A guide to word-of-mouth marketing

When it comes to finding new customers and standing out from the competition, a good marketing strategy is essential. After all, if customers don’t know who you are, they’re not going to use your business.

But while traditional marketing methods and a strong online presence are a solid start for boosting your business brand, if you want to promote your company for free, there are few marketing strategies more reliable than word-of-mouth advertising.

If you’re getting regular word-of-mouth referrals, there’s a good chance that you’ll start to see new clients reaching out to you on a regular basis. It may sound simple, but it’s incredibly powerful when harnessed the right way.

Of course, word-of-mouth marketing is about more than just organically generating leads. Here’s what you need to know about building a word-of-mouth marketing strategy that works for your business.

What is word-of-mouth marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing is exactly that: free marketing and promotion for your business that’s spread through everyday conversations and online discussions.

Whether it takes the form of friends sharing their go-to recommendations or regular reviews being left on your website, word-of-mouth marketing is a key trend to take advantage of.

Why does word-of-mouth marketing matter?

Unlike ads and sponsored results on Google, word of mouth is not in your face. Instead, it’s a recommendation from someone who potential customers actually trust.

Various statistical studies show that people are far more likely to follow a recommendation from a friend or family member, even if there are better alternatives. This means there’s a good chance that your business is being overlooked if you’re yet to get your name out there.

Yes, good branding and developing a strong presence on social media are important. But if you can’t get people talking about your business directly, then you’re going to miss out on this potent source of leads.

What are the advantages of word-of-mouth marketing?

Needless to say, this sort of free marketing comes with a lot of benefits – not just for you, but for your customers as well. Here’s a quick breakdown of the main advantages of word-of-mouth advertising:

Benefits for traders

By far the biggest benefit of word-of-mouth marketing is that it’s free, at least in its purest form.

Unlike with all other forms of marketing, you should never have to pay to spread word-of-mouth recommendations (and if you do, then you’re defeating the point). Instead, the quality of your work and customer service should be doing this for you.

Much like producing good work, regular word-of-mouth marketing will help you stand out from your competition, especially in a crowded market, while simultaneously boosting your brand’s reputation and making repeat customers more likely.

Should you ever need to raise your prices, having a pre-established level of trust with your customers will help to cushion the blow. Trust is a crucial part of building a word-of-mouth reputation, so those customers who know your work to be of a high standard are far more likely to be understanding of this change than those who have yet to work with you.

Benefits for customers

Although the benefits of word-of-mouth marketing lie primarily with your business, expanding a network like this has one very important benefit for your customers: trust.

At the end of the day, when you do a job for a customer, they’re putting their trust in you to deliver on your promise of work, which can be hard if they know nothing about your business to begin with.

Word-of-mouth marketing gets around this by setting expectations ahead of time and helping customers to feel like they’re getting a better deal for their money. And if you can then go on to meet these expectations, they’ll be far more likely to tell other people about the experience, spreading your name further and starting the word-of-mouth loop all over again.

How to build a word-of-mouth marketing strategy

So far, we’ve talked a lot about what word-of-mouth marketing is and how it can benefit you – but how do you actually put it into practice? The good news is that consistent word-of-mouth marketing starts with you, your work and how you interact with your customers.

If you can nail your proposition, provide a consistent standard of work and prioritise good customer service, your word-of-mouth marketing strategy should take care of itself. However, if you want a checklist to help you get started, we’d suggest keeping each of the following areas in mind going forward:

• Prioritise good work – Good-quality work speaks for itself, and ultimately, it’s going to be the main reason why customers recommend you to their friends.
• Never overcharge – While it’s very important to charge customers accurately for the value of your work, over-charging is a surefire way to put them off using you in the future.
• Exceed expectations where possible – Although you should never provide more work than required on a job, you can exceed expectations in other areas, such as by always turning up on time, being amiable to work with and answering any questions your customer might have about a particular aspect of a project.
• Put customer service first – When it comes to customer service, make sure you’re putting their needs first whenever possible. For example, reply promptly to any enquiries, and personalise any communications you send out. You could even create a referral scheme, where existing customers get a discount or reward if a customer chooses to use you based on their recommendation.
• Make yourself an expert – Much like when trying to stand out on social media, making yourself an expert in your field can do wonders for gaining word-of-mouth traction. From sharing tips on making small repairs at home to clearly displaying examples of your work, demonstrating that you have the knowledge and skills required to do your job will make your business a far more tempting option for those customers who are still unsure about whether or not to use you.
• Leave room for social proof – Finally, no matter how big or small a job might be, make sure you make space for customers to leave reviews of your work. While not traditional word-of-mouth marketing, reviews and social shares do their part in promoting your business, and even the simplest of these could spark a conversation that winds up leading to a conversion.

Enhance your marketing as a Trusted Trader

As you can see, word-of-mouth marketing really can be a powerful tool in your arsenal. And the sooner you start putting best practices in place to get people talking, the sooner you’ll see the impact.

Of course, another fantastic way to start spreading word-of-mouth recommendations is by becoming a Which? Trusted Trader.

All our Trusted Traders get access to their very own business profile, where they can display examples of previous work and recent customer reviews – a key trust signal for showing customers that you’re a business they can rely on.

Get in touch with our team today to find out more about how becoming a Trusted Trader could benefit your business, and don’t forget to visit our business hub as well for more helpful guides like this one.