How to Turn Customer Feedback into a Powerful Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy

At the Glass Academy, we've spent 22 years crafting both glass art and smart marketing strategies for the win! One recent piece of customer feedback reminded me how powerful word-of-mouth marketing and a simple social media contest can be.

Are you currently a customer of the Glass Academy?  If so, you’ll see how we use ideas like this to help us grow our business to new customers, while retaining our current customers as well.  This video is geared towards my business courses to new creatives, but you still might like to see how the thought process happens.  It’s a win/win for our customers and us!  You can watch the video on YouTube here.

Small companies like us don't have a huge marketing budget.  We need to think creatively if we want to survive and thrive.  When we can create a contest or generate people talking about us on social media, it’s a huge win for our business and our team.

Having the TV crews come by for our seasonal shows is great, and special openings offer new customers for us, but during the rest of the year, we need to be thinking about how we let people know we are here and open for business.  Out of sight, out of mind they say, so the trick is, how can we stay top of mind in people’s day to day thoughts?  We have great handmade products and classes that bring enjoyment and joy to many people, but if they don’t know we are here, it’s not good for both of us!

Why Customer Feedback is Key to Small Business Marketing.

Our class survey helps us:

• Track how customers find us (Internet search, social media, Eventbrite, etc.)

• Identify opportunities for better word-of-mouth marketing

• Recognize staff excellence

• Let’s us know what to improve on

• Give others some real testimonials to our classes and products.

It’s about collecting insights that drive business growth.  The surveys that students fill out during classes, really helps us know who our audience is so we can cater to their needs.  The same is true for our membership program, in house customers, and fans of the YouTube show.

"Post a picture of your finished Glass Academy piece, tag us, and enter to win a free class for you and a guest!"

See how easy this type of promotion would be to do? This approach turns happy customers into brand ambassadors—one of the most effective ways to promote a local business.

I’d love to hear how you’ve promoted your favorite business and services that you use.  Maybe we can learn something from you!! Share your story in the comments.

And if you're near Michigan, be sure to check out our glass blowing classes at the Glass Academy. You’ll leave with a beautiful piece of art—and maybe a few creative marketing ideas too!