Just like a contact number is essential for a business, so is a professional website. No company can survive in today’s corporate environment without a website that speaks for the business.
Promotion through social media, newsletters, Google ads, and other forms of advertising is essential. But what it usually does is lead people to the website where they will make a purchase. They work as the top of the so-called marketing funnel, with the website residing at the bottom.
Even outside the marketing funnel, the simplest and most direct type of promotion is a website that can provide word-of-mouth publicity on its own.
A website describes your business and your brand. It is also the perfect place for potential customers to discover your products and services and to learn more about who you are and what you do.
With the help of a professional website, your company can gain brand recognition, sales, and credibility without spending any money on ads and other promotional material. Word-of-mouth still works in our digital era!
A website adds credibility
The first thing most prospective customers do before choosing to buy from your brand is to check your website. Whether on our phones, tablets, or desktops, our first instinct is to browse a website to get to know a business and understand its purpose.
Because first impressions matter, a professional website that reflects your brand and philosophy is essential. This means a domain name (URL) that represents your line of work or your business name, a well-designed website, and a good display of your products or services.
A professional website looks good
Customers are astute at gauging a company just with one look at their website. Professional websites should be original and creative; their look should reflect their business and its values. The chosen colors should match the company logo and brand to give a consistent look throughout the website.
Remember: it only takes a glance for prospective customers to evaluate your business and make an instant decision on whether to stay or move on.
Reviews help word-of-mouth
Reviews build trust. Studies have repeatedly proven that people rely on online reviews, treating them as word-of-mouth recommendations. In surveys, a whopping 88% of potential buyers trust online reviews.
By publishing reviews on your website, you add a crucial trust factor. People will make up their minds about your products or services and form their opinion about your business. Once they do, they will tell others about it.
A website is a powerful resource for accurate information
Remember the bulky phone directories with thousands of pages? Probably not, since businesses now display their information online. There is no need to go through hundreds of pages to find the information you require. With one click, customers and clients can find everything they need on your website.
A website works on a 24/7 basis to display all your products, services, opening hours, contact details, physical shops, and other necessary information.
But that’s not all it does.
A website can differentiate your business from your competitors
There is no better place than a website to show how exceptional you are compared to your competitors. You can share your processes, display your team, and highlight everything that makes you stand out from the competition.
Once people are convinced of your uniqueness, they will share their opinion with others, creating a virtuous word-of-mouth cycle.
A website improves your brand recognition
A website shows your brand
A website offers a great opportunity to show what you stand for. Businesses have their own personality and people identify with that.
For example, customers perceive Apple as sophisticated and Amazon as competent. These companies have painstakingly built their brands, and their websites reflect that by using the appropriate colors, shapes, and fonts.
A website creates an inclusive brand image
Help people remember your business by providing them with an inclusive image of your brand. By being consistent in your design, you are reinforcing your brand.
Repeat your brand and logo throughout your website. Display your logo as often as you can and use graphics that represent your business. For instance, ask your team members to carry items that have your logo printed on them when posing for photos that will go on the website. Make people talk about your brand and recall who you are: that’s the best way for them to engage in word-of-mouth marketing.
A website shows the team behind your business
The more digital we become, the more people want to know the faces behind a product or service. Customers want to know who prepares their food, builds their house, or designs their garden. Putting a face to a service makes it more unique and personalized, letting people identify with your team members.
There are several ways of displaying your team. Choose the right one for your company to make your business stand out.
Infographics, podcasts, photos, videos, and other digital material uplift your website and display your philosophy and what your brand stands for. Videos featuring “how-to” or “behind-the-scenes” are great ways of humanizing your brand.
People love to peek behind the curtain. Let them see what’s behind a brand’s façade and share with them the small things that make your brand unique.
A website leads to faster and easier conversions
A website gives you sales
Adding an e-commerce component to your website means leading clients and customers directly to your store.
Many people love making purchases online, at their own pace and time; a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent EY study concludes that, even after the pandemic, people will continue to shop online: a full 53% of consumers acknowledge that their shopping habits have changed in the last year. In related surveys, only 47% of consumers think they will go back to stores as a primary way of shopping. This represents a huge opportunity for online stores.
A website has helpful features to attract customers
Automatic billing, online scheduling, and website accounts are great ways to catch your customers’ attention and help them establish a relationship with your business. Such features can also hook your clients in the long run and turn them into returning customers.
Anything that makes customers’ lives easier, better, and more interesting is something they will appreciate—and share with others.
A website can change fast
One thing demonstrated by the pandemic is that consumers can change shopping habits in the space of months. Thankfully, you can edit a website even faster. Also, you don’t have to throw away anything, as you would with printed promotional material.
For example, the EY study cited above found that emerging consumer segments include a health-first, a planet-first, and a society-first segment. Crucially, none of these had clearly appeared until 2020. Depending on your products or services, you can identify your target audience and update your website accordingly, swiftly taking advantage of emerging trends.
A website will help you collect information about your customers
A website is a perfect place to get to know your customers. Capture precious data for future promotions, newsletters, and advertising. This is the best way to capture your audience and make them talk about your brand.
Customers will share your promotions and mention your business to their friends, relatives, and colleagues, thus promoting you through word-of-mouth.
A website helps with customer data and ad retargeting
Once you know your customers, use widely available tools to build an audience around them. Use tools like Google Analytics to check who visits your website. Google Analytics also provides you with crucial information regarding your visitors’ gender, location, income, and age.
Retargeting on Facebook and Google
Another way to target your audience is by using retargeting tools. These identify people visiting your website and those of your competitors, letting you retarget them with ads. You can also add a so-called Facebook pixel—a snippet of code that lets you track customers for ad retargeting purposes.
By retargeting customers on Facebook or Google, you increase awareness and drive leads. Most customers will only look at your website the first time they visit it. Few will buy from you immediately.
Retargeting reminds people of your presence and strengthens your brand. It takes up to seven times for people to register a new brand in their mind—i.e., you need to remind people of your promotion or brand up to seven times before they actually buy from you.
Once you have caught your visitors’ attention, they will mention you to their followers or share your posts and products on their social media.
Retargeting lets you connect with potential customers through your website. It also encourages them to recommend your business to their social circle.
People are bombarded with new information daily. Your message needs to stand out to be noticeable. And it needs to be interesting so that it is shared.
A website improves email campaigns and loyalty programs
A website is a perfect place to strengthen your relationship with your customers.
Use your website for Email campaigns
Gather email addresses from your website visitors and remind them of your brand by sending promotions—particularly targeted promotions such as tailored newsletters that fit their individual needs.
Emails are a great way to open a communication channel to your customers. Send one or two newsletters per month to get in touch with them and entice them with your latest news and offers. Lead people back to your e-commerce store to maximize the email’s efficiency by encouraging desirable shopping behaviors.
Emails can be shared
As a bonus, it is very easy for people to forward an interesting email to their friends. If your promotion is attractive, customers will want to let their friends know, letting your email work as a word-of-mouth promotion.
By making your promotion time-sensitive, you urge people to share your email immediately rather than miss out on a particularly attractive discount.
You can add loyalty programs
Gifts and presents make everyone feel special and unique. People love being rewarded for their loyalty. By offering loyalty programs to your customers, you are connecting them to your brand so that they don’t go to your competitors.
Loyalty programs also offer word-of-mouth opportunities. People will talk about how they got a discount or an extra gift because they stuck with your business.
Make your website a long-term promotional project
A website is a long-term project. Emails and loyalty programs add legitimacy to your business by showing you value your customers. They are also a testament to your company’s desire to build an honest and lasting relationship with them.
Likewise, by joining a mailing list, your customers expect to receive promotions, discounts, and offers on a regular basis. The more you build on this relationship, the more they will discuss it with their friends and colleagues.
Make your website a word-of-mouth promotional tool
Professional websites are the perfect means to communicate your brand to customers and clients and make them talk about you. A website offers you the necessary space to expand on your business features and create a lasting relationship with your customers.
Word-of-mouth starts with customers finding value and quality in your website. They will forward your promotions and emails, become ambassadors of your brand, and advertise you to their social media friends and followers.
By using everything technology has to offer, you can capture your audience and use word-of-mouth to your advantage. Focus on a good website strategy, and increase your sales in the most budget-friendly way!
Let your website do the talking! Contact KCV Strategic online or call now (913) 717-6222 and improve your word-of-mouth publicity with a professional website.
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