Is word of mouth dead?

Premium Sales Consultancy

Word of mouth used to be everything! Remember those glorious days where you could hit the golf course with your network? Joining your friends and colleagues after work for an end of day beer? You would trade stories and experiences, ask for advice or guidance on business problems.

Those days seem like a world away now. Word of mouth used to be one of the best ways to win new business.

If word of mouth is truly dead, how do you get your name out there?

In my opinion, word of mouth isn’t dead, but people share their experiences in different ways. But, if as a business you relied on word of mouth, how do you adapt to this ever-changing landscape?

Over 90 per cent of buyers say that online reviews influence their purchasing decisions

Your online presence is more important than ever. You need to manage your online reputation. Your customers are your megaphone. If a customer has a bad experience, you can guarantee that everyone will hear about it, but if they have a great one, you cannot guarantee they will share that with anyone

Ask them

Start by asking your customers to write honestly about their experiences with you and give them links to two or three review sites that really matter to you (Facebook, Google etc.)

If you make this a systematic and consistent practice, you should get a steady stream of testimonials. Not all of these will necessarily be positive. However, take the negative feedback seriously. Even if you don’t agree with the feedback, whoever left it felt that way for a reason, so respond promptly, appropriately and publicly so that potential customers can see how you handle these situations.

Pick up the phone

Some people think that picking up the phone is too old school. I hear all the excuses ‘people don’t like being cold called’ and ‘people are too busy to take a sales call’.

Sometimes, the old way is the best way. Think about it. Lots of people are working at home, with less contact with the outside world right now. We have found that when home working, people have welcomed our phone calls and have been more than happy to have a chat, so bite the bullet and pickup that phone.

LinkedIn is your best friend

LinkedIn is one of the best and most efficient ways to get your brand out to millions of people. It is also a great way for people to spread things by word of mouth...or word of typing. I see countless people asking their LinkedIn networks for recommendations of companies/ people to use for specific services. Create yourself a LinkedIn page and create a company one. Connect with target companies on there, invite them to follow your company LinkedIn page and make sure you post consistent, engaging and informative content on there.

In short, I don’t think word of mouth is dead. I do think that people now share their opinions in different ways and a lot of that is done online.

So, get savvy, put together a plan and stick to it.

If you would like to find out more about how to spread the word about your business, or need help to put together a company brand plan, get in touch on Kate@premium-sales.com