Many small businesses rely almost entirely on word of mouth referrals for new business. People are much more likely to trust a colleague, friend or relative over what a business has to say about their products or services. Social media, when used properly and consistently, can help small businesses increase referrals. Since social media makes it easier for people to connect one-to-one, it makes it easier for people to see what other people have to say about a company. Besides helping increase reputation as an expert in your field, social media also provides the opportunity to increase the conversations that people are having online about your company (which, if positive, can lead to an increase in referrals). Here are some ways social media can help increase word of mouth referrals.
- Increase Awareness – If you rely entirely on word of mouth referrals, then the only new business you get will be through your current customers. While there’s nothing wrong with growing slowly, and referrals are the best kind of business lead, social media can help make more people aware of your services. If more people are aware of your existence, they’ll be more likely to ask their network about you for recommendations (and may even refer you even if they haven’t used your services).
- Be More Top-of-Mind – The more often you interact with someone, the more likely it is that you will be considered if someone is in need of your products or services. Likewise, the more interactions someone has had with you, the more likely they will be to consider referring you to their network. Social media can help you increase interactions with your referral network by connecting with them more often than is possible in person.
- Increase Reputation – People may not realize just how much you know about your industry or niche if they only have a chance to have one interaction or conversation with you. Social media gives you the opportunity to consistently help people by answering questions, providing support and creating helpful content which can help improve your reputation as an expert.
- Improve Customer Service – Every business has customers who have a problem or a question. The more available you are to address problems or questions, the more satisfied people are (even if they initially had a negative experience). People are talking about your business, whether or not you have a social media presence. Being active on social media gives customers another opportunity to resolve a problem or have a question answered before voice their issues to their network. Even if a problem is posted on a review site or a blog, monitoring for your brand names can help you be aware of these posts so you can reach out to the customer who had a problem and help solve it — people realize that problems arise, but they want to see that a company cares about the customer.
- Improve Loyalty – The best way to increase referrals from your current customers is to have happy customers who are loyal to your organization. Social media can give you an opportunity to reward loyal customers, while at the same time making that reward obvious to non-customers. Social media can also help you track (and give back) for referrals. For example, Foursquare allows businesses to post offers or specials to customers after so many check-ins (or visits) and it also allows businesses to see who their loyal customers are. Most small businesses know who a lot of their customers are, but it may not always be obvious who they are or how loyal they are.
- Build Relationships – People buy from people. People are more likely to buy from a company if they know someone there. Social media helps humanize an organization by providing an opportunity for customers to connect one-to-one with an employee. Social media also provides opportunities to continue to build relationships that have been formed in person and/or the opportunity to meet people online that you may later meet in person.
How do you use social media to increase word of mouth referrals for your business?
(photo by coolio-claire, on Flickr)