Feed your sales funnel with word-of-mouth marketing

By David Ronald

Ask any sales professional how they get their best customers and nearly all will tell you “word of mouth”.

Referrals are the best way to get a new client because referral prospects have likely already had a conversation about you with an impartial third party and have mostly made up their mind to buy from you, regardless of your price.

Many entrepreneurs think that good customer service is the most influential way to cultivate referrals. But it's not.

 

Although being attentive to customers is good policy and vital to the health of your business, it's not at the core of building a referral-based business. And that, ironically, is because people have come to expect good customer service—the impact of customer service unfortunately works much more effectively in reverse as people are more likely to talk about your business when they're unhappy with you.

If you want to build your referrals, therefore, you must actively cultivate your advocates. Word-of-mouth marketing helps create and sustain demand for what you are selling by nurturing a passionate community that speaks positively about you. 

(Click here to read our white paper on word-of-mouth marketing: http://bit.ly/1jAM2Ct.)

This community should consist of three categories of advocates:

• Customers—although not all of your customers will want to be vocal, some will be willing to serve as references, participate in webinars and co-present with you at conferences. When is the best time to ask for a referral? The best time is after the product is delivered, not when the deal is closed. Also, consider inviting your customers to be active on social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, if those tools are components of your outbound marketing strategy.
• Media and analysts—this category of advocate can supply vital “air cover” for your sales reps by providing favorable coverage of your company and what you are selling. Consequently, a prospect may already have a positive impression of your product even before a rep begins her/his sales pitch. You don’t need an expensive PR agency to get favorable coverage; nor is there a guarantee that you will be positive coverage even if you have an expensive agency. The key to fruitful media and analyst relationships is a clear understanding of your audience and their drivers, followed by content tailored to engage them.
• Other influencers—industry luminaries, bloggers can also positively influence sales opportunities. At a minimum you should identify who these people are and nurture relationships with them. And you may be able to “seed” a message in this network, with a goal of getting coverage. You can even consider encouraging word-of-mouth coverage by rewarding the top influencers in your industry.

A steady stream of customer referrals can transform a struggling business into a profitable one. Adopting a strategic approach to word-of-mouth marketing is your best method of crafting a passionate community that positively impacts your revenues.

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