QUOTES ON THE VALUE OF WORD OF MOUTH

"It is my belief that in the near future sucess in sales will become totally dependent upon a salesperson's ability to get referrals." Scott Kramnick

"The best leads are those that are referred to you by satisfied customers." Scott Kramnick

"The best prospect is the client who has already dealt with you. The second best is the one referred to by a client who has dealt with you previously. The third best is the on e referred to you by another trusted professional or friend." Marilyn Jennings.

"The residual value of loyal customers is not just their return business over time, with better profits (although that's important). It's also their ability to connect you with who they know and who they can lead you to." Bill Cates

"a referral from another salesperson can be as powerful as a referral from a satisfied customer." Bill Cates

"The most powerful words you can use in asking for referrals are, 'I need your help.' If you've served your customer, referral alliance, or prospect well, if you've built rapport and trust, then he or she will be happy to give you referrals. You just have to ask." Bill Cates

"Don't ever underestimate the power of commonality and endorsement." Bill Cates

"If you're not getting re-orders, then you're not creating a situation in which you can sucessfully collect referrals." Bill Cates

"Advertising can reinforce positions in the market, but it can't create positions." Regis McKenna

"People are deluged with promotional information, and they are beginning to distrust it [advertising]. People are more likely to make decisions based on what they hear directly from other people, including friends, experts, or even salespeople. These days more decisions are made at the sales counter than in the living room armchair." Regis McKenna

"Forget about market surveys and analyst reports. Word of mouth is probably the most powerful form of communication in the business world. It can either hurt a company's reputation . . . or give it a boost in the market. Word-of-mouth messages stand out in a person's mind. . .Quite simