How to Get More Customers (The Power Of Word Of Mouth)
Want to know how to get more customers?
Word of mouth has always played an important role in business – we all value the opinions of friends, family, and experts and trust their recommendations when we need help with a decision.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at the benefits of word of mouth and how to get more customers.
How to Get More Customers
These days, it’s not enough to just have an excellent site and online presence.
They certainly help in bringing in more leads for your business, but if you really want to find business, then you need to improve your word of mouth marketing. That’s especially important in the pool servicing industry, as you want to find more customers within a certain area. Here’s how you can improve your word of mouth marketing and get more customers coming in.
What Counts As Word Of Mouth?
Firstly, you need to know what exactly is word-of-mouth marketing? Back before the age of social media, word of mouth marketing was simply recommendations given from one person to another. These days, word of mouth covers this and targeted efforts to get customers to share their happiness with a company and recommend them to others.
These targeted WOMM efforts can be anything from sponsored posts and videos, as well as mentions on podcasts. While in the past the word of mouth had to come from someone the customer knew, these days it can be anybody they trust. They’ll spend a lot of time with influencers, whether they’re scrolling through their Instagram or watching them on YouTube. Either way, they can give powerful recommendations.
Related: Instagram Marketing Tips For Pool Business Owners
Why is Word Of Mouth So Important?
According to studies, 92% of customers trust the recommendations of their friends and family over any other advertising. That makes so much sense. As a customer wants to trust a business, they’ll go to other people they trust in order to see who they recommend. As that trusted person has made the recommendation, that means that they can trust that business too. This effect has even been noted in academic journals as a powerful marketing tool, so you can see why you need to be paying attention to it.
As a pool service business, you’ll already have seen this happen in action. You have customers come to you because their friend or family member uses your services. They’ve been told you’re good, so they are willing to hire you to handle their pool cleaning. If you can scale this up even further, you can grow your business.
How to Get Word Of Mouth Recommendations
You can see how important word of mouth is when it comes to your marketing. How do you ensure that you’re using it in your marketing strategy, though?
Give an Excellent Service First
Before anything else, you need to make your service as perfect as it can be. The better you are, the more likely customers are to recommend you to others. You need technicians with the right training and experience, as well as all the right certifications. Ensure you’re arriving at appointments on time, and giving customers the best service while you’re there. Be friendly and open, and they’re going to think highly of you. The better you are, the more they want to tell others about you.
Create Visual Triggers
You want to give customers something that makes them want to recommend you to others. One way many businesses do this is through visual triggers. The Disney theme parks do this, offering visual experiences that people will photograph and then share on their social media. That makes their own followers want to visit, too.
Of course, your business isn’t Disneyland but you can do it too. If you don’t already have social media, you can set up accounts, and take pictures and videos of clients’ pools with their permission. You can then ask them to share the posts you make with them, so they’re spreading the recommendation of your business. It’s easy to do, and you’d be surprised how many customers say yes.
Ask for Reviews
Online reviews are another form of word of mouth that’s more powerful than you’d think. Think back to the last time you bought anything online. Did you buy it first without checking reviews from other customers? Of course not. You checked to see what others said first, to see what they thought. The more reviews a product has, the more reliable it’s seen to be.
You can ask your customers to review you on your website, and on services like Google My Business. These reviews are so valuable, and again you’ll be surprised at how often customers will agree to leave reviews for you. When you get reviews, ensure that you reply to them to show that you’re engaging with your customers. If someone leaves you a negative review, make sure you use the opportunity to put things right with them.
It’s worth noting that you can’t offer deals, such as discounts, when a customer leaves a review. Google will actually penalize companies who ‘pay’ for reviews in this way.
Create A Referral Program
While you can’t reward customers for reviews, you can with an actual referral program. Many companies use these programs to encourage their customers to tell others about what they do. Once someone uses you to service their pool, you can let them know about your referral program.
You can offer anything from money off to bonus gifts when a customer refers you to someone else. If that other customer hires you, then you can give the first customer their reward.
The best way to implement a program like this is to keep it simple. List the rules and the benefits on the site, and let customers know when you come to service their pool. They’re much more likely to refer you to others if they may benefit too.
The key to great word-of-mouth marketing is to ensure you’re giving the best service you possibly can. Then, you just need to give your customers the little push they need to recommend you to others. Try some of these tips out, and you’ll see just how quickly new customers become aware of what you do. Soon, you’ll have a business that’s rapidly expanding.
