1. Builds customer trust
2. Increases conversions
3. It is free
4. Creates brand awareness
5. Boosts customer loyalty

According to the best digital marketing podcast in the Philippines, word of mouth marketing is one of the most essential and effective yet overlooked forms of marketing. So what exactly are the five benefits of word-of-mouth marketing?

What Is Word Of Mouth Marketing?

Let’s say you buy a product you love. You love the product so much that you talk to your friends about it. As your friends trust your recommendation, they are more compelled to make the same purchase. This is what word-of-mouth marketing is.

At its core, word-of-mouth marketing is a form of marketing wherein customer conversations about a brand are strategically influenced. To put it simply, word-of-mouth marketers seek to spread positive brand conversations with customer’s peers organically.

If word of mouth marketing is done right, it proves to be one of the most effective marketing strategies you can deploy as an entrepreneur. Here’s why:

Builds Customer Trust

Customers face an overwhelming amount of advertisements daily. Everywhere you look — whether on social media platforms, billboards, websites, television commercials, applications, and even storefronts — there is some form of advertisement about a brand’s products or services. Nowadays, customers want products that carry more weight than paid advertisements.

Customers prefer products that are reliable to make them feel comfortable with purchasing. Word-of-mouth marketing is the most reliable form of marketing that is driven by authentic customer experiences. When other customers give positive feedback about a brand, it becomes more reliable. The unbiased feedback helps persuade other customers to seek a brand positively.

One can say that word-of-mouth marketing is a stealth marketing technique because you do not directly influence a customer’s purchasing decision. Instead, customers react to your brand according to trusted peers.

Increases Conversions

Trust sells. Given that eight out of ten customers (83%) trust the recommendations of friends and family and two-thirds of respondents (66%) trust online reviews, employing word-of-mouth marketing strategies increases conversions.

Word-of-mouth makes it more likely for customers to buy a product. When customers hear about a reliable brand through word-of-mouth marketing, they are more likely to make a quick purchasing decision instead of analyzing other unreliable brands.

It Is Free

Word-of-mouth marketing is absolutely free. With word-of-mouth marketing, you don’t typically pay customers to share their experience about your brand with other people. It is an organic and authentic experience. If a customer loves your product, they will likely share it to their peers without any cost.

Did you know that word-of-mouth marketing is more effective than paid ads as it generates five times more sales? The best part is, word-of-mouth marketing costs nothing while boosting sales activities. If a customer tells a family member that your brand has the best product, you absorb no cost, yet you benefit from the positive feedback in the long term.

Creates Brand Awareness

Word of mouth marketing does not stop after a single conversation between a customer and a peer. 23% of people talk about their favorite products to peers every day.

The idea behind word-of-mouth marketing is to give customers something positive to discuss to enhance brand awareness. Once a customer spreads brand information to a peer, then that peer will spread it to another peer, and so on. Even if these brand conversations do not necessarily lead to immediate purchases, they create brand awareness. Your brand becomes more incentivized through referral marketing.

In today’s era marked by digital advancement, social media has become a highly conducive platform for word-of-mouth marketing. Even one post from one peer can generate massive brand awareness.

Boosts Customer Loyalty

While word-of-mouth can be a powerful tool, it can also be the downfall of businesses. If customers can share a positive brand experience, they also spread a negative one. This can adversely impact your target customers. So make sure you deliver only positive brand experiences!

You can use word-of-mouth marketing by encouraging satisfied customers to share their positive experiences with others. When you deliver great products and services, you will have a community of loyal customers. These customers are not only more likely to make repeat purchases, but they can also act as “brand advocates” on various marketing platforms.

Key Takeaway

The benefits of word-of-mouth marketing cannot be overlooked. It is a free-of-cost strategy that establishes your brand as trustworthy which generates more sales in the long run. But remember, if your products and services are not good, word-of-mouth marketing tactics will not be effective. Make sure to create meaningful customer connections. Give them the motivation to see your brand as reliable.

If you want to learn more about marketing tactics, tune in to the best digital marketing podcast in the Philippines — Leadership Stack. We invite guests from all over the world every week to share time-tested marketing tips for entrepreneurs. Click here to start listening!

The post 5 Benefits of Word-of-Mouth Marketing appeared first on Leadership Stack.

