Word of Mouth
30Aug

Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Just Word of Mouth for Business

When we’re talking with dealers about their online marketing needs for the first time, we’ll hear how word of mouth is the biggest asset to their business and they’re not sure how online marketing can really add to that. The biggest misunderstanding here is that online marketing is now just another form of word of mouth in this technology age! Relying on the traditional sense of word of mouth could be a disservice to your business and here’s why.

Saturated Market

With increasing access to things like technology and information, the industry has become saturated making products more accessible and easier to research for customers. With the wealth of information that lies on the internet, customers can research and look at a variety of options they may not have otherwise had access to. You have a product they want, but another dealership a little further away has a newer model with a deal on transporting it to them. They may not necessarily be more inclined to go with your dealership. Your website and social media channels are another form of word of mouth. Ask your current customers to post a review to your Facebook page so people can quickly get an idea of why it’s better to work with you! You can mimic this same sentiment on your website as well. Highlight customer testimonials on your home page! This is the new form of word of mouth.

People Still Do Research

Nowadays, even if someone gets a recommendation from a colleague, friend or even family member people are still going to do a quick scan for any red flags. They can do this in seconds by typing into Google your business name, so if your website doesn’t pop up and they can’t find any reviews or social media channels, it may make them a bit skeptical. Make sure your online assets are supportive of the positive things past customers are saying to earn you new customers. If they have difficulty getting some background or basic knowledge of your business they may be more inclined to move on to another recommendation, or they see other similar businesses at the top of their search results that do provide these things.

Online Reviews

As mentioned in the two sections above, reviews are today’s form of word of mouth. In fact, according to RevLocal statistics:

Online reviews highlight the experience that more than just the person that recommended your business have. It’s a better indicator of what the wider experience at your dealership is like so be sure to ask current and past customers to review you on Facebook or even via email to be highlighted on the website. A great way to capture these is by sending your customers a survey at the end of their experience with you. It also offers some great feedback for where your dealership could improve to ultimately get that five-star rating.

Word of mouth is a great form of earning new business, but with technology nowadays there are so many other forms that it can come in. Ensuring you have these areas buttoned up and meeting the needs of your customer could elevate your dealership to the next level.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelsey Fritz
Kelsey is the Marketing Coordinator at Commercial Web Services where she monitors the latest marketing advancements to better educate dealers on marketing trends that can further their business goals.
COMMENT (2)
Laura / October 30, 2018

Kelsey,
I just loved the ” Don’t rely on just Word of Mouth” article. I wish our dealer prospects would see the importance of having a website with social media. They can truly add value to any marketing plan.

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Kelsey Fritz / October 31, 2018

So glad you enjoyed it, Laura! Completely agree with you on the value social media can add to their marketing strategy.

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