When Gabriella Nelson decided to open her naturopathy business, she knew she had her work cut out for her to build a reputation from nothing. Initially, she focused on the local shopping strip where she based the business in Hampton, Melbourne, setting up outside on the footpath for exposure on weekends. But as her first clients came in, she also began building up an online reputation on Word Of Mouth Online. 

 
Gabriella explains; “when clients start getting significant improvements in their health, they’re extremely thankful – and I ask if they can write about their experience on womo.com.au”. She goes on to say; “for anything health related, there’s a huge sense of trust involved.  No-one just books on a whim – they need to be comfortable they're seeing someone that’s knowledgeable that can get them results – and that’s why our reviews are so important.”

"People aren't silly. They want to make smart decisions. I know when I'm making decisions about the businesses I use, I feel much more informed and empowered by basing that decision on reviews …and my clients are the same."

Her business, Herbaceous, is still only 3 years old but more and more bookings keep coming in. “Many people call and say; ‘I’ve read good things about you’ when they book and we’ve done no other marketing except for very local activities.  Since being on WOMO, we regularly attract customers from locations way beyond our suburb too.”
 
Gabriella tracks where every new client comes from and says;
 

“60-65% of our new clients come from WOMO. We're a new business and it's been a great way to get the word out about our services and build up a fantastic reputation quite quickly.  We find that the clients we get from WOMO are also more likely to re-book, tell their friends, and review their own experience – so it just keeps fuelling further growth.  We're coming up high in lots of Google searches too which is great."

Bookings at Herbaceous have more than doubled in the last year as their reputation has grown. Using customer feedback so deliberately has also helped shape the business. Gabriella says; "Clients come with a preconceived idea about us …and expectations. We strive to live up to that. When people go away and then leave a great review, it gives me more confidence – it's very visible evidence that we're helping people and that people are very grateful. Getting peoples health on track is very rewarding!"

See their WOMO listing here: http://www.womo.com.au/reviews/Herbaceous-Hampton/