In 2016 a research study was conducted
(Mathilda, 2016) to determine which factors
could stimulate customers to engage in word
of mouth. This study was mainly geared
towards the local car maintenance and repair
shops with the objective of attracting the
local female market.
Mathilda (2016) studied the new market of a
local car repair auto shop, which consisted of
local women. This target demographic is attractive to the car repair shop as it has a high
buying power especially in regard to car repair and maintenance. As word of mouth has
been proven to be effective in attracting new
customers, the local car repair and auto shop
requested a study on how it could attract its
new target market with this strategy. The aim
of this research was to explore what word of
mouth tactics a car repair and maintenance
shop can use in order to obtain new customers, particularly women.
The respondents who participated in this
qualitative research were asked a variety of
questions from different angles related to this
subject in order to determine what motivates
them to endorse a business to other potential customers. In this exploratory research
a total of five (5) professional females were
interviewed. The objective of the interviews
was to learn how local women can be
encouraged to engage in offline, electronic
and/or social word of mouth. Their answers
were analyzed and compared with previous
research studies that had been conducted on
a variety of word of mouth topics.
Results show, that customers can indeed be
acquired through word of mouth marketing.
Findings indicate that word of mouth is an
effective tool for obtaining (new) customers.
People are more likely to try a product when
it is recommended by their friends as they
trust their experiences over others forms of
marketing, such as advertising. Results also
indicate that it is possible to stimulate customers to engage in personal and electronic
word of mouth when the correct tactics are
applied. Referral programs, amusing ads,
and newsletters with valuable content are
good methods to encourage customers to
engage in offline, electronic, and social word
of mouth. However, referral programs are
the best method to stimulate overall word of
mouth.
The local car repair auto shop can acquire
and stimulate its new target market with
word of mouth marketing if it is done appropriately. Highly amusing advertisements and
newsletters that provide beneficial tips are
good ways to achieve offline- and electronic
word of mouth. If overall stimulation of word
of mouth is the objective, application of
referral programs is the best way to achieve
this, which includes offline, electronic, and
social word of mouth. Thus, it is recommended that the local car repair auto shop
use these tactics to attract its new (female)
target market.
The study of Mathilda (2016) was mainly
geared towards the local car maintenance
and repair shops with the objective of attracting the local female market. However,
it can also be applicable for other types of
businesses.
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