The best type of endorsement is the one that comes from a potential customer’s friends, family and coworkers.
In fact, according to Nielsen, 84% of people worldwide rank recommendations from friends and family as the most influential factors when making a purchase!
Whether it’s finding a specific shampoo, a restaurant to eat out in, or the best tradie in town, Word-of-mouth (WOM) is one of the cheapest -and most persuasive – forms of advertising out there, and it’s crucial that businesses keep on top of it.
And tradespeople are no different!
A huge part of any tradie’s reputation is built on their history of successful jobs and feedback of previous clients. As such building positive word-of-mouth takes on a special level of importance in growing a tradie’s business.
And with so much of our lives being lived online nowadays, digital word-of-mouth has become a powerful tool that can’t be ignored if you want your website to successfully convert passers-by into paying customers.
But how do you build digital word-of-mouth anyway?
We’re glad you asked! Today we’ll be going over how tradies such as yourself can build positive buzz online and get more phone calls. Buckle up, because this one’s going to be a long one!
Turning tradie talk into conversions
Whether it’s online or offline, the first part of building positive word-of-mouth is giving people something to talk about.
There are many things a tradie’s customers can talk about to build positive WOM to grow their business and establish their brand. Your customers might talk about:
- The customer experience
- Service performance
- Your speed and efficiency
People love talking about their good experiences, whether it’s with your service, your demeanour or even the convenience you offer. Here are some techniques you can use to generate a bit of positive digital buzz about your business that are highly effective in our experience.
Put reviews front and centre
As a tradie, the proof is in the pudding. No-one’s going to call tradie nowadays unless they’re confident they can deliver the goods, so to speak.
Good reviews and recommendations from your customers and the people they know are some of the most compelling forms of word of mouth out there.
One way to build positive buzz is to put your glowing reviews front and centre on your website or social media. Customers aren’t dumb – they know that real experiences are something more worthy of their time than ads.
So when they see a real review from a real person talking about what a great job you did, they are much more likely to be convinced!
Create content people want to talk about
At iformat, our mantra is “content is king!”
Why? Because quality content on your website, blog or social media is a great way of generating buzz and positive word of mouth. However, it also takes work – you can’t just lazily string together a low-quality meme and expect to see clients start ringing!
Here’s how it works:
People like sharing high-quality content
People are social animals – that’s just the way we’re wired. If one of us sees something interesting and worth sharing, 9 times out of 10 we will.
This is where content comes in. Good web content gets people talking. Whether that’s because people found it funny, or entertaining, or enlightening, good content gets shared.
If you’re lucky, it might even go viral!
It makes your site more searchable
Here’s a tip: very few people go past the first handful of results when searching something online. That’s why you want your site to be one of them!
The search engines are constantly updating their page results to make sure that people are being redirected to sites which best answer their questions. And a regular stream of good content is essential if you want your site to be highly visible on Google.
Put your experience at the forefront
Content allows you to put your experience and knowledge forward in a way that a billboard or newspaper ad wouldn’t. Many of our tradie clients maintain blogs and social media accounts which let them to demonstrate their insider knowledge.
For instance, your might respond to a recent development in your trade, or a plumber might give advice on what potential customers can do when their toilet clogs.
These informative blogs and posts ripe for sharing on social media and online – not to mention, they also convey your experience, passion and skill through your insights and tone!
Get the help that you need
Getting started building strong, positive digital word-of-mouth can be a daunting prospect. Just where do you start? How should you go about it? After all, you’re a plumber, not a digital marketer!
That’s where we come in.
If you need help building positive digital buzz about your plumbing, mechanical or electrical business, you’ve come to the right place! At iformat, we’ve helped heaps of different tradies ranging from sparkies to plumbers get more conversions, more calls and more jobs.
You can read more of our recent success stories here.
Do you want our help building positive digital buzz for your business that raises awareness, generates leads and ultimately converts them into sales? Contact us today.