ARE YOU STILL RELYING ON WORD OF MOUTH?
Word of mouth. We hear it a lot.
‘Word of mouth works for us, so we don’t really need anything else.’
‘We know everyone there is to know in our industry…we’ve been around long enough.’
‘We’ve never had a real website or fancy brochures or wasted money on advertising.’
It’s traditional, it’s usually free and it is often the way businesses started out and grew in the early days.
But in an increasingly competitive marketplace – even word of mouth has its limitations.
Don’t get us wrong, word of mouth is a fantastic and usually highly effective (and free) marketing tool. We’ve been in the sales & marketing game long enough to know it cannot and should not be relied upon. Particularly if you are looking to grow your business, or at least keep your head above water. Whilst your busy relying on word of mouth, your competition is out their buttering up your target audience behind your back.
Or let’s think of it this way:
You provide your product or service to a customer. They benefit significantly. So much so you even contribute to their competitive advantage.
How likely are they to actively promote your products and services to others?
They aren’t because it is their interest to keep you all to themselves.
And this is not the only risk to relying solely on word of mouth.
4 REASONS YOU SHOULDN’T RELY ON WORD OF MOUTH AS YOUR ONLY MARKETING TOOL.
- You may know a lot of people and businesses in your industry. But both companies and employees come and go all of the time. If you don’t hold an active database of decision maker contact information for companies you would like to see on your customer base then you are limiting your audience and therefore your potential to win new business.
- When a potential customer searches on Google for your product or service, they won’t find you if your website isn’t up to scratch. 67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally. Being searchable is essential.
- If you’re not using marketing tools such as email, social media or even direct mail, to tell companies about what you do. That new piece of equipment you’ve just invested in or the new management system you’ve just implemented, they probably won’t know! And therefore won’t think of you when they need quotes on a new job.
- Business is all about relationships. If you’re not picking up the phone and getting to know your potential customers. You’re missing opportunities to gain their confidence in your capabilities and the benefits of using you ahead of the competition.
Momentum’s Final Thought
While word of mouth is undoubtedly one of the most invaluable marketing tools, our recommendation is that it should be amplified using alternative communication tools in order to stay competitive in the current economic climate.
If you are not in regular communication with your target audience you are not putting yourself in the right place to pick up the pieces when a supplier lets them down, or when they are looking to enhance their supplier base because work is going through the roof.
Our range of marketing communication channels (and not just word of mouth) to suit your business, budget and audience, will put you in the right place at the right time to achieve results. And we can help.
Explore our range of marketing communication platforms and get in touch for more on how we can cater to your requirements.