1. Start hiring for targeted behaviors
2. Leverage your employees as panel interviewers
3. Have effective reference checks
4. Showcase your culture
5. Build on your talent pipeline

Business leaders need to recognize that hiring is more than just reviewing resumes and holding interviews. It is a step-by-step process that involves finding and hiring the ideal team member in your organization. Knowing the ways to improve the hiring process is the most critical thing needed to build the dream team.

From recruitment to onboarding, there are tons of hiring factors that determine a company’s growth as well as failure. Keep in mind that having an ineffective hiring process can attract wrong hires and hurt the overall productivity and morale of your present employees. In the long run, this can result in losing customers as well.

If you are searching for ideal team members anytime soon, here are five ways to improve your hiring process. Read on.

Start Hiring For Targeted Behaviors

Many companies make the mistake of conducting generic interviews that provide little-to-no insight into the candidate’s specific attributes. By prioritizing targeted behaviors over expertise and technical skills, you can build a dynamic team. Think about what attitudes you want your employees to have.

Consider hiring candidates that are humble, hungry, and smart. Humble candidates will acknowledge their weaknesses as something real and this will help you know if they have a genuine attitude. Furthermore, when you hire hungry candidates, remember that it is not about participation alone.

Candidates should be able to display examples of sacrifice and difficulty, which indicates they have a hungry work ethic. Lastly, smart candidates are introspective and understand what other people are feeling. These candidates recognize their pet peeves and strengths or weaknesses. Given that they are self-aware and have self-control, they are ideal team players who value empathy.

Take note that while the hiring tools you use will change constantly, the concept of hiring for attitude will not. Targeting behaviors help you hire employees in the right mindset to learn and contribute to the improvement of your company.

Leverage Your Employees As Panel Interviewers

Your current employees are the ones who will work directly with new hires. It is only right that you leverage on them as recruiters and ask them to take part in conducting interviews.

Consider a panel interview wherein the candidate will answer questions from the group of employees. It would be best to select panel interviewees who will routinely interact with the candidate chosen to fill the job vacancy and who know the organization and its culture as well. For example, an interview panel for a marketing position may consist of a project manager, designer, and marketing chief.

A panel interview helps in reducing bad hires because the interviewers immediately get to assess how the candidate deals with different people. Each interviewer also brings a different set of helpful questions, which improves the process. They can ask questions that can assess how a potential hire will be going about their daily tasks.

Have Effective Reference Checks

Beyond the actual interview, there are many ways to improve the hiring process, with one of the most effective being reference checks. Many employers contact an applicant’s previous employers or schools to learn more about their educational and employment background.

It is important that the reference does not feel extra cautious about the call or feel in any way that he or she is holding the future of the applicant. Employers should explain that the purpose of the call is not only to ask if the candidate is a good employee but rather to determine if the candidate will thrive in the job. References should ask as your consultants, ensuring the candidate is a good fit for your company.

Showcase Your Culture

Nowadays, company culture is everything. It’s a fact that applicants are not interested in monetary compensation and benefits alone. They care about whether the company they work for serves a purpose and they want to fit with the rest of the team. That being said, it is important to showcase your company culture early on in the hiring process.

Incorporate your culture and core values on your hiring pages. You can also feature your mission and vision on the company’s website page. Sharing all these will help applicants understand what it is like working at your company, which makes it easier for you to better the recruitment procedure.

Build On Your Talent Pipeline

A talent pipeline refers to a group of candidates who are ready to fill a position. By sourcing candidates before roles open, you will have more time to engage with them earlier. This reduces the time and cost for hiring as the groundwork has been laid beforehand.

You can build on your talent pipeline by identifying high turnover roles, keeping in touch with past candidates, developing your referral programs, and searching for passive candidates.

Key Takeaway

The future success of your company heavily relies on your hiring practices. This is why it’s crucial to know the ways to improve your hiring process.

Need more business tips? Tune in to the best business podcast in the Philippines — the Leadership Stack. We invite well-seasoned business speakers — both local and international — every week to provide entrepreneurs insightful tips for every aspect of their business. Click here to start listening to the Leadership Stack Podcast!

The post 5 Ways to Improve Your Hiring Process appeared first on Leadership Stack.