In this peer-influenced world, more than 80% of people trust recommendations from friends and family. Also, it is evident that many people view online customer reviews before making a purchase online. Therefore, word of mouth marketing is an efficacious strategy, where users share their satisfaction level with the brand and influence other people to make a purchase

Word of Mouth Marketing…

This strategy can be the foundational layer for a startup promotional strategy. If people are willing to promote the product or service to their friends, any promotional determinations you invest in would be intensified. However, if your users aren’t willing to endorse your products and services, then your baseline would become zero or even negative growth unless you make additional efforts to promote your products by yourself.

Today, in this technological and highly competitive market, start-ups have a lot of growing to do. Consequently, if you have customers to do your part, then it is “icing on the cake.” Therefore, you need to work on word of mouth marketing strategy, and here are few tips that will help you in developing the strategy for word of mouth.

Develop your Relationship with the First Customers

As an entrepreneur, it is very important for you to talk to your first few customers to understand that you are going in the right direction to provide satisfaction to the customer through your products and services. You should use this opportunity to encourage a personal relationship with your early consumers. You need to listen to them to understand their needs, wants, personal experience, and feedback, so that you can offer a solution for their problems. By doing this, your customers will feel invested and valued in your services, which would make them more likely to share their experience of your product. Always remember that this strategy you can only apply at your initial level, as with the time the customers will grow, and it will become very difficult to talk to each of them personally.

Offer a Referral Program or Incentive

An incentive or a referral program is something that motivates an individual to perform an action, such as making a purchase of products and services offered by your brands. It helps in increasing average order size, order frequency, sales for a specific product, generate new customers, improve customer data, build customer loyalty and retention, accelerates the adoption of new products, and boost customer satisfaction. These are the best ways to convert a happy customers into active promoters.

Be Responsive and Encourage User Reviews and Rating

As mentioned, people go with those products with higher ratings. So, you need to encourage your users and customers to leave a review and rate your products, and you also need to actively engage with each of the customers, especially at the initial level of your startup. When your customer notices that you take their reviews and rating seriously, it will add a lot of credibility to your company. It will also increase the trust of your customers when you take their criticism positively for making improvements.

User-Generated Content

In this socially influenced world, user-generated content is a powerful tactic as people are more likely to share online the things created by themselves. Let us take an example and explain this concept. If you are selling a product, then you can run a contest and ask your customers to share a pic with your products, and the best picture will get a reward. This way, you can develop word of mouth while at the same time create content for the online presence of your brand.

Develop Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a form of the social media marketing that involves product placements and endorsements from influencers who have an expert level of knowledge or social influence on their loyal followers. It is one of the most effective words of mouth marketing strategies for growing the presence of your brand. Remember that influencer marketing at the initial level of your startup will help you a lot when you do not have access to a big promotional budget.

Final Words

Use these five effective strategies for word of mouth marketing to increase your product and market reach and increase your brand image. But, you need to remember that for making your users as promoters, you need to deliver an offering that provides value to their lives and provides them with a high level of satisfaction.

Source – Forbes