Word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools for your business. The best thing about a recommendation by word of mouth is that it doesn’t have to cost anything if you don’t want it to.
This effective form of marketing works well for most businesses but is particularly successful in a setting where services and/or products are on show for all to see, such as a salon.
Get the Most from Word of Mouth Marketing
Sometimes you need to spend a little to make a little. So with this in mind, there are ways that you can improve what people say about your business. Think about ways in which you can offer clients incentives to recommend your services. Ask them to leave online reviews for you, write testimonials for your website or social media platform or post a comment about a treatment to help you spread the word to others. In return, you can offer them a discount, voucher or loyalty points.
In order for your clients to want to leave good reviews and feedback about your business and services, you must ensure that what you’re offering is second to none and beats the local competition. It can be highly beneficial to ask some of your more regular clients for honest feedback on how things could be improved. Take any feedback on board and take steps to make changes in order to make a difference and drive the business forward.
Create Brand Ambassadors
By building trust with your clients, you are essentially creating brand ambassadors that are willing to share products or services with their network i.e. friends, family and colleagues. Statistics show that people are four times more likely to use a service when recommended by someone that they know, so it’s important to make sure you’re providing only the best for your clients.
Getting Started with Word of Mouth Marketing
1. Know your brand
The first thing you need to do before using word of mouth marketing tactics is to know your brand and services thoroughly. As a small business owner, you should ideally already have a strong understanding of this but ask yourself the following:
- What is your brand?
- What does your business do?
- How can it help people?
- What are your values?
Having in-depth knowledge of your brand and its ‘mission’; what you are all about. This can help you present your products and services in a way that effectively reaches your clients.
2. Research your competition
Being aware of your competitors is something that you should be interested in anyway as it’s a necessary step to stay ahead of them. You need to understand your industry and, to put it bluntly, find ways to be better than them. Think about the following:
- How are they different from you and how can you benefit from this?
- Are there any weaknesses you can capitalise on?
- Are their clients of a similar demographic to yours?
Competitor analysis allows you to strengthen your own word-of-mouth marketing tactics.
3. Know and define your audience
One of the most important steps to implementing successful word of mouth marketing tactics is to thoroughly understand your audience. Getting to know your target group will help you determine what they like and don’t like. Then you can build your marketing strategy and services around those preferences, encouraging more potential clients to step through your door.
Be the Best You Can Be
In order for your clients to talk about your salon in a positive light, take measures to ensure you are offering the best service. This includes everything from the actual service to the friendliness and engagement of your staff and everything in between. Therefore, every aspect of your business has to be great for people to want to share a recommendation with friends.
