Word of Mouth - The Natural Order

The best form of marketing is word of mouth.

For example, someone telling a friend, “You should go check out [insert company name] for that,” is far more effective than seeing your company name on a billboard.

74% of consumers identify word of mouth as a critical part of their purchasing decision.

Referrals and testimonials are powerful.

Word of mouth is one of the oldest and most effective forms of marketing. And, it has evolved to integrate seamlessly with the digital landscape: think of review videos on Youtube or influencers on TikTok.

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. +Oscar Wilde

However, not everyone will purchase something based purely on someone’s work alone…

The Natural Order

Now, this is where the real power of web design comes into play. Most people aren’t going to blindly go on their friend’s suggestion, there is research to be done; even if it’s only to the extent of finding the phone number. Regardless, they are going to search for you.

What are they going to find?
Do you have social media accounts? If so, is it all in order, and do you have an engaged following?
Are they going to see your Google My Business listing? Is it complete with pictures and reviews of happy clients?
Are they going to go to your website? Can they find your website through search engines? What if your company name is unique and they brutalize the spelling? Do you still show up?

To make the most out of that referral, it’s to impress at every turn. Website, social media, Yelp, Google My Business, ads…is your customer experience flawless? Examining messaging, design, and functionality at every step is essential to secure the referral conversion.

Let’s start with the most obvious…

Audit Your Website

Now, let’s draft through what people are going to think when they get to your website.

Is your phone number easy to find?
Is it easy to fill out a form and email you?
Is the design of your website telling people that you’re cutting edge, innovative? Or does it look like you haven’t put any thought into the web design?

Working at a Dayton web design agency, these are all of the little things that we have to think about. Because no matter what part of Ohio, web design can mean the difference between someone making a phone call or some clicking back and looking for your competitor.

The next time that you tell someone that you get most of your business through word of mouth, take a step back and look at the other pieces of the puzzle.

While you’re getting your business through word of mouth, how much of that WOM are you losing because you’re not investing in your website design?