But Dean, what does word of mouth have to do with Google Ads?
Everything.
Because I know perfectly well that every new customer I get for my clients, if satisfied, will in time generate more customers for my client.
It is a statistical and human fact, part of our culture since the age of the dinosaurs. Animals also "recommend" places, paths and areas to their herd, their young and their families. The vast majority of animals also "do not recommend" in the same way when they know about an area with predators, dangerous roads, droughts, etc.
You have also done the same thing. And you still do, and you always will, even if you don't realise it. Because it is human nature to recommend something we like, just as it is to recommend avoiding something we do not like.
I often talk with companies that are focused exclusively on generating new customers – all marketing efforts aimed at bringing more and more of them. What many companies don't understand is the importance of providing good service and trying to keep the customer happy for as long as possible (read the article on CLV).
A happy customer is not only the right and ethical result of the product or service sold; they are also another possible conversion channel for your business. I don't understand how so many companies still don't understand this part.
Eight years ago, I was contacted by a company (I won't give more information for privacy reasons) to create a Google Ads strategy to attract new customers in a very difficult market.
Setup done, campaigns launched, and leads started flowing in like never before. After a few months, we had a face-to-face meeting. Everyone was very happy, there were lots of leads, the closing rate was at 35%, they applied the lead nurturing systems that I had recommended to them and turnover increased. When I asked about the level of new customer satisfaction, they all looked at me like I was an alien and tried to sell me that phrase of "another department deals with that".
It was not true. They didn't care a bit, not one bit, about their new customers. The customers were given no attention or importance – once they had paid what they had to pay, they were simply no longer of interest.
This is not only an ethical mistake (clearly, this was my last meeting with them) but also a strategic and financial mistake.
If every company understood the advertising power of a happy customer, their marketing budget and customer acquisition numbers would be incredibly different.
In the US, people have been studying and analysing WOM (the Word-of-Mouth effect) for decades.
One real example? Our own.
At Biriwuanga, each new client brings in an average of 2.7 new clients/projects, which, over time, will bring in other new clients.
We can call it the waterfall effect or the word-of-mouth effect, but the concept is simple: take care of your customer, offer an exceptional product/service, and this customer will become another conversion channel for your business.
Here's some interesting data on word of mouth:
1. According to worldwide statistics, word of mouth is even more effective than paid advertisements and generates five times more sales (first-level customers bring in second-level customers, and so on)
2. 30% of people say that word of mouth increases brand affinity
3. 66% of digital marketers agree that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing
4. 64% of marketing experts agree that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing
5. Millennials are 38% more likely to discover brands or through recommendations from friends or family
6. 16% of Baby Boomers discover new brands/services through word of mouth
7. Studies say that word of mouth is directly responsible for 90% of sales worldwide.
On to the next conversion with Google Ads! Dean.