Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
It is a widespread nightmare — you are strolling by means of 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 small business as nicely.
However based mostly on rising my very own enterprise from nothing to over $100 million in annual income, I can let you know much less will not be extra relating to enterprise transparency — extra is extra. Being open builds belief, and belief fosters prospects and relationships in droves. The one exception will not be giving freely your commerce secrets and techniques to opponents.
Listed below are three efficient methods to construct belief with purchasers and prospects by being extra clear (with out leaving you feeling nightmarishly over-exposed).
Associated: How Transparency In Enterprise Results in Buyer Progress and Loyalty
1. Improve gross sales by 18% or extra by growing your Google opinions
Almost everybody reads opinions earlier than buying. One examine discovered a whopping 93% of individuals learn opinions earlier than making a purchase order, and on common, opinions produce an 18% uplift in gross sales. In as we speak’s on-line panorama, individuals put virtually as a lot weight on a Google evaluate as they do on a private suggestion.
One of the simplest ways to extend your opinions is to easily ask! In response to analysis, 70% of shoppers will go away a evaluate for a enterprise when requested.
About 4 years in the past, we had 486 opinions after servicing greater than 90,000 purchasers. We began utilizing Podium to ship out texts or emails — based mostly on buyer choice — asking to depart a evaluate on Google, the Higher Enterprise Bureau and Trustpilot.
By Could 2024, we would accrued 2,312 five-star opinions, a rise of 375%. Remember that our account managers have been very diligent about sending evaluate requests to purchasers and solely ask the purchasers almost certainly to present constructive responses.
One other good technique to enhance opinions is to automate postcards on the shut of an order thanking somebody for his or her enterprise and inspiring them to depart a evaluate. A bodily mailer is probably going simpler than an e mail — one examine that surveyed 1,200 shoppers discovered that 76% trusted junk mail probably the most versus on-line strategies.
You is perhaps questioning, “What concerning the damaging opinions?” You are all the time going to have a handful of dangerous opinions, however individuals have a look at the ratio of fine vs. dangerous. When you’ve got much more five-star opinions than one-star opinions, they will disregard the damaging ones and assume it isn’t the norm.
2. Enhance lead technology by 105% by sharing your purchasers’ success tales
Sharing actual advertising and marketing outcomes has all the time been a precedence for my enterprise, PostcardMania. We at the moment have 944 advertising and marketing case research 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 large with prospects through e mail and postcards within the mail to extend belief. However extra just lately, we started incorporating these tales into video social media advertisements. Throughout a current 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 path to realize extra eyes on our providers.
We put our 139 video case research — actual enterprise house 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.
After all, our use of social media on this case is an element of a bigger multi-channel advertising and marketing technique that ties junk mail and digital advertisements collectively, so I counsel 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 and marketing bundle referred to as All over the place Small Enterprise as a result of excessive demand from our purchasers to duplicate this technique). 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 would not matter what business you might be in, your prospects’ success tales may be compiled and integrated into your advertising and marketing plan to develop your buyer base.
Associated: How Downside-Fixing Case Research Assist You Market Your Enterprise
3. Convert prospects quicker by dropping the velvet rope and alluring them in
Being clear on-line will assist construct a constructive picture of your model and deliver in additional prospects — however you can too take this one step additional and let prospects go to your small business and work together along with your services or products in particular person. One report revealed that 79% of shoppers need manufacturers to go above and past what they’re required to disclose and provides extra data, with two-thirds of them saying they might swap manufacturers for extra in-depth knowledge.
At PostcardMania, we welcome purchasers to go to us and take a tour of our in-house printing facility. We even have a advertising and marketing convention twice a 12 months the place purchasers can meet their advertising and marketing consultants face-to-face and study extra about our enterprise behind the scenes. These purchasers 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 would not should be a convention — you can begin small with one thing so simple as an evening of snacks and leisure.
Associated: 3 Methods to Personalize Your Advertising for Greater Engagement
Free samples are additionally an effective 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 technique to enable prospects to work together along with your services or products on a deeper, extra bodily degree.
Incorporate any of those techniques, and you will present prospects probably the most genuine facet of you and your small business. 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.
