One recent Neilsen study revealed that 92% of consumers trust referrals from family or friends more than any other type of advertising or referral. Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is often considered the marketing gold standard in lead generation and online marketing. For every lead or prospect you can work to attract through a savvy website or clever content, a happy customer can effortlessly send you numerous referrals that become profitable customers for life. Yet many entrepreneurs and small business owners believe that word-of-mouth marketing is something that occurs by accident or at least at the will of customers.

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