Word of Mouth Marketing and Online Reviews

Word-of-mouth marketing remains a powerful and effective means of promoting your dealership to this very day. More than 92% of consumers go through both social conversations and online reviews before making purchase decisions.

With numbers like these, it‘s not wise to neglect the importance of either social conversations or customer reviews.

How Word-of-Mouth Marketing has Changed Over the Years

Traditional word-of-mouth marketing was about spreading the dealer’s message from one person to another. Today, social conversations share the same purpose, bolstered by online customer reviews.

If your dealership or OEM brand constantly bombards your targeted audience with advertisements, then the law of diminishing returns will kick in. Instead, user experience, feedback, opinion, and recommendations will make more sense to both prospects as well as your marketing team.

How Online Review Management can Help Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Now that we have established that social conversations bolstered by online reviews are the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing, managing them effectively would be beneficial to your dealership.

With recent online reviews, prospects looking to understand what to expect can access these reviews and the ensuing conversations on their smartphones.

Consumers trust customer reviews even if the reviewer is not personally known to them.

What are the Ways to Improve Modern Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

• Provide the Best Customer Experience: One of the proven ways to improve word-of-mouth marketing is by providing the best customer experience possible. Only when your customers are happy and satisfied with your vehicles and services will they refer your dealership to others.
• Request More Online Customer Reviews: To improve word-of-mouth marketing, you need to constantly drive more online reviews.
• Get Online Ratings: Star ratings are in fact even more important than review content. Try to win better online ratings all the time.
• Encourage Other User-Generated Content: In addition to online reviews and ratings, you need to encourage other user-generated content like images, videos, etc.
• Leverage Social Media Platforms: Using social media platforms, you can promote the dealership by sharing engaging posts, interacting with local communities, and more. 
• Get in Touch with Local Influencers: Influencer marketing has a positive impact on consumers. Build good relationships with local leaders and influencers who can help you improve word-of-mouth marketing.