I Hit $100 Million in Annual Revenue by Being More Transparent — Here Are the 3 Strategies That Helped Me Succeed

Jun 19, 2024 12:00 AM - 4 months ago 59401

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It's a communal nightmare — you're stepping done a engaged hallway aliases giving a position only to look down and find yourself wholly naked.

We're inherently fearful of revealing excessively overmuch astir ourselves, and arsenic an entrepreneur, this apt extends to your business arsenic well.

But based connected increasing my ain business from thing to complete $100 cardinal successful yearly revenue, I tin show you little is not much erstwhile it comes to business transparency — much is more. Being unfastened builds trust, and spot fosters customers and relationships successful droves. The only objection is not giving distant your waste and acquisition secrets to competitors.

Here are 3 effective ways to build spot pinch clients and prospects by being much transparent (without leaving you emotion nightmarishly over-exposed).

Related: How Transparency In Business Leads to Customer Growth and Loyalty

1. Increase income by 18% aliases much by expanding your Google reviews

Nearly everyone sounds reviews earlier purchasing. One study recovered a whopping 93% of group publication reviews earlier making a purchase, and connected average, reviews nutrient an 18% uplift successful sales. In today's online landscape, group put almost arsenic overmuch weight connected a Google reappraisal arsenic they do connected a individual recommendation.

The champion measurement to summation your reviews is to simply ask! According to research, 70% of consumers will time off a review for a business erstwhile asked.

About 4 years ago, we had 486 reviews aft servicing much than 90,000 clients. We started utilizing Podium to nonstop retired texts aliases emails — based connected customer penchant — asking to time off a reappraisal connected Google, nan Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot.

By May 2024, we'd accumulated 2,312 five-star reviews, an summation of 375%. Keep successful mind that our relationship managers person been very diligent astir sending reappraisal requests to clients and only inquire nan clients astir apt to springiness affirmative responses.

Another bully measurement to summation reviews is to automate postcards astatine nan adjacent of an bid thanking personification for their business and encouraging them to time off a review. A beingness mailer is apt much effective than an email — one study that surveyed 1,200 consumers recovered that 76% trusted nonstop message nan astir arsenic opposed to online methods.

You mightiness beryllium wondering, "What astir nan negative reviews?" You're ever going to person a fistful of bad reviews, but group look astatine nan ratio of bully vs. bad. If you person acold much five-star reviews than one-star reviews, they'll disregard nan antagonistic ones and presume it's not nan norm.

2. Improve lead procreation by 105% by sharing your clients' occurrence stories

Sharing existent trading results has ever been a privilege for my business, PostcardMania. We presently person 944 trading lawsuit studies and 139 video lawsuit studies that archive existent group sharing run specifics that led to much leads, gross and caller customers for their businesses.

We stock these lawsuit studies acold and wide pinch prospects via email and postcards successful nan message to summation trust. But much recently, we began incorporating these stories into video societal media ads. During a caller net telephone by Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 50% of each people's clip connected Facebook and Instagram is spent watching videos, truthful naturally, we went that guidance to summation much eyes connected our services.

We put our 139 video lawsuit studies — real business owners talking astir their successful campaigns — to activity for america connected Facebook and Instagram.

As a result, our societal media leads doubled. In 2022, our mean number of societal media leads per week was 174, and past successful 2023, nan mean lead count accrued to 356 a week! That's a 105% increase.

Of course, our usage of societal media successful this lawsuit is portion of a larger multi-channel trading strategy that ties nonstop message and integer ads together, truthful I propose a akin attack if you want to spot nan aforesaid results (we've really packaged our successful attack into a azygous affordable trading bundle called Everywhere Small Business owed to precocious request from our clients to replicate this method). Campaigns that uniquely harvester people and integer advertizing utilizing hyper-targeted mailing lists and lookalike audiences person been proven to activity clip and clip again, truthful I highly urge them.

It doesn't matter what manufacture you are in, your customers' occurrence stories tin beryllium compiled and incorporated into your marketing plan to turn your customer base.

Related: How Problem-Solving Case Studies Help You Market Your Business

3. Convert prospects faster by dropping nan velvet statement and inviting them in

Being transparent online will thief build a affirmative image of your marque and bring successful much customers — but you tin besides return this 1 measurement further and fto prospects sojourn your business and interact pinch your products aliases services successful person. One study revealed that 79% of customers want brands to spell supra and beyond what they are required to uncover and springiness much information, pinch two-thirds of them saying they would move brands for much in-depth data.

At PostcardMania, we invited clients to sojourn america and return a circuit of our in-house printing facility. We besides person a trading convention doubly a twelvemonth wherever clients tin meet their trading consultants face-to-face and study much astir our business down nan scenes. These clients often extremity up being immoderate of our champion and longest-lasting relationships! You tin do nan aforesaid by hosting an arena and opening your doors to nan public. It doesn't person to beryllium a convention — you tin commencement mini pinch thing arsenic elemental arsenic a nighttime of snacks and entertainment.

Related: 3 Ways to Personalize Your Marketing for Higher Engagement

Free samples are besides a awesome measurement to show customers precisely what they are getting earlier they make a commitment. This doesn't ever use to each business, but you tin effort to find a measurement to let prospects to interact pinch your merchandise aliases work connected a deeper, much beingness level.

Incorporate immoderate of these tactics, and you'll show prospects nan astir authentic broadside of you and your business. Believe maine erstwhile I opportunity trading successful your fears astir being ace transparent for bold authenticity will reap existent rewards successful semipermanent maturation and customer loyalty.

More