Now that you know just how important Word of Mouth Marketing is, we’ve got some help on how you can boost yours and get more referrals from customers you already have.

1. Focus on creating a great customer experience. Make them love your shop.

The key to referrals is a happy customer base, and the key to that? Well, on top of honest, professional repair work, friendliness and customer service go a long way.

Work on bettering relationships with your existing customers and increasing customer loyalty overall. Because when it comes down to it, it’s your existing customers that you’re relying on for your referrals.

2. Ask your most loyal customers for referrals.

Don’t feel shy about asking your current customers for referrals, especially if they’ve been regulars for a long time. If a customer has been trusting their regular auto maintenance and repairs to your shop for a long time, there’s a pretty good chance that they genuinely like your business and will be happy to help you out.

3. Offer incentives for referrals.

If asking your customers for referrals isn’t your cup of tea, you can try creating a ‘referral program’ and offer current customers a reward for each new customer they recommend. A lot of small businesses go this route, probably because it’s a successful way to satisfy almost everyone involved: the current customer likes your business even more after getting a reward for a quick favor, you retain your existing customer and get a new one, and the new customer gets a recommendation from someone they know and trust. Some businesses even give back to both the current and new customer.

You’re free to set your own rules here, but running a referral program is a great way to give Word of Mouth Marketing that little boost it needs to get going. Try offering a free oil change, 50% a certain kind of service, or just cash back to customers who refer you new business. They will definitely thank you and this only strengthens their loyalty to your shop- meaning they might even keep referring new customers to get the deal again!

These are just a few simple steps you can take to better your customer relationships and get more referrals, but they can take a lot of work and time. Be sure to start now to get results faster!