Are you struggling to get your brand out there? Or, even if you think you're going all-out in marketing... you're still not getting the best results.
You see, it takes hard work to have many people discover your brand. Let alone purchase from you because they don't trust your brand yet. But here's the good news...
It's not impossible to solve this problem. Because there's something you can do about it... and that's through recommendation marketing.
Are you curious about it? Hold tight, because we'll discuss...
- What is recommendation marketing?
- What are its benefits?
- How to have a strong recommendation marketing strategy?
And after reading this blog, you'll definitely include this in your marketing strategy! So, are you ready? Let's start!
What is recommendation marketing?
Recommendation marketing is a great way to get your product or service out there.
It involves a network of people who can endorse or recommend your product to their friends and family. We can also refer to this as "word-of-mouth marketing."
This means your customers are the ones who will recommend your brand or products to your target customers.
This is an excellent strategy because potential customers or prospects trust people who have already transacted with you.
Now, you're probably thinking...
What are its benefits, anyway?
Before discussing how to work with this marketing strategy, you need to learn the benefits.
1. Build trust
Would you buy from an untrustworthy eCommerce brand? Not when no one can vouch for them, right? Because online shopping is a bit risky, especially without seeing and feeling the product.
But if your existing customers talk about your brand... you can gain the trust of your target market. And that will play a significant role in their purchase decisions.
You can also...
2. Increase brand awareness
This is a powerful tool because it leverages word-of-mouth to reach a larger audience.
If your customers recommend your brand to people who haven't heard of you... That's one way to increase brand awareness.
Imagine this... Many people still haven't heard about your eCommerce brand. But if your customers talk about you in gatherings or on their social channels, more people will discover you.
And, of course, this is one of the best ingredients for this marketing strategy is...
3. Enhance customer loyalty
Loyal customers will stay with your brand and be willing to talk about your products. Sometimes, for free... just because they're in awe of your products and customer service.
That's why this marketing strategy is a fantastic way to foster customer loyalty. You can reward them and be thankful for recommending your brand.
So, I know you're already curious to know...
How to implement a strong recommendation marketing strategy?
Here are some ways to make this strategy fool-proof! First, you can...
1. Utilize online communities
Online communities are filled with people wanting to know more about a specific topic.
For example, Facebook groups. You can find a relevant Facebook group based on your eCommerce niche. Then, you can join the discussions and promote your website.
But here's the thing... You need to see if the moderators allow promotions. If not, you or your customers can do it subtly. Or, you can create your own community or group.
You can also have your customers promote your brand on these online communities and talk about their experience with your brand.
The key to utilizing online communities is to find the right ones to join. Why? Because you need the right audience to discover your brand.
Another way to have more people recommending your brand is to...
2. Double down on customer experience
If you want more people to recommend your brand, you should give them a memorable experience. So, you need to make sure to:
- Personalize customer journey
- Use customer data to produce relevant content
- Offer excellent customer service
Customer experience can make or break your business. Your customers want a seamless transaction with your eCommerce brand.
That's why you need to improve customer experience to ensure the overall success of your marketing plan.
3. Encourage your customers to talk about your brand
Public relations, media features, blog posts or articles, and other brand exposures are fantastic ways to get discovered. But the customers talking about you? Priceless.
So, you should encourage customers to talk about your brand more. You can do this by offering incentives to customers who will recommend your brand.
For example, referral codes. Loyal customers can have their own codes and invite their friends and family to purchase from your eCommerce website.
This is an excellent way to have customers recommend your products to other prospects. You can also encourage them to leave customer reviews and reward them.
After that, make sure you keep track of the success of your marketing efforts and continue to optimize as needed.
Now is the time to...
Give customers reasons to talk about your brand!
Recommendation marketing is a powerful tool you can leverage as long as you give customers more reasons to talk about your brand.
So, keep in mind to:
- Utilize relevant communities
- Offer the best customer experience
- Encourage customers to talk about your products
Doing so will have this strategy work for you like magic! And to strengthen this, here are...
Ricky Hayes
