Word of mouth (WOM) marketing can be very useful for new and used auto dealerships. People trust the opinions that customers have about a dealership and its vehicles more than they trust the car dealer itself. WOM marketing was the first type of marketing there was, and there’s a reason it works so well. It relies on credible, relatable stories of what people have experienced. When a friend, family member, colleague, or even stranger shares specific encounters with a product or brand, people are likely to trust their opinion and somewhat adopt it as their own. Then, those people might tell their friends who could tell their friends, and so on. You can see how WOM can either really help or really hurt your car dealership’s brands image with consumers. Several car dealerships acknowledge that word of mouth marketing is important, yet few of them claim to know how to positively impact their WOM. Make the most of your WOM marketing with the following tips.
Focus on the influencers in your target market. According to Manta, if you reach 10% of your market effectively, then they will tell the other 90% about your brand or a product that you’re focusing on. Anyone could be an influencer, so be sure to give all potential car buyers something positive to say about your dealership. Interesting content that you’re sharing or posting on social media, excellent customer service at your lot, and quality vehicles at reasonable prices are all great ways to put your dealership ahead of the pack. When you don’t give customers something to talk about, they might forget about you or talk about a different dealership. You should try to find people who love your vehicles and talking about their experiences with friends. Once you find a set of people that are loyal to your brand and have connections, try introducing a referral program to encourage them to share their positive opinions and bring in new car buyers.
There are some other things that your auto dealership can do to improve its word of mouth marketing. Ensure that you have a presence on sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp so that people can leave reviews and share their praises, recommendations, and complaints. People trust these sources more since customers can share their opinion no matter what it is. You could try giving loyal car buyers things like surprise discounts, freebies, or thank you cards to show that you care. On your website, in emails, and on social media platforms, create a place where people can give feedback, or share a survey to get their opinions on certain parts of your dealership and how it runs. On social media, don’t just try to get as many followers or as many impressions as possible. Strive to gain loyal followers that add value to your dealership, and provide them with useful, unique content regularly. The more connected followers feel to your car dealership’s brand, the more loyal they will be, and the more positive their WOM will be.
Improving the effects of your dealership’s word of mouth marketing can be a tricky thing to accomplish and an even harder thing to measure. However, it’s very important for the success of your dealership and the image of your brand. WOM must be pretty effective if it’s stuck around this long. Now, it’s even easier for people to share their experiences with the help of the Internet and social media.