is one of the most important things you can be when improving your word of mouth marketing. This means showing up at the same places, at the same times every day.
You would not go out for a night out with someone that does not show up consistently, so why should people feel comfortable doing business with you?
Consistently showing up will build trust in you as well as the community you are trying to generate interest from. Your audience may even begin to expect your presence at certain locations and activities!
On the other hand, if you do not appear frequently, people may assume that you do not care about their experience or they may give poor recommendations due to lack of confidence in you.
General consistency is important, but especially important are repeated visits.
Offer reassurance in word-of-mouth marketing
As mentioned before, your potential customers will spend lots of time thinking about whether or not to purchase from you! They’ll also look for signs that they’re being listened to and understood.
If possible, offer them some form of reassurance by saying something like “I hope we were able to solve that problem for you” or “That solution worked well for us”.
This seems very straightforward, but it can make a big difference to their trust in you and yourself as a seller.
It may even give them the confidence to try other solutions were necessary – which could mean staying in business too!
Running out of things to say is never a good situation to be in when talking about your product or service. If there’s nothing more you can add then skip this tip.
Be proactive
A strong reputation is not built overnight, it takes time to build up that trust circle. But you can’t wait for people to talk about you before you begin doing things that make them feel good about you.
As mentioned earlier, being proactive is your best bet when it comes to improving word of mouth. Doing these will start creating conversations around your business!
Here are some tips to help you stay focused on this goal:
Offer frequent rewards for loyalty or social proof. For example, offer discounts to those who read your business’s newsletter or tell their friends about you.
Alternatively, reward in advance by announcing an anniversary sale or giving away freebies after someone commits to spending money with you.
Both strategies promote engagement and conversation around your business. Plus, they boost sales as customers come together because of you!
Use technology to facilitate interaction. With the ever-growing availability of digital devices, you have the opportunity to keep in touch at any time.
You can create online profiles or applications to connect with others, such as checking out MyBusinessClass to interact with other small business owners. This way, even if there’s no one physically present, you still have ways to remain connected.
By incorporating technology into your marketing mix, you’re more likely to receive positive feedback and encouragement from others.
Make it clear that you value their opinion
As mentioned before, your business depends heavily on word-of-mouth advertising for success. As such, you must develop strong relationships with your community members so that when they feel like sharing something about your business, you are noticed and given adequate time to respond!
One way to do this is by making it clear that you appreciate their feedback and understand how valuable their input can be. If someone raises an issue or question about your business, take the time to address it and show them that you care by responding in detail.
By showing interest in their opinions, you also give people the opportunity to feel more comfortable giving you feedback. This helps keep your community engaged and loyal to you.
At the same time, make sure to add new features to your business and treat your customers as individuals. An interactive social media page, for example, gives each person access to different content they might want to see.
Say thank you
Even if someone just mentioned you with a positive comment, take time to say thank you. If you are allowed to speak about something, make sure to give them credit for it!
If you manage to win over one person’s trust, they will keep talking about you and sharing their experiences because they want other people to know about you.
Say hello and welcome to anyone who comes across you or your business for the first time. This is your chance to show off what you have been working on and advertise yourself.
And lastly, stay active on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.