Hey business builder!
In this article we want to bring to light something that many business owners consider positive, but really having this view could be detrimental to your business and eat away at your potential profits.
So, what is it? Ever heard someone proudly claim they work on ‘word of mouth’ to grow their business? People use the fact they get referrals to their business as a badge of honour, as if it is something a business owner should aspire to have. A marker of success. Well we are here to tell you that is NOT the way to be successful, in ANY sector.
People boast of not paying for advertising like it is something to show off. When in reality, they are missing a HUGE opportunity to grow their business. This close-minded attitude is a hinderance, not a benefit, to a business.
You’re probably thinking “but Georgia – getting referrals means people are recommending my business, surely this is a good thing?”, and I would not argue with that! We get a lot of our business here at Desert Dog from word of mouth. It is great knowing that you have done such a good job that people want to encourage others to work with you. But, it is not the be all and end all. Referrals are the sugar in the cappuccino. Nice addition to have, but it is not the main ingredient. Nor is it necessary to make a cappuccino. Advertising is the coffee. You can’t make a successful cappuccino without it.
Think about it. If you yourself want to look for a product or service, what is the first thing you do? Do you go through your phone book and call up your friends and family to ask if they know anyone who can provide that product/service? No. First, you Google it. And you are not alone, 94% of people use this method to research before purchasing. So, if you are not on that first page of Google when consumers search for you, that is the % of people you are missing out on. Surely it does not make sense as a business strategy to actively avoid this and wait out in the hope that someone from that remaining 6% knows about your company and recommends you?
Or, what if someone had heard of your business but couldn’t exactly remember the name or they lost your contact details? How would they find you then? Say for example you are a kitchen fitting company. The consumer Googles ‘Kitchen Company Near Me’, hoping to find your business. Many results come up, some are paid ads and some companies have invested in their SEO so they come up first organically. You don’t advertise. The consumer wants ease. They don’t want to spend their precious time searching the internet to find your company, despite if it was recommended or not. They decide to go with one of your competitors. You lose, they win. It’s as simple as that.
As a business owner myself, the idea of that scares me. I couldn’t sleep well at night thinking I might be losing client’s to my competitors because I am refusing to invest in a known growth strategy. If our ads at Desert Dog go down even for a day, we do everything we can to get them back up as soon as possible and back in front of our consumers. I don’t think, oh great, that has saved me a days ad spend. I know how important this traffic is to my business and how much a lead is worth to me, so if the ads are down, I am actually losing money. But, that is the mindset of someone who wants their business to scale. Owners who don’t understand this logic will really be sat with a stagnant business, perhaps getting repeat customers and referrals, but no real growth and no real profit.
Also, you’ve got to consider – how are you actually getting that initial client base? They’ve got to come from somewhere, right? Facebook Ads, SEO, Google Ads, Email Marketing, Gmail Ads, Youtube, Instagram.
There are so many options and so many channels to reach these consumers on. Don’t fall behind. Don’t limit your business due to pride.
Fill in our Contact Form or chat to us on our Live Chat and let’s get that money into where it needs to be – YOUR BUSINESS!
