Deploying the Power of Word of Mouth Marketing to Grow Your Ecommerce Business

Word of mouth marketing possesses a mysterious power - the power of organic reach. It's like a spark that ignites a wildfire of excitement across social networks and communities.

When your customers become your brand ambassadors, their glowing recommendations travel far and wide, reaching corners of the internet you couldn't even dream of.

Suddenly, your ecommerce business becomes the talk of the town, drawing in curious clicks, skyrocketing conversion rates, and boosting your bottom line.

To effectively leverage the power of word of mouth marketing, ecommerce businesses can turn to Core Loyalty.

Core Loyalty offers a comprehensive suite of tools and strategies to help businesses cultivate and maximize customer loyalty. The platform enables businesses to incentivize and reward customers for referring their friends and family, thus encouraging positive word of mouth.

With Core Loyalty's solutions, ecommerce businesses can supercharge their word of mouth marketing efforts and unlock the full growth potential of their brand in today's competitive digital landscape.

Table of Contents

• What Is Word of Mouth Marketing?
• How Effective Is Word of Mouth Marketing?: 4 Statistics
• 5 Powerful Word of Mouth Marketing Examples
• How to Increase Word of Mouth Marketing: 10 Strategies
• Deploying Word of Mouth Marketing in Your Ecommerce Business

What Is Word of Mouth Marketing?

Word of mouth marketing is a form of promotion where satisfied customers voluntarily share positive information, recommendations, or reviews about a product, service, or brand with others in their social networks.

It relies on the power of personal relationships and trust to spread awareness and influence purchasing decisions. Rather than being driven by traditional advertising, another word of mouth marketing definition thrives on the genuine enthusiasm and advocacy of customers.

The importance of word of mouth in marketing lies in its ability to build trust, credibility, and authenticity for a brand. In an era where consumers are bombarded with advertising messages, they have become increasingly skeptical and discerning.

However, when a recommendation comes from a trusted friend, family member, or even an online macro or micro influencer, it carries more weight and influences consumer behavior. Positive word of mouth can enhance brand perception, attract new customers, and foster long-term brand loyalty.

Word of mouth marketing has the potential for exponential reach. With the advent of social media and online review platforms, the ripple effect of a single recommendation can extend far beyond immediate social circles and ecommerce websites.

Shared experiences and opinions can quickly spread to wider networks, amplifying brand exposure and generating organic buzz.

This not only increases brand visibility but also helps businesses tap into new markets and customer segments they may not have reached through traditional marketing channels.

How Effective Is Word of Mouth Marketing: 4 Statistics

Word of mouth advertising has existed for as long as people have had transportation and the means to travel, sampling goods, watching shows, staying at inns, and telling their neighbors and family and friends about it. People trust other people, thus it works.

The most important benefits of word of mouth marketing include:

1. Enhanced Trust and Credibility

According to LXA, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over other forms of advertising. Positive word of mouth marketing statistics create a sense of authenticity and reliability, making it a powerful tool for building trust and credibility with your target audience.

2. Increased Sales and Customer Acquisition

Word of mouth marketing can have a direct impact on sales. Based on data from Invesp, people are 90% more inclined to trust and purchase from a brand that a friend has recommended, and word of mouth marketing impressions produce 5 times more sales than a sponsored media impression.

3. Amplified Brand Reach and Awareness

Word of mouth has a remarkable ability to extend brand reach far beyond the usual ecommerce marketing efforts. SEMrush states that 83% of marketers utilize word of mouth marketing to boost brand awareness.

4. Improved Customer Loyalty and Lifetime Value

Word of mouth referral marketing not only helps acquire new customers but also plays a crucial role in retaining existing ones. Referral marketing customers spend 200% more than the typical customer, based on LXA figures

5 Powerful Word of Mouth Marketing Examples

Getting people to talk about your brand isn't the only goal of word of mouth marketing. It involves converting a buyer into a devoted follower.

Inspire your word of mouth marketing strategy with five real-life examples of brands that have successfully leveraged word of mouth marketing to drive business growth:

1. Fenty Beauty

Fenty Beauty, the cosmetics brand created by Rihanna, has leveraged TikTok to promote their makeup products. They encourage users to create videos showcasing their makeup looks using Fenty Beauty products and often run challenges or contests to encourage user-generated content.

The brand actively monitors TikTok for user-generated content related to their products and may tag or repost videos that align with their brand image, amplifying the word of mouth recommendations generated by TikTok users.

2. Airbnb

Airbnb's Superhost program serves as a powerful word of mouth marketing tool. It rewards hosts who consistently provide excellent service and receive positive reviews, creating a network of trusted and reliable hosts. This builds trust and credibility for the Airbnb brand, enticing more people to book with them.

3. Glossier

Glossier is a beauty brand that relies heavily on social media and word of mouth to promote their products. They encourage customers to share their unfiltered opinions and experiences with their products, creating a sense of authenticity and trust. This has led to a loyal following and a cult-like status for the brand.

4. Apple

Apple excels in building hype and generating buzz through word of mouth marketing, igniting anticipation and excitement with their exclusive and scarce product launches. Fans and early adopters eagerly spread the word, fueling a buzz around the brand.

5. Tesla

Tesla's word of mouth marketing strategy revolves around creating a unique and unforgettable customer experience. They achieve this by delivering exceptional customer service, offering personalized test drives, and fostering a community of Tesla enthusiasts.

Consequently, they establish a network of passionate brand advocates who actively promote the brand.

How to Increase Word of Mouth Marketing: 10 Strategies

Word of mouth marketing organically happens when a business wows a customer to the point where they tell their friends, or when they engage with, and thus encourage, customer reviews. While customers are quick to criticize brands that provide a poor experience, remember that you have the ability to influence and encourage positive conversations about your company.

Despite initial concerns about the uncontrollable nature of word of mouth, there are several techniques available to inspire people to speak favorably about your brand:

1. Start a referral program.

To increase word of mouth marketing, businesses can start a referral program. This involves rewarding customers who refer new customers to the business with incentives such as discounts, exclusive offers, or loyalty points.

These rewards encourage customers to actively promote the business to their friends and family, creating a positive buzz around the brand.

2. Provide outstanding customer service.

Provide outstanding customer service by going above and beyond to meet and exceed customer expectations. When customers receive exceptional service, they are more inclined to share their positive experiences with others, resulting in organic word of mouth referrals.

Foster a reputation for outstanding customer service that encourages positive word of mouth.

3. Encourage user-generated content.

One effective strategy to increase word of mouth marketing is to actively encourage customers to create and share user-generated content. Motivate your customers to generate content like reviews, testimonials, and social media posts about their experiences with your brand to tap into the power of authenticity and social proof.

When customers share their genuine opinions and experiences, it resonates with others who are seeking reliable information and recommendations.

User-generated content serves as a form of social proof, providing potential customers with real-life examples of positive interactions with your business. This content has the potential to influence their purchasing decisions and drive word of mouth recommendations.

4. Cultivate brand advocates.

Cultivating brand advocates involves identifying and nurturing customers who are passionate about your products or services. These advocates have a genuine affinity for your brand and are eager to share their enthusiasm with others.

Engage with them through personalized communication, provide exclusive benefits or rewards for their loyalty, and empower them with the tools and resources to spread the word about your brand.

Create a network of influential supporters who will actively promote your business through word of mouth recommendations.

5. Create share-worthy content.

Focus on creating content that evokes emotions and tells compelling stories. Emotional connections have a powerful impact on word of mouth marketing, as people are more likely to share content that elicits strong feelings, whether it's excitement, inspiration, or humor.

Ensure that your content is easily shareable by integrating social sharing buttons, encouraging readers/viewers to share, and providing visually appealing and attention-grabbing thumbnails or featured images.

Leverage platforms and communities where your target audience is active to amplify the reach of your content and facilitate discussions and sharing.

6. Leverage influencer marketing.

Collaborating with influencers who are relevant to your industry or niche helps you tap into their established credibility and engaged audience. When influencers recommend or endorse your products or services, their followers are more likely to take notice and consider trying them out.

This not only expands your reach but also creates a ripple effect of word of mouth recommendations as their followers share their experiences and opinions with others.

7. Use the right tools.

With Core Loyalty, you can take advantage of various features designed to enhance your word of mouth marketing initiatives.

Use referral tracking capabilities to accurately monitor and measure the effectiveness of your loyalty program. This helps you identify your top referrers, track conversions, and evaluate the overall performance of your word of mouth campaigns.

Another valuable feature offered by Core Loyalty is automated rewards. You can set up a system where customers who successfully refer new customers receive automated rewards, such as discounts, points, or exclusive offers.

This not only incentivizes customers to actively participate in word of mouth marketing but also ensures a seamless and efficient process for delivering rewards.

Customer engagement tools provided by Core Loyalty can help you nurture and engage with your existing customer base.

8. Foster online communities.

Fostering online communities is a powerful strategy to cultivate word of mouth marketing. You create a space for your customers to connect, share their experiences, and engage with your business on a deeper level.

Encouraging conversations and facilitating interactions within these communities allows your customers to build relationships with each other and with your brand.

This engagement not only strengthens customer relationships but also creates a fertile ground for positive word of mouth recommendations to flourish.

9. Offer exclusive experiences.

Offering exclusive experiences is another effective way to ignite word of mouth marketing. Whether it's granting VIP access to special events, allowing early product releases for loyal customers, or offering personalized interactions and surprises, these exclusive experiences generate excitement and leave a lasting impression.

Customers who have had exceptional experiences are more likely to become brand advocates and enthusiastically spread the word to their networks.

Their genuine recommendations, fueled by the positive emotions and memories associated with these exclusive experiences, can significantly impact the growth of your business through word of mouth marketing.

10. Surprise and delight.

Going beyond their expectations and providing unexpected gestures of appreciation, such as personalized thank-you notes or small gifts create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impression.

When customers experience these delightful surprises, they are more likely to share their positive experiences with others, generating organic word of mouth recommendations.

Deploying Word of Mouth Marketing in Your Ecommerce Business

Word of mouth marketing is an incredibly powerful strategy for spreading your message and building a community of loyal buyers. It offers a cost-effective way to establish your brand as trustworthy and reliable.

However, no ecommerce marketing tactics can compensate for a lackluster product or service. To truly succeed in word of mouth advertising, you must focus on crafting a compelling narrative that resonates with your audience.

Generate a buzz that spreads across various channels. This buzz, in turn, increases awareness and fosters trust among potential customers, ultimately driving sales. Trust is the ultimate measure of your brand's quality and the key factor that influences people to choose your product or service.

This is where Core Loyalty comes in. With features such as referral tracking, automated rewards, and customer engagement, Core Loyalty can help businesses streamline and optimize their word of mouth marketing efforts.

Businesses can incentivize customers to refer new customers, create and share user-generated content, and foster engagement and loyalty.

Start your journey with Core Loyalty today.