When was the last time received amazing service? How many people did you tell about it? I recently installed solar panels at my home and CIS Agro. I was extremely happy with the work done, and my recommendations already resulted in two friends hiring the same company to set up their solar installations. Five-star customer service goes far beyond ensuring your current client is happy and will continue to do business with you – People LOVE to talk, and a happy client can quickly become your biggest promoter.
While advertisements are one way to get word out about what we have to offer, people tend to put more trust in a recommendation from a friend, colleague or even a stranger through an online review. We want to hear from a person who has actually used a service or product before we invest in it.
At CIS Agro we’ve gained some of our best connections and biggest clients through word-of-mouth recommendations. This might come up in casual conversation with a neighbour, it might come from a call looking for ideas, or it might show up on a bigger scale at an international event. In many cases, a company that has used our services and then recommended us to others at an international conference, leading to new business opportunities. Through these varied methods, we’ve gained 50% of our customer base and expanded out to work with clients in twelve countries around the globe.
Not only is word-of-mouth effective, but in many cases it’s free. When a farmer tells his neighbor about our products, it costs us nothing—but that conversation could lead to a new customer. It’s completely free to have a customer rave about you to another company while standing at their booth at a trade show. We don’t lose a single dollar when a potential client picks up the phone and calls a current client to ask them again about what exactly you did for them in the past season.
Does that mean it’s completely free? Not necessarily. Excellent customer service takes some investment. It might mean investing in top-tier staff and ongoing training or upgrading technology to meet client expectations, but taking these steps to ensure top notch client care can pay back in a big way if your clients come back year after year and maybe bring someone new along with them.
It’s also valuable to treat your competitors with respect and collaborate whenever you can. It’s part of being a good citizen in the business environment, but it also might pay off in peer-to-peer recommendations. Recently, a competing counter-season provider took on a client requiring exclusivity. Since they couldn’t serve their existing clients, they recommended us instead, bringing us new business.
Word-of-mouth marketing is a sustainable strategy for long-term growth and demonstrating that you are doing things right. By fostering genuine connections with customers and providing exceptional service and products, you can cultivate brand advocates who will continue to promote your business for years to come. At the end of the day, five-star service isn’t just good business—it’s the best marketing strategy you have.
