A recent article from eMarketer discussed the modes of advertising that are most relevant to college students. Sixty-four percent of students surveyed said that word-of-mouth advertising is most useful, beating product samples (60%), TV ads (55%), and online ads (18%) for the highest ranking in the survey.
Certainly word-of-mouth advertising has expanded along with the use of the Web, but it still works the same way it did a hundred years ago. People rely on the recommendations of other people they trust when deciding whether to purchase a product or service. Now of course, that trust might be established by reading a detailed review online instead of depending on a friend.
As a business owner, you are passing on a tremendous opportunity if you fail to take advantage of the strong and growing importance and reach of word-of-mouth advertising for your business.
Try something new! Ask a couple of your regular customers to give you a recommendation on the Web, perhaps on Yahoo!, Angi, Citysearch, or Google. It’s not hard, it won’t cost them anything, and if they’ve been impressed with your business in the past, they will be glad to help you.
If you’re not already doing so, start asking your new customers how they heard of your business. I’m sure you’ll find that within a month or so of your recommendations appearing online, you’ll see more customers coming to you from the Web than ever before. An added benefit is that these customers will come to you with an expectation of being satisfied and a level of trust already established. It’s a great way to start a relationship with a new customer.
Get Started with a Business Process to Collect Customer Reviews
We can help you implement a business process to ask your customers for reviews while you’re providing services or delivering your products. Call me at 281-343-3284 or send me an email through the Contact form to get started.
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