"Most of my business comes from word of mouth."
It's something I hear all the time from small business owners relying on word of mouth to fill their diary. In fact, it's something I used to say myself.
Now, before anyone gets upset, I'm not saying word of mouth is bad. Far from it. Word of mouth can be one of the best sources of new business you'll ever have.
The problem is when it's your only source of new business. Because word of mouth isn't a marketing plan.
My Word of Mouth Wake-Up Call
Before I started Simple Online Solutions, I ran a holistic and beauty business called Emerald Dreams. When COVID hit, like many businesses, I was forced to close.
Around the same time, one of my clients, Jo from Joon Silver, contacted me. She sold jewellery at fairs, fetes and in-person events, and suddenly all of those opportunities disappeared overnight. She needed an online shop and asked if I could help.
That one project led to another. Then another. And another.
As businesses scrambled to move online during 2020 and 2021, I found myself building websites, setting up systems and helping people adapt to a completely different way of doing business.
For a couple of years, work seemed to arrive naturally. I didn't have to think too hard about marketing because people were actively looking for help.
Then things changed. The rush of enquiries slowed down. The phone wasn't ringing as often. I began to wonder if I was on the right path and applied for jobs and even secured an interview, but quickly realised I had become unemployable. After years of running my own business, making decisions quickly and trusting my instincts, I knew going back into employment wasn't the answer for me.
I had to do things differently or die trying.
That's when I started taking a much closer look at my marketing. I stopped asking, "What should I be doing?" and started asking, "What's actually working?"
Why Word of Mouth Feels So Good
There's a reason business owners, including me, love referrals. They tend to be easier sales. The prospect already trusts you because someone they know has recommended you. They're often warmer leads. And they usually require less convincing.
Word of mouth is incredibly powerful because trust has already been transferred from one person to another. The problem is that trust alone doesn't create consistency.
That trust hasn't gone away either. Recent UK research found that shoppers now trust user reviews and recommendations from other customers more than they trust influencer marketing, a reminder that people still want to hear from someone real before they buy.
The Biggest Problem With Relying on Word of Mouth
The biggest issue with word of mouth is that you don't control it. You're relying on somebody else to talk about you.
That means you can't control:
- When they mention your business
- How often they mention your business
- Who they mention your business to
- Whether those people are a good fit for what you offer
One month referrals might be a trickle. The next month they might be a waterfall. Or they might stop altogether. That unpredictability can make it very difficult to plan and grow your business.
There's another problem too. You can't always control the quality of the referrals. Just because Jean was a fantastic client doesn't automatically mean her dad Jack will be. You can hope your ideal clients have friends, family and colleagues just like them, but that isn't always the case.
Referrals can bring brilliant clients.
They can also bring people who aren't a good fit for your business at all.
What I See With Many Small Business Owners
Many business owners tell me they don't really do marketing because they get their business through word of mouth. Then one day, the referrals slow down. That's when the panic starts.
The interesting thing is that many of these businesses have already tried lots of marketing activities.
- They have a website
- They have social media accounts
- They have a Google Business Profile
- They may even have an email list
The problem isn't usually that they don't have the pieces. The problem is that the pieces aren't connected. Everything exists in isolation.
- The website isn't supporting the social media
- The social media isn't driving traffic anywhere meaningful
- The email list isn't being used
- The reviews aren't being collected consistently
- The blog isn't answering the questions customers are searching for
As a result, nothing creates a continuous flow of enquiries.
If this sounds familiar, you might also enjoy reading:
Why Am I Doing All The Things But Still Not Getting Clients?
Marketing Works Best When Everything Works Together
Think of your marketing as a system rather than a collection of random activities. Each piece has a specific job to do.
- Your social media should help people discover you
- Your website should educate visitors and encourage them to take the next step.
- Your blog should answer questions and build trust.
- Your Google Business Profile should help local customers find you when they're searching.
- Your reviews should provide proof that you deliver what you promise.
- Your email list should allow you to stay in touch with people instead of hoping they remember you.
I often describe this as your customer journey. Every step should help people move from discovering you to trusting you, to becoming a customer.
You can learn more about this here:
Your Customer Journey: How to Attract Customers to Your Business
and
What To Do Instead
Know Who You Help and What Transformation You Provide
- Be crystal clear about who your ideal customer is
- Know the problem you solve
- Know the outcome, solution or transformation you provide
- If you can't explain this clearly, your marketing will always struggle
Understand Why It Matters
People don't buy products and services. They buy outcomes. They buy relief. They buy convenience. They buy confidence. They buy peace of mind.
Understand the difference your work makes to someone's life and talk about that.
Show Up Where Your People Are
There's no point spending time on platforms your ideal customers don't use. Find out where they spend their time and make sure you're visible there.
One of the things that transformed my own business was becoming intentional about networking, both online and in person. The more people understood who I help and what I do, the more likely they were to recommend me when opportunities arose.
Talk About What They're Googling at 3 am
One of the simplest marketing strategies is to answer the questions your customers are already asking.
- What keeps them awake at night?
- What are they worried about?
- What are they searching for?
- What problem are they desperately trying to solve?
Use their language, not your industry jargon. That's exactly why blogging and educational content work so well. When someone searches for a question and finds your answer, you've already started building trust before they ever contact you.
Related reading:
Why Answering Questions on Your Website Is the Key to Getting Found and Chosen Online
Capture Their Contact Details
If someone visits your website and leaves without taking any action, there's a good chance you'll never see them again.
Give people a reason to join your email list. Offer something helpful. Capture their details so you can continue the conversation. This gives you far more control than hoping they remember you later.
Related reading:
Follow Up
Most people don't buy the first time they hear about you. That's normal. Stay in touch. Share useful information. Build trust over time. Be the business they think of when they're ready.
Email marketing remains one of the few channels you truly own and control, making it an important part of reducing your reliance on referrals.
Related reading:
Make It Easy to Buy
Don't make people work hard to become customers. Make your next steps obvious. Make your contact details easy to find. Make your booking process simple. Reduce unnecessary barriers.
Then Make It Easy to Buy Again
Existing customers are often your easiest source of future revenue. Think about what happens after the first sale. How can you continue helping them? How can you make repeat purchases easy?
Collect Reviews Consistently
Reviews provide proof that you know what you're doing. They help build trust before you've even spoken to a prospect. Most businesses don't ask often enough.
Make review collection part of your normal process. For local businesses, reviews also play an important role in helping you appear more trustworthy in Google searches.
Related reading:
How To Set Up and Optimise Your Google Business Profile for Better Local SEO
Not Sure Where The Gaps Are?
Many of the business owners I work with aren't starting from scratch. They already have a website. They're posting on social media. They've claimed their Google Business Profile. They've collected some reviews.
The problem is that these activities often aren't connected by a clear strategy. As a result, they're doing lots of marketing but still not generating a steady stream of enquiries.
That's exactly what my ALIGN Roadmap Session is designed to uncover.
Together we'll look at:
- Who you help and the problems you solve
- What's currently generating enquiries
- Which marketing activities are supporting your goals
- Where the gaps are in your customer journey
- The next practical steps to improve your visibility and enquiries
You'll leave with a clear action plan and a better understanding of where to focus your time, energy and budget.
Learn more here:
Word Of Mouth Works Better With A Plan
I'm not against word of mouth. In fact, I love it. Many of my best clients have come through recommendations. But the referrals I receive today are supported by a much stronger foundation than they were a few years ago.
- I network both online and in person
- I regularly talk about what I do
- I stay visible
- I create content
- I educate people
- I make it easier for others to understand who I help and how I can help them
As a result, more people know what I do and are more likely to recommend me when the opportunity arises. That's the difference.
Word of mouth works best when it's supported by a marketing system.A referral programme can help. A loyalty scheme can help. Excellent customer service can help. But if you're relying entirely on other people to generate your next client, you're giving away too much control.
The goal isn't to replace word of mouth. The goal is to build a marketing system that works alongside it, so you're never left wondering where your next enquiry is coming from.
If you'd like help putting a marketing system in place, get in touch, I'd love to work with you.
