Maximizing the New “Word of Mouth”
In our world (Digital Marketing Agency) we’d love to think that all online research either ends in an online purchase or no purchase, thus all would be measurable. The reality is we know the majority of buyers do their research online and then buy the item through another channel e.g. by phone, at a retail outlet etc.
“Word of mouth” is the most popular influence on a purchase decision, previously it was “literally” word of mouth – before the internet – now we have social media websites to do that for us!?
BUT Social media isn’t just Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, there are a lot of other social networks some very specialist which should perhaps be considered.
In addition there are now a large number of product review sites. From a search perspective these sites aren’t just about getting your product talked about and rated here you will also find content on product rankings and performance. These should be considered high on your priorities especially if you are a local business. Of course do not forget that they are a place where there is often honest and specific feedback – DO NOT IGNORE.
1. Monitor Online Conversations About Your Products
Find out what people are saying about you. What are the most common concerns about your brand? What do people think is great about you? Tools, such as Brandwatch, are available to take the grunt work out of extracting data from the web.
2. Make Buying Online Easy
Talk to your customers and find out how the buying process can be improved. Use incentives to get people to buy online. Perhaps your product is just not suited to online purchase?
3. Get Tactical with Search
Use the search engines to your advantage. A couple of example tactics are:
- Google Adwords – Put your testimonials in the ad copy, with an incentive to buy online.
- Change your keyword strategy – Target keywords that include the brand name and words like ratings, reviews, etc. Also use on competitive brands (the word-of-mouth research will clue you in to your competitive advantage, which you can use right in the ad copy).
- AdWords seller rating extensions: Managed from your Google Merchant Center account, you can show searchers you are a trusted company right in the search results.
- Product availability: If you’re a bricks and mortar retailer, you can set up a data feed to dynamically update your product inventory right in the search results.
The social media platform is here to stay and is a great, even though complex, channel to market.
