Four Effective Ways to Help Customers to Promote Your Business

Do you want to learn how to easily and effectively help customers promote your business? If so, you've made it to the right place!

Believe it or not, 81% of people say they trust the opinions of friends, family, and peers over traditional marketing. This statistic means that one of your best advertising sources comes from people who don't work for you! Shocking, right?

Think about it, would you be more likely to try a new restaurant if a friend recommended it to you or if you saw a billboard on your way home from work? Most of us would feel more comfortable trying something new if a friend recommended it first.

That's not to say that your marketing strategy doesn't have a place because it does. However, we should think carefully about how we can merge these two strategies so new customers can see what you have to say and the thoughts and opinions of real customers.

Today, we will explore several effective ways you can make it easy for customers to promote your business. We've had success with these strategies over the last decade, so I'm confident they will work for you, too.

Let's dive in!

Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews

User reviews are perhaps one of the best ways to let customers promote your business. A whopping 72% of people say they refuse to shop with a new company unless they can see reviews from real customers.

People are so reliant on reviews because they are a powerful form of social proof. Social proof is evidence that other people trust and respect your brand. A potential customer can easily skim your product landing page and see what kind of experiences other customers have had.

This situation will set them up for the best-case scenario and the worst. Good reviews show them what they stand to gain if everything works out perfectly. Bad reviews help users visualize what could happen if things don't go according to plan, which helps to set expectations and make people more comfortable shopping with your business.

There are plenty of ways you can encourage users to leave reviews on your website. One strategy that has worked exceptionally well for us is emailing customers a week or two after their order. We ask them to share their feedback so future customers can learn from their experience. They get a discount on their next purchase in exchange for posting their thoughts.

I recommend adding a visual star rating to each product so new visitors can quickly and easily see what others think of your company.

Invest in a Referral Program

Referral programs are a terrific way to encourage customers to promote your business to their friends and family. These types of programs can also help you build long-lasting, impactful influencer and affiliate partnerships.

Simply put, a referral program is when a customer is paid via cash, discounts, or other incentives in exchange for convincing others to try your brand.

I learned that the key to creating a great referral program is to make sure customers are happy with your products or services. If people walk away feeling like they had an amazing experience, they will want to tell others about your brand.

It's also important to choose competitive, engaging rewards so your customers feel compelled to get out there and tell others why they should choose your brand from a sea of competitors.

Social media influencers and affiliates are also likely to try your referral program. Believe it or not, around 16% of all online sales in the U.S. are predicted to come from affiliate marketing. On the influencer side of things, close to 50% of shoppers say they've purchased a product because one of their favorite influencers promoted it first.

Share User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC), as the name implies, is promotional content created by customers, not necessarily your brand. UGC includes product reviews, testimonials, social media posts, videos, and success stories.

UGC can sway people who are on the fence about your brand or have never heard of your company and turn them into customers. Much like the reviews we discussed earlier, this type of content is a powerful tool that will help you build rapport with potential customers. When people see that other people are happy and having positive experiences with your brand, they're more likely to trust you and tell others.

The best part about UGC is there are many different ways to show your target audience what others are saying. For example, you can feature it on your website, share it on social media, or use it in your email marketing campaigns to turn leads into customers.

If you're wondering about the impact of this strategy, consider this: Companies that add UGC to their website see an average revenue boost of 18%. Meanwhile, 85% of online shoppers say visual UGC is more influential than brand photos or videos.

Here are a few additional tips on generating and sharing UGC:

• Credit the original creator. This will help you win favor and add a layer of authenticity to each piece of UGC.

• Ask existing customers to share photos, videos, or stories. Sometimes, simply asking, "What's your favorite part about our products?" can yield a ton of helpful UGC.

• Compile relevant UGC and turn them into bigger pieces of content like case studies and infographics.

Skyrocket Growth with Online Contests

Finally, let's discuss how online contests can directly impact sales and long-term growth. You already know what an online giveaway is. Businesses use these tools to spread brand awareness, improve loyalty, and as a clever way to help customers promote their business.

There are several factors you should keep in mind if you want to use an online contest in this way.

First, you must choose a prize that resonates with your target audience. You could offer prospects and existing customers a chance to win your latest product. Since this is something newer and sought after, there's a much better chance that your contest will go viral.

Here comes the key -- give users a way to enter that involves them sharing the contest with others. For instance, our giveaways usually have three entry methods; visit our website, leave a comment, and share the post.

Comments and shares send positive signals to social media algorithms, which means not only will followers of your subscribers see the post, but people who've never heard of your brand may see your online contest as a recommended post. In other words, your customers promote your business by engaging with the post.

Once the event ends, don't forget to thank everyone who participated (we like to send coupons!) and announce the winner publicly. These social announcements are a great way to build a community and ensure people are willing to enter your next giveaway.

Back to You

As you can see, there are plenty of great ways to help customers promote your business across multiple marketing channels. I recommend finding ways to combine these strategies with what you're already doing to connect with new customers and improve sales. Before long, you'll have a well-rounded plan for growing your business for years to come.