5 Tips to Get Cheap Word-of-Mouth Marketing

In today’s competitive, crowded, omnichannel world, how does a small business with no budget attract attention? Word-of-mouth marketing is the best tool you have that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. The good news is there are cheap word-of-mouth marketing options out there to help you grow your company organically. Here are five tips and tricks to get to improve your brand reputation when you don’t have a big marketing budget.

1. Let Your Customers Be Your Voice

People cringe a little at self-promotion. But nobody should have a problem when other people say how great you are. When customers who have actually bought your product rave about it, the testimony is authentic. Implement reviews on your eCommerce website so that customers can rave about your products. Monitor reviews to remove any that are spammy or include inappropriate content.

2. Get Really Cheap Word-of-Mouth from Forums and Online Groups

Create a place where customers can share their experience of your products. This can be a social media platform for posting photos or a discussion thread for feedback where people can ask questions about your products. A forum is a great way to collect your target market in one place. Make sure you have the control to moderate that might put people off and respond to posts to show that you are proactive and customer-centric. Facebook is a great place for retailers to create a mini “cult-following”.

3. Win Over the Influencers

Another great way to get cheap word-of-mouth marketing is to collaborate with people who have influence in your industry. These can be bloggers, or Youtube or Instagram influencers. or even celebrities that like what you do. You can offer an influencer a product in exchange for a review, but be careful about paid endorsements. In the first place, this isn’t a cheap word-of-mouth approach. But more importantly, companies that pay influencers for endorsements may get into hot water if they don’t let the public know money was involved.

4.  Create an Online Affiliate Program

This is a very specific kind of affiliation that I learned about only recently. Use a platform like Commission Factory to create an organic, online program in which influencers and bloggers that write about your company or your product earn a commission for business they redirect to your eCommerce website. Under this method, an affiliate includes a link to your website (or even a discount code) in their content. If that link converts to a sale within a certain time frame, the affiliate gets a commission for that sale. It’s a lot less expensive and a lot more subtle than advertising.

5. Give Customers a Reason to Refer

Offer customers a discount or gift-with-purchase if they refer a customer. Many B2Cs do this via an email marketing campaign or a pop-up window on their home page. These promotions usually come with terms and conditions, so make it clear to the customer about the rules.

Finally, no matter what you do to get customers excited about your business, always watch your sales and stock to see how well your strategy works.

This blog post was written by Cin7 Market Coordinator Alexandra Moulden.