There's no doubt that Word of Mouth is one of the most salient, credible and effective forms of marketing. It is the Mecca of Marketing and the zenith of credible recommendation. Thing is, it isn't magic and it doesn't come about by chance. I cannot tell you the amount of times I've had this very conversation:

Me: So, how do you get new customers?
Client: Mostly by word of mouth
Me: Great, how do you generate word of mouth?
Client: It just comes

Nothing in business "just comes". This kind of reactive attitude towards word of mouth is a major missed opportunity. Positive word of mouth is generated by doing things well and providing an excellent customer experience. The next step is to start generating word of mouth business. This is simply a case of asking happy customers to tell others about their great experiences.

Two of the best ways of driving word of mouth are:

1. Ask for testimonials

At the moment when the client is signing off on your work and happy, ask for a testimonial. Do it with every customer. Publish the testimonials widely, share them internally and externally.

2. Set up a referral scheme

If you don't ask, you don't get! Have a referral scheme in place to reward referrals and make sure to ask all clients for a referral.

Finally, and it may seem obvious, but make sure you're treating your staff and suppliers as well as your customers. Negative word of mouth is malignant and damaging-make sure you're not generating it through your own network!

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