Your customers who have an extreme experience when using your products or services can and will share their stories with fellow consumers. This word-of-mouth exchange happens when the experience was very good or very bad – seldom in the middle. When good, they will even recommend the company over other competitors. When not as good, it can really be valuable for you to listen to complaints and determine if there is room for improvement. Interestingly, businesses can use design and print partners like Minuteman Press Calgary Shepard to capitalize on the word-of-mouth advertising they receive – even for those non-extreme customers.
Why is word-of-mouth marketing important in 2021?
In one word: Trust. Word-of-mouth is the primary factor of over half of all purchasing decisions in the past year. If you want to influence people to buy from you, you need to make word-of-mouth considerations as part of your marketing strategy. Trust comes in three ways: noise, skepticism and connectivity.
People face an overwhelming amount of ad noise every day. To avoid being overwhelmed by it, people seek out the opinions and impressions of others in their networks. This allows them to properly decide what’s worth paying attention to.
People want products from trusted companies, but they are often skeptical of marketing ads. But they are far less skeptical of their friends and family and their opinions. They also prefer to consider recommendations and reviews from your existing customers and your brand advocates/ambassadors.
Consumers are connected to each other now more than ever. Word-of-mouth existed long before the internet and social media was ever conceived. But, with so many people connected through social media platforms and online communities, any news has the potential for virality. Experiences – good and bad – travels at an unprecedented pace and scale.
Brand Awareness Spreads Through Word-of-Mouth
Word-of-mouth marketing doesn’t stop after a single interaction between friends. Once someone spreads information to a new person, then that individual will spread it in turn—and on and on. Even if these conversations don’t lead to purchases, they bring brands into awareness. When a company or product is widely discussed, then their reputation builds as they are exposed to more channels where referral marketing is present.
How can you use print to help your company’s word-of-mouth experiences?
Below are 6 inexpensive ways you can use print to foster positive word-of-mouth marketing for your business can include such things as:
- Testimonials
Companies can gather testimonials from clients with positive reviews to incorporate into their advertising campaigns. These printed or digital word-of-mouth reviews can be printed on various stationery or used as social media posts. Using consumer testimonials can amplify past client opinions to prospects and new clients – particularly those that support the business. This activity can increase the number of people who are influenced by their review. - Flyers/Brochures
Printed advertisements, such as professionally printed flyers or brochures, can display printed or digital word-of-mouth testimonials to reinforce the features and benefits of a product or service. Adding testimonials written by satisfied customers can help build a favorable reputation for the business to those who are handed the ads. - Customized forms
Marketers can use print shops to make customized forms that their clients can complete when visiting your company. Much of this activity has moved online but if you have a business with in-person clients, having success story forms available to be filled in, can allow valuable testimonials to be hand-delivered directly to your business. And, in turn can be printed and distributed to future clients. - Coupons
We can help design your forms to include coupons offering exclusive promotions like discounts as incentives. This in-hand solution can sway the perception of your company to submit reviews of your company. - Direct Mail
Whether it is coupons or flyers or a handwritten postcard, these can also be mailed. - Promotional Gifts
You can send personalized corporate gifts to clients with positive testimonials to maintain their perception of the company. Showing appreciation for the kind word-of-mouth reviews may influence customers to continue recommending the business to other people while promoting continued loyalty towards the brand.
Post-Press
Ready to get the word-of-mouth marketing ball rolling for your business? Minuteman Press Calgary Shepard is your one stop shop for everything you need to make an impression this summer. Contact us for a quote today!
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