[Sticky] Why Brands should focus on the "Word of Mouth" Recommendation?

Why Brands Should Focus on “Word of Mouth” Recommendation?

Introduction

Most businesses today have an online presence. So, it becomes difficult for them to reach their target audience organically. To do so, they need to spend a huge amount on marketing to attract customers to their brand.

But, not all brands can make such huge investments. So, word-of-mouth marketing plays an important role to attract, engage, retain, and grow your audience organically.

What is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing is free of cost and a valuable form of advertising for your brand. It has been in use long before the invention of the internet.

In this, users of your product or service share their experiences with their family and friends about that product or service.

These recommendations create a positive image of your brand in front of people. The trustworthiness of your brand increases that helps in skyrocketing referral sales.

These days buying decisions of people get influenced not by paid advertisements but by other people’s real-life experiences. This especially holds when they have to buy something online. They trust their friends and family over the paid advertising.

So, you should focus on creating a loyal fan base. A few loyal fans are much more useful than having thousands of fake followers or fans who follow you in something for return.

Advantages of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Most businesses use an online platform to promote themselves which is quite time-consuming and expensive.

So, brands rely on organic, reliable, and free forms of advertising that is word-of-mouth marketing.

Here are a few of the advantages of word-of-mouth marketing over paid advertising:

1. Zero Cost Advertising

There is no investment involved in this type of marketing. A satisfied customer can share his positive experiences with your product or service.

It is an inexpensive method to skyrocket your brand’s popularity, develop trustworthiness, and reach your target audience organically irrespective of the demographic constraints.

2. Build Brand’s Online Community

You can create an online community of your regular buyers and loyal followers.

Here are a few benefits of having an online community:

• These buyers do not forget you after making a purchase.
• They engage with your brand, share their experiences, recommend your products to others, and stay loyal to you.
• They also make repeat purchases from you instead of your competitors.
• They act as brand ambassadors for your brand and influence buying decisions of other buyers.

So, do not focus on having thousands of social media followers. But create a connection with your fans and develop interest and passion for your brand in them.

3. Build Brand’s Social Proof

With the advent of technology, social media connectivity has increased a lot. It takes only a few minutes for your fan to write an online positive review. These real-life comments and recommendations are seen by their friends who trust them and also by many more looking for similar products.

These social proofs increase your brand’s authenticity and make it trustworthy.

It helps in your brand’s growth by increasing conversions and sales as most people make an online purchase based on the recommendations of their peers.

How to Build a Word of Mouth Marketing Strategy

Knowing the importance of word of mouth is not enough. You should know how to create a proper marketing strategy to gain maximum benefits from your advertising efforts.

Create Something Unique

Think out of the box. It does not mean inventing something new. It means selling an already existing product or service in a new way by adding more value to the already existing product or service. Highlight the unique benefits of your product. Illustrate how it solves your readers’ problems in a better way as compared to your competitors.

Use Storytelling to Provoke Emotions

Tap into people’s emotions. It is a powerful technique to develop people’s interest in your brand. You can connect with your audience emotionally with the help of storytelling. They will be able to understand and connect with your campaign easily thereby resulting in more shares.

Focus on User-Generated Content

It is content that is not created by brands but by people. This can be in the form of text, images, videos, reviews, etc. Brands love to share this content as people trust reviews from real users rather than believing in ads created by brands.

You can use this content to create desire, trust, and brand loyalty.

Create Visual Triggers

Whether offline or online, visuals are the most engaging forms of content. Creative visuals attract more audience and get maximum shares. Create something they cannot find anywhere else and remains in their memory for a long time.  Along with graphics, you can create videos also.

Ratings and Reviews

Everyone can’t refer someone. This does not mean they are not happy with your services. You can use their positive feedback as proof to convince your prospective buyers.

So, collect and display honest reviews of your current customers at every place, such as your website, social media posts, review sites, etc.

Offer Referral Rewards

Offer rewards to your existing happy customers to introduce your business to others.

Various types of rewards that you can offer:

• Discount on next purchase
• Paying per referral
• Coupon for referring a certain number of people
• Gifts on next purchase

Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing

It is a powerful method of reaching out to potential customers. Influencers have a huge fan base of loyal followers who trust the products or brands promoted by them.

Review and make a list of key influencers in your niche.

You can ask them to do a review of your product or service and share their opinion about it with their audience. You might be required to invest if you want to opt for influencer marketing.

Conclusion

As a marketer, you now know the power of word-of-mouth marketing. So, instead of buying fake followers and reviews, you should focus on creating a loyal and engaging fan base. These fans are your real long-term friends and buyers. They will also recommend others to try your brand’s products or services as they have benefitted from them.

#thepreetishah #preetishahwriter #digitalwritopreneurs #influencermarketing

Written & Edited By: Preeti Shah

Preethi …. well written article with interesting observations. You have shared some powerful strategies.

@preetishah You have explained everything clearly. Thank you so much!!!!

@preetishah

Very informative article. Was indeed a pleasure reading.

@sowspeaks 😊 Thank you! I am happy that you found the article informative.

@aditya-sanyal 😊 Thank you, Aditya! I am happy that you found the information useful.