“82% (of marketers) use word-of-mouth marketing to increase their brand awareness, but 43% expect word-of-mouth marketing to improve their direct sales.”
You’ve done the work to ensure your Google+ profile is current, and you have a steady stream of good reviews, now it’s time to capture the Word of Mouth referrals coming to your website. As I mentioned in my last email, you can capture a much larger portion of your Word of Mouth referrals by turning your website into a 24/7 sales person that is constantly engaging new website visitors with a compelling offer. What do I mean?
Well, you have to design your website so that it will pro-actively offer help, capturing your potential customers’ email addresses in exchange for a reward that gives them a reason to try your business. In turn, you will use that email address to deliver a reward in the form of a compelling offer that provides value to your potential customer.
Most often, rewards are presented in the form of a “lightbox”. A lightbox is a window that appears when a first time visitor arrives on your website or takes a certain action on your site that prompts a pop-up to appear, presenting them with an offer.
Remember, not just any offer will do for your reward. At boomtime, we put considerable effort into crafting great offers with each of our clients. You should spend time creating your reward, taking into account who your customers are and what they value about your business. Ultimately, the type of reward you offer depends on your business. There are two general categories most rewards will fall into:Â Information Rewards and Value Rewards.
Information rewards show off your expertise, demonstrating a solution to your prospective customer’s problem. For example, an accounting firm can provide a free report, 2017 Tax Guide for Small Business.
Value rewards provide a tangible value for the potential customer. A restaurant can offer a coupon (free lunch entree when you bring a friend!).
Your prospective customer’s email address IS valuable – that’s why it is only fair that you give them something of value in exchange for that email address. Remember, your website visitors will arrive at your site because they have a need. They have a problem that needs to be solved and they are ready to take action. Whether they need professional services or they are looking for a new place to try for lunch, your offer should solve their problem. When you have a compelling offer that hits the mark and presents the right solution, many more potential customers will be happy to give you their email address.
It’s simple! A more compelling offer results in more potential customers claiming that offer and more new customers trying out your business.
At this point in the process, you’ve gotten the attention of your potential customer and they have volunteered their information in exchange for a compelling offer. This is where most businesses stop, being content with getting their promotion into the hands of more of their website visitors, but it is only the beginning of the process. In the next post, I explain how you should communicate with those on your email list and use marketing automation to increase repeat sales.