Boost Your Business With Word-of-mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing is an important part of any business, big or small. It not only piques people’s interest, but it can also result in a lifetime of loyalty through recommendations and referrals. Take it from these three industry professionals who have benefitted from word-of-mouth marketing.

Get Out Into the Community

As most of us know, life doesn’t always go according to plan. No one knows that better than Mike Lalonde, president of Blue Pine Enterprises. Lalonde woke up one day, went to work, had a disagreement with his boss, and went home unemployed. Instead of going home to sulk, he started his own business in less than 24 hours. How did he get clients? You guessed it: word of mouth marketing. 

“Every single day I just drove around and every jobsite I saw I stopped at, and met people, and handed out cards,” Lalonde says. “I started to get some business that way.” 

For any business, visibility makes all the difference. By actively engaging in the community and making his company’s presence known, people began to recognize Lalonde’s business and know his company’s name. Handing out business cards the ‘old-fashioned’ way is a great place to start a marketing strategy. Once you’ve got your feet off the ground, you can start slowly adding various social media. 

If you’re new to marketing, don’t be afraid to take it slow and learn as you go. By starting his own business from scratch, Lalonde learned valuable skills as he went. 

“Everything was just learn-as-you-go,” Lalonde says. “Even where to find work, and where to source work, and different publications, or different memberships you can join to get noticed to have your name and your face out there, and your phone number.” 

Reputation is Key 

Growing a loyal customer base should be the first thing on your to-do list when starting to think about marketing your business. Bob Urban, owner of Lawn & Order Landscaping, knows just how true this is and how it has allowed his business to grow. 

“I mean the only thing I have is a Facebook page and word of mouth from all the jobs I do,” Urban says. “I do a lot of lawn installations with topsoil and everything else, and a lot of patio work, and retaining walls and stuff. I just get recommended by other people.” 

Urban will do one job for a client, like putting in a lawn, and then the next year they’ll call back and want his company to do the landscaping too. Since he did the job well the first time, they trust him to do it again a second time. Word then travels when that repeat customer sings his praises—resulting in well-deserved business referrals and recommendations. 

After all, your marketing strategy is only as good as the work you are doing. 

Take Pride in Every Job

There’s no better feeling than walking away from a job knowing you did your absolute best, and the customer is thrilled with the work you’ve done. Bo Luna, owner of Luna’s Lawn Service, strives to reach that feeling after every job he does. In fact, it is his key strategy to growing his business. 

“I want people to call me that we’ve done repeat work for,” Luna says. “I want people to say, hey, such and such recommended you all. He said you all are the best. I say, I don’t know if we’re the best, but I said we’ll get it done for you and it’ll be done right.” 

Much like Urban, Luna puts repeat customers at the top of his priority list. He knows the quality of his work and dedication to getting the job done in a timely manner makes all the difference to his customers. And it’s worked out quite well for him. In fact, his business has all grown organically through referrals and recommendations. 

Whether your business is just starting out, or you’re looking to grow your customer base, word of mouth marketing has the potential to be an effective marketing strategy for your business.