4.28.2010: Old or New, Word-of-Mouth Still Rules

By Daniel Hood

"I love referrals." Those three words are printed on my wife's business cards and they have a very good reason to be there. My wife is a real estate agent and a large portion of her clientele is through referrals. Using referrals, or word-of-mouth, as a way to gain business opportunities isn't a new concept but as important today as it was centuries ago.

In the case of my wife's business, most of her referrals happen between friends and family at the supermarket or the backyard barbecue but with the advent of the social Web, word-of-mouth is widening its definition. Facebook, Twitter and consumer blogs, along with newcomers like Yelp!, let you share your reviews of goods and services not just with your friends and family but with the entire Web. Now a consumer's opinion has a much greater reach than in the past, thus having a greater effect, be it positive or negative.

A great example of word-of-mouth promotion occurred a few days ago when a friend posted via Facebook that she has co-founded a volunteer organization, Bi-State Pet Food Pantry. The organization helps keep pets with their owners during financially difficult times by providing emergency assistance with pet food. I am a big advocate for animals and it sounded like a great cause, so I shared the post with my Facebook friends and they shared it with their friends and so forth. The message was shared exponentially with the simple click of a button. Raising awareness in the past would have taken months but now has taken minutes.

At the end of a successful closing, my wife always asks clients to refer her to friends and family. She understands that people place high value on a review when it comes from someone they know and trust. For every organization or business, there are a multitude of avenues for getting your name out there, but there will always be value in a good old-fashioned (or newfangled) referral.