A word-of-mouth strategy requires a mindset shift. It describes both targeted efforts and naturally occurring instances where users share their satisfaction with a brand. Don’t try to capture demand, the focus should be on how to create the demand. 74% of consumers identify word of mouth as a key influencer in their purchasing decisions.
Tips for a word-of-mouth strategy
- Understand how your buyers are coming to a decision to then purchase something.
- Listen to your customers and potential customers to understand what is important to them. Think…what content do they want to see? What makes them buy when they need a solution?
- Focus on becoming a category king (an expert in a certain industry)
- Provide VALUE in as much content as possible, don’t be afraid to give away secrets.
A major shift in the market right now is that trust is becoming more needed than ever to sell. A B2B buyer communicates with a company more now than ever before, prior to making purchasing decisions. An example of this is a company could come through Google, speak to 5 businesses, who will be competing against each other and then you have one agency out of all of them that has a high following, quality educational content, and looks like they are trusted by key ambassadors of a brand and they have clients who speak highly of them. The other 4 businesses that aren’t doing this and have just spent anywhere hundreds if not thousands per lead generated, hours in discovery meetings, proposing and then losing out because your brand is not trusted.
Teach people so they understand how you can help so they then move into that intent channel. If you focus on educating, make them realise issues that they aren’t aware of first, so they realise the solutions you provide which will help you move into these intent channels to convert.
Too many companies are trying to capture demand via these funnels through Google etc. Then all of a sudden companies are then fighting over the same leads. The problem is the company that wins that piece of business is the one that decides to educe the buyer rather than benefit bark.
Businesses should focus on creating demand using multiple methods. Having customers that are happy is the most important thing in a business. Remember…interact with clients and understand why they chose you. Keep educating and keep doors open.
Here’s a link to our recent podcast & video series on this topic: https://youtu.be/yBd2rjJtQvI. If anyone wants to discuss this topic then feel free to get in contact with one of our team at info@kerdos-international.com.