What’s better than a regular customer? It’s a regular customer who refers other customers to you!

Word of mouth marketing—that is leveraging existing customer relationships to gain new customers—isn’t new, but it is worth considering. Why? Because customers won through referrals are more valuable. They already have a level of trust in your business and likely have a stronger intent to make a purchase. They’re very inexpensive to acquire as a customer and need less convincing to buy.

So how can your business pump up word of mouth referrals? Here are a few tips to get you going in the right direction.

Make Your Shopping or Dining Experience Share-worthy

The first step to getting people to refer customers to you is to make the experience they have in your establishment worth sharing in the first place. And to do that, you need a hook: a standout dish, a clever product twist, a memorable experience, or packaging that feels instantly recognisable. You want to design experiences around being visual and immersive, that excite the customer and make it easy and compelling to share.

Small, human touches turn a good experience into a shareable one. A warm interaction, a tiny unexpected extra, or a visually striking moment (great plating, distinctive decor, or well-designed bags) creates emotional lift and makes customers reach for their phones. When the experience is smooth, personal, and visually memorable, sharing becomes the natural next step.

Train Staff to Spark Stories

Customers talk about people more than products, so the quickest way to fuel word of mouth is through staff who create small, memorable moments. Warm greetings, genuine conversation, and smalla actions that show they care, such as remembering customer names, asking about a previous order, or offering a quick recommendation, for example. The goal is to turn routine visits into human experiences. You don’t necessarily need to write a script, but train your employees on how to be personable as well as professional.

Make Sharing Easy with Incentives

Customers are far more likely to spread the word when you make it easy for them. Start by making social sharing simple: visible handles on menus, bags, and receipts; a small branded moment that photographs well; and a smooth experience that people actually want to show off. You can make ordinary visits extraordinary when the environment, packaging, or product naturally invites a quick photo or tag.

Layer in light, customer-friendly incentives that reward people for bringing others with them. A referral code on a receipt, a “bring a friend” perk, or a loyalty bonus for shared recommendations gives customers a nudge without cheapening the brand. The key is to keep it effortless. Make sharing simple without any forms to fill out or hoops to jump through.

The good news is that you can use your EPOS system to make it even easier to inspire referrals. Whether it’s prompting your staff to offer incentives or just to recall a customer’s name to create personalised experiences, your EPOS till can be a powerful tool for driving new customer acquisition.

Want to learn more? We’ve got you covered. Contact our EPOS specialists today to discuss how to leverage your till for drive word of mouth marketing.