Word Of Mouth is the most trustworthy & cost-effective form of advertising, so it is vital to the success of any business.
Positive and negative word of mouth happens whether you like it or not. However, there are ways to leverage positive exposure, and address negative exposure before irreversible damage occurs. Here are our tips for how to make word of mouth work for your business.
Reduce the effects of negative word of mouth
- Make customers or clients the main focus of your business. Regardless of your industry, this is key.
- Respond to all of your reviews, including the negative ones. When you own a business, it can be difficult to know how to respond to complaints or negative feedback. A response that is overly defensive and fails to acknowledge the customer’s position will give a bad impression. So, use a professional tone, be understanding, offer to discuss further, and ask what you can do to help.
- Take action. If you have made a mistake, acknowledging and apologising is not enough. Ensure that no customer can make the same complaint again, and let the complainant know that you’ve made a change. If the review was made on a public platform, this also shows others that you are willing to make changes and put your customers first.
- Set up Google Alerts. These notify you if anything negative is published online mentioning you or your business, and remedy negative feedback immediately.
- Join local Facebook groups that share reviews or brand suggestions. Some customers won’t share their opinions with you directly but will voice their opinions to their family, friends or colleagues. Keeping an eye out for what people are saying can help you to make necessary changes without relying on direct feedback.
Increase the effects of positive word of mouth
- Ask your clients or customers for their feedback. This can be in person, through social media channels, or via an e-newsletter out to your database. They can either send it to you, or post it directly on Google or other social channels. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is as easy as possible for people to leave their feedback.
- Display client testimonials on your website. When potential customers are browsing your website, they will trust what other customers have said about you more than what you say about yourself.
- Share positive reviews or feedback on your social media accounts. Word of mouth marketing thrives on social media, and sharing these reviews is a great way to build trust in your brand.
- Write recommendations for your top clients/customers/colleagues on LinkedIn. You can also request a recommendation in return if you feel it is appropriate.
- Set up Google Alerts. Google Alerts will also notify you if anything positive is published online about you or your business. Responding to positive reviews is also extremely important. This is because it gives you the opportunity to build rapport and connect with customers personally, which will increase brand loyalty.
So there are our tips on how to make word of mouth work for your business, particularly in the online space. You can’t stop people voicing their opinions about your brand, but you can do something about it! If you have any questions or would like any help with anything mentioned in this article, contact the team at Dubzz Digital Marketing.
