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It is a frequent nightmare — you are strolling via a busy hallway or giving a presentation solely to look down and end up fully bare.
We’re inherently fearful of unveiling an excessive amount of about ourselves, and as an entrepreneur, this probably extends to your enterprise as properly.
However primarily based on rising my very own enterprise from nothing to over $100 million in annual income, I can let you know much less is just not extra on the subject of business transparency — extra is extra. Being open builds belief, and belief fosters prospects and relationships in droves. The one exception is just not making a gift of your commerce secrets and techniques to rivals.
Listed here are three efficient methods to construct belief with shoppers and prospects by being extra clear (with out leaving you feeling nightmarishly over-exposed).
Associated: How Transparency In Business Leads to Customer Growth and Loyalty
1. Improve gross sales by 18% or extra by growing your Google evaluations
Practically everybody reads evaluations earlier than buying. One research discovered a whopping 93% of people read reviews earlier than making a purchase order, and on common, evaluations produce an 18% uplift in sales. In right now’s on-line panorama, individuals put nearly as a lot weight on a Google assessment as they do on a private suggestion.
One of the best ways to extend your evaluations is to easily ask! In response to analysis, 70% of consumers will leave a review for a enterprise when requested.
About 4 years in the past, we had 486 evaluations after servicing greater than 90,000 shoppers. We began utilizing Podium to ship out texts or emails — primarily based on buyer choice — asking to go away a assessment on Google, the Higher Enterprise Bureau and Trustpilot.
By Could 2024, we would accrued 2,312 five-star evaluations, a rise of 375%. Take into account that our account managers have been very diligent about sending assessment requests to shoppers and solely ask the shoppers most probably to present optimistic responses.
One other good option to enhance evaluations is to automate postcards on the shut of an order thanking somebody for his or her enterprise and inspiring them to go away a assessment. A bodily mailer is probably going more practical than an e-mail — one study that surveyed 1,200 customers discovered that 76% trusted unsolicited mail probably the most versus on-line strategies.
You may be questioning, “What concerning the negative reviews?” You are all the time going to have a handful of unhealthy evaluations, however individuals take a look at the ratio of excellent vs. unhealthy. When you’ve got way more five-star evaluations than one-star evaluations, they will disregard the adverse ones and assume it is not the norm.
2. Enhance lead era by 105% by sharing your shoppers’ success tales
Sharing actual advertising outcomes has all the time been a precedence for my enterprise, PostcardMania. We presently have 944 marketing case studies and 139 video case research that doc actual individuals sharing marketing campaign specifics that led to extra leads, income and new prospects for his or her companies.
We share these case research far and vast with prospects by way of e-mail and postcards within the mail to extend belief. However extra lately, we started incorporating these tales into video social media adverts. Throughout a latest earnings name by Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned 50% of all individuals’s time on Fb and Instagram is spent watching movies, so naturally, we went that route to achieve extra eyes on our companies.
We put our 139 video case research — real business owners speaking about their profitable campaigns — to work for us on Fb and Instagram.
In consequence, our social media leads doubled. In 2022, our common variety of social media leads per week was 174, after which in 2023, the common lead rely elevated to 356 every week! That is a 105% enhance.
In fact, our use of social media on this case is a component of a bigger multi-channel advertising technique that ties unsolicited mail and digital adverts collectively, so I recommend an identical strategy if you wish to see the identical outcomes (we have really packaged our profitable strategy right into a single reasonably priced advertising bundle referred to as In all places Small Enterprise attributable to excessive demand from our shoppers to copy this methodology). Campaigns that uniquely mix print and digital promoting utilizing hyper-targeted mailing lists and lookalike audiences have been confirmed to work time and time once more, so I extremely suggest them.
It does not matter what trade you might be in, your prospects’ success tales may be compiled and included into your marketing plan to develop your buyer base.
Associated: How Problem-Solving Case Studies Help You Market Your Business
3. Convert prospects sooner by dropping the velvet rope and alluring them in
Being clear on-line will assist construct a optimistic picture of your model and bring in more customers — however you can even take this one step additional and let prospects go to your enterprise and work together together with your services or products in particular person. One report revealed that 79% of customers want brands to go above and past what they’re required to disclose and provides extra info, with two-thirds of them saying they might change manufacturers for extra in-depth knowledge.
At PostcardMania, we welcome shoppers to go to us and take a tour of our in-house printing facility. We even have a advertising convention twice a yr the place shoppers can meet their advertising consultants face-to-face and study extra about our enterprise behind the scenes. These shoppers usually find yourself being a few of our greatest and longest-lasting relationships! You are able to do the identical by internet hosting an occasion and opening your doorways to the general public. It does not must be a convention — you can begin small with one thing so simple as an evening of snacks and leisure.
Associated: 3 Ways to Personalize Your Marketing for Higher Engagement
Free samples are additionally a good way to point out prospects precisely what they’re getting earlier than they make a dedication. This does not all the time apply to each enterprise, however you possibly can attempt to discover a option to enable prospects to work together together with your services or products on a deeper, extra bodily stage.
Incorporate any of those techniques, and you will present prospects probably the most genuine aspect of you and your enterprise. Imagine me once I say buying and selling in your fears about being tremendous clear for daring authenticity will reap actual rewards in long-term development and buyer loyalty.