word of mouth marketing
Today, we’re taking an in-depth look at one of the most frequent questions I hear from business owners, which is – “what is the BEST marketing channel for my business to generate new leads or customers?”.
I’m going to be honest with you – there is NO CLEAR CUT ANSWER to this question!
However, the answer I do have may surprise you. Without a doubt, word of mouth marketing – if done correctly – is the biggest generator of new customers for any business.
Why is this answer so surprising? While it seems like an obvious component to any business, attributing new revenue to word of mouth referrals can be difficult with traditional ways of looking at marketing data. These new customers could be coming to you via social media ads, from Google, or even from your website! I bet you twenty bucks that your marketing analytics dashboard doesn’t have a “word of mouth” source listed. Instead, things like social media ads, Google and your website are being given that credit of success when really your customers could have heard about you in a Facebook group, or from their neighbor or friend and were already “converted” as a customer before they digitally hit you up.
Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t always the case. But word of mouth marketing is bigger than we think. So – how can you continue to expand on that success? I’m glad you asked!
There are five basic steps to growing your brand via word of mouth. If you can successfully (and CONSISTENTLY) implement these five steps, or habits, into your business – you’ll not only be generating new leads and customers for your business – you’ll also be generating demand for your business.
So what are the five steps of word of mouth marketing?
First, go where your customers spend their time. Think about your target customers and where they might “go” to consume new ideas, information, etc. If you’re a B2B SaaS company – your ideal customer is likely consuming information related to your products or services somewhere like LinkedIn. If you’re a home services company providing HVAC services, your ideal customer is likely consuming information related to your services on websites found via Google, or on Facebook community groups. Identify where you might have an opportunity to reach that ideal customer, and then go to the next step!
Second, create VALUABLE content that your target customer would likely consume. This could be in the form of blog posts on your website, videos on YouTube that you share via various social media channels, or even a podcast! The goal is to create content that would be engaging to your audience so that you can keep their interest and build a community for your brand. You might engage with your readers or listeners by asking them questions, or prompting them to take action. These activities give you an opportunity to communicate directly with the people that you can make an impact on.
Third, make sure you continue to deliver on that value through your products and services to produce the best customer experience possible. As more and more people are becoming customers of your company, you need to keep their experience top of mind to ensure that you’re giving them more reasons to share your brand and refer you to the people around them.
Fourth, gain customer feedback along the way! This step is so incredibly important and often overlooked – especially with newer businesses. Gaining customer insights and feedback allows you the opportunity to incorporate any necessary shifts that enhance the experience your customers are having. It’s also important to look at any insights or general feedback you get from the digital content you’re creating. If you’re noticing a theme of questions or concerns about a specific product or service, it might be a good time to generate content around those topics that would support your audience with more of the information that they care about.
Finally, the last step is to turn this process into a system that you can repeat with consistency. Consistency is key to good content creation, so it’s important that you develop a system to continue creating new content on a regular basis.
Why do these five steps work? When you provide value to your customers, you help them in some way. You are adding value to their day-to-day lives and giving them a reason to keep coming back for more positive influence. This process enhances your brand reputation which also leads to growing interest as your customers are sharing and referring new customers so that they can experience the same positive impact that they received in working with your company.
That continued interest and engagement leads to more and more traffic to your website. Those good experiences lead to more 5-star reviews of your company. All of this positive activity makes a great impact on your SEO. You’re investing time and resources in a legacy foundation that will continue to pay off in the future – your brand!
You can pay for ads to get leads – no doubt about it. This is a necessary function of marketing, especially in the beginning of your content creation journey. It’s a great way to get in front of people who may already have intent as it gives them the opportunity to choose your product or service over a competitor while they are looking at different options. However, the ultimate goal is for your brand to become so trusted and valuable that instead of generating leads, you’re generating a demand for your brand where customers know you, love you, and share you with more new customers.
If you’re looking for additional support for your marketing efforts and actionable strategies for your business, Spruce Media is here to help. Schedule a free consultation today so that we can work together to take your marketing to the next level! You can also catch our exclusive podcast, Audience Business, on your favorite podcast streaming service, or watch full episodes on our Audience Business YouTube channel!
