When acquiring new customers, it can be difficult for businesses. Putting your business in the spotlight so that new people discover it requires time and a budget. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, the best word-of-mouth can generate many new clients and attract new people to your business, and it doesn’t cost you as much as advertising campaigns would. Customer testimonials and business referrals are essential to your growth and we’ll show you how in this article.
Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective forms of marketing, as it often occurs when someone else does the marketing for you. It works because it relies on the trust people have in each other instead of their trust in a business.
There are different forms of word-of-mouth, whether it is referrals or testimonials. While these can come organically from people talking about your business, it is possible to generate more word-of-mouth by encouraging people to do so and giving them incentives.
First, let’s look at both forms of word-of-mouth, how these can help your business grow, and how to generate more referrals and customer testimonials.
What Are Customer Testimonials and Business Referrals?
What is A Customer Testimonial?
Just as the name indicates, a customer testimonial is when a customer promotes and talks about your product or brand. It’s extra effective as customers share their experiences. Not only does it promote you, but it also gives you insight into what they enjoyed about their experience. You can use this valuable information in your marketing with the testimonial as proof. You’re backing up your marketing with evidence, and that’s the best way to convince people.
What is A Business Referral?
When someone recommends your business to one of their close ones, that is called a referral. Nonetheless, referrals have become a larger part of companies’s marketing strategy as more and more companies are giving incentives to their customers for them to refer you to more people. The reason is simple. The acquisition cost for a referred customer is lower, and people referred to a business usually convert more. There are many different types of incentives, so companies can get creative when it comes to incentives.
How word-of-mouth can help to grow your business
Since customer testimonials and referrals come from someone else than a business, people tend to believe them much more. Ultimately, people trust people they know more than people they don’t know or a brand. When we look into the statistics, we can see that word-of-mouth is an efficient way of marketing your business. 92% of shoppers trust referrals from people they know and they are four times more likely to buy when they are referred by a friend.
The same is true for customer testimonials. 43% of shoppers are more likely to buy a new product when they find out about it through their friends on social media.
As you can tell by these statistics, word-of-mouth is highly effective in getting you new customers. Find ways to use word-of-mouth in your marketing strategy to grow your business.
How to use word-of-mouth in your marketing strategy to get new customers
There are so many ways to take advantage of customer testimonials and referrals. You can get creative with your approach as you know your audience best, so you know how to communicate with them. But here are a few simple ways to leverage word-of-mouth marketing.
Put Customer Testimonials Forward On Your Homepage And Social Media
Testimonials are a great way to convince new visitors they can trust your product. There are multiple ways you can choose to show your customer testimonials. Share short testimonials to show you have many people who enjoy your business. Or share detailed testimonials that mention the different pain points your customers have experienced. If potential customers see that your product will solve their particular issue, they are much more likely to buy your product.
You can also share your customer testimonials on social media for new users visiting your accounts. It’ll also allow you to engage with your audience and reward customers for saying positive things about your products. In fact, people love it when you put them in the spotlight, so by sharing their testimonials, you’re also making them happy.
Create A Customer Testimonial Page Or Blog Article
Find a place where you can put your happy customers in the spotlight even more. This is a great opportunity to do a longer piece about a customer thriving thanks to your brand. There’s so much you can do, from an interview with a loyal customer to talking about a problem your product solves.
Use Video Customer Testimonials For Social Media And Advertising
Video has taken over these last few years. So, it’s only logical you integrate video testimonials into your marketing strategy. Do as mentioned above and reshare content as much as possible to create a domino effect that encourages more people to talk about your brand. You can even use video testimonials in your ads, as they are a powerful tool to persuade people that your product is valuable.
How to get more Customer Testimonials and Business Referrals
Now that you know how to take advantage of your Customer Testimonials, let’s see how you can generate more testimonials and referrals.
Create Your Own Referral Program
People love to be rewarded, so offering incentives to refer you to their contacts is a sure way to get them to do it. Get creative with your referral program and create one that connects with your audience. If you give them real rewards that are impactful and aligned with their interests, they are more likely to use them often.
Just remember, most referral programs give incentives to both the referrer and the referred person. Dropbox, for instance, offers the referrer and the referred person extra storage when they use the referral program.
Ask Your Customer To Refer You To Their Close Ones
Sometimes, all you need to do is ask. Many clients won’t talk about your brand and refer you unless you directly ask for it. When you ask your customers to refer you to other people or for testimonials, you may be surprised to see the number of people ready to put you in the spotlight. Your top customers love your products, so they’re more likely to be ambassadors for your brand.
Personalize your email to address your client directly and make it engaging. Show how grateful you are to them for being your customers and being willing to share your brand. Also, take advantage of positive feedback to make your demand. If you ask at the right time, you’re more likely to get positive results.
Create a relationship with your customers
The closer you are to your customers, the more they will engage with your brand. Make an effort to connect with them and check in on them. When you have a good relationship, you can ask them for referrals or testimonials more easily, but you can also engage with them more. Create a small community of users who are proud to share and talk about your product.
Launch your word-of-mouth marketing strategy
Now that you know how effective word-of-mouth is, use it as much as possible. Create a strategy that will propose your business and make it grow exponentially. Strive to always get more customer testimonials and referrals.
If it’s difficult to get your word-of-mouth marketing started, you can use services on ComeUp to help you get the best results possible. From business advice to customer testimonial creators, you’ll find all types of services to achieve your goals.
