How to create brand awareness and sales through social media shares, reviews and word of mouth
Did you know that:
- 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other form of advertising?
- 20% to 50% of purchases are the result of a word-of-mouth recommendation?
- Only 10% of consumers trust brands?
- 70% of consumers read online customer reviews when considering a brand?
- 81% of consumers are influenced by their friends’ social media posts?
Source: Lithium and AdAge
What this means is that in the digital age of the ‘always on,’ ‘connected customer’, your customers should form an integral part of your marketing strategy. People buy from businesses that they know, like and trust; and from businesses that are referred to them by their friends. People trust other people and as a business owner you should tap into the power of both online and offline word of mouth referrals.
Your customers can be your marketing foot soldiers. Human driven marketing which consists of internet reviews, word of mouth referrals, peer recommendations and social media conversations form a large part of today’s marketing. How do you get your customers to market you? Simple. Give them a reason to rave about your offering and service.
You should consider:
- Your customer’s experience – what can customers expect to receive every single time they interact with your business and brand?
- What will they say about your brand; your business to their friends over dinner?
- What will they say about you on Google reviews?
If you can be a brand that really expresses care around the customer experience, it is only natural that your customers will want to rave about their experience with your business in their online and offline conversations.
How do you empower customers to ‘speak’ on your behalf?
You can create an astounding emotional connection or a buzz-worthy experience that will make them love you, want to talk about you and thus spread your story.
You can empower your staff to take considered risks and do something conversation-worthy. This shows your service culture embraces the customer’s needs with a desire to delight and surprise.
You can consciously build an emotional connection into your user experience at every customer touchpoint – one that encourages people to talk about you.
Create intentional ‘Peak Moments’
A peak moment is any interaction or experience in your customer’s buying journey with your business that will compel them to pull out their cameras, share the story or leave a rave review
Be intentional about creating peak moments. You can you create insta-moments and make post-worthy things happen. Consider what peak moments you can create that are memorable, unique, meaningful, exhilarating and spark conversation.
If you would like some assistance to create a ‘peak moment,’ make an appointment with one of our Business Advisors. Contact Realise Business by calling 02 9545 5900 or emailing bookings@realisebusiness.com.au.
– This article was written by Sara Berry. To know more about Sara Berry please click here.
