Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.   –  John Wanamaker 

You all know how expensive advertising can be. Dealerships spend thousands of dollars every month on newspaper, radio, TV, billboards, SEM & SEO, web based ads, signage, etc. All of this is designed to bring customers to buy from you.

However, none of these is the most powerful form of advertising known to mankind. That title belongs to Word of Mouth. It is estimated that 50% of all business in America is based on Word of Mouth.

How much time and energy are you devoting to Word of Mouth advertising about your business?

Word of Mouth advertising is based upon the customer experience. No matter how many potential customers your conventional ads bring in, if the customer experience sucks that will be money wasted. In fact, your paid ads will just create more negative Word of Mouth if you don’t handle the customer properly when they come to your store. When asked, they may give a reverse recommendation, “Anybody but….”

And you can’t be satisfied with just an OK customer experience either. Customers who are merely satisfied because they were treated OK will not talk about your company. When asked for a recommendation they may give a lukewarm one or just remain silent.

In order to build your Word of Mouth advertising, you must provide an exceptional customer experience. You must create memorable impressions and situations. You must WOW! the customer.

In building a process to WOW! your future customers, there is no better resource than your past customers, especially ones who have purchased from you multiple times. They have the best perspective to tell you why they decided to make their purchase from you, what they liked about their experience at your dealership and what they didn’t like.

Your staff can also be helpful in designing an ideal customer experience. There may be parts of your process that they are uncomfortable with or things they may have suggestions on how to fine tune. Remember, they are customers, too.

And finally, think back on all the times you have had excellent buying experiences. Make a list of actions or ideas that impressed you. Then do the same thing for crummy buying experiences and things you hated. Check and see how your process stacks up.

The great thing about Word of Mouth advertising is that, besides being the most effective way to generate customers and sales, it is also one of the least expensive forms. It is Priced Less. It is also Priceless. Without it, you will never be as productive as you dream. With it, the sky is the limit.