Some businesses definitely have a word of mouth strategy. Look at the front of this shop in London, and the reaction it created on a foggy Tuesday afternoon…

People were crowding around to take selfies, then sharing them online. But the main thing I noticed was how many conversations were taking place, and would be had in future about these beautiful shop fronts. What’s my point here?

Word of mouth marketing generates over two-thirds of most business leads.

But the vast majority of businesses do not have a word of mouth strategy. We spend hours, weeks and months on social media, content, Google Ads, email marketing.

We neglect our single biggest source of leads; good old-fashioned word of mouth.

The stats*

• Millennials are 115% more influenced by word of mouth than advertising
• 41% of people prefer word of mouth to social media
• 83% of people say word of mouth makes them more likely to purchase a product or service
• 30% of people make recommendations every week, 55% every month

*(source: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/word-of-mouth/statistics-about-word-of-mouth/)

Why do most businesses neglect word of mouth?

I don’t think businesses are to blame, here. It’s not laziness. We simply don’t realise the sheer impact of word of mouth, because we’re deluged with the value of digital all the time.

The statistics reveal that a good third of people prefer word of mouth to social media referral. Especially younger, more savvy* (*sick of online nonsense) buyers.

If you don’t have a word of mouth strategy, don’t worry. There’s a simple way to put that right:

What you can do about it.

1. Listen to this podcast, in which Jay Baer talks about the key elements to a brilliant word of mouth strategy. He’s a really clever chap and it’s a nice listen, on the way to wherever you’re going.
2. Spend a few hours thinking about creating something remarkable, memorable yet reasonable for your business. Something that gets people talking, that shows you care, that makes your customer feel special, without creeping them out. This is your new, shiny word of mouth strategy.

What do I use to generate organic word of mouth for my business?

These two books are sent out completely free of charge.

We post them to our customers, and don’t ask for anything more.

Each book contains everything you need to sort your marketing out, and save yourself time.

How’s that for word of mouth?

Click here to get yours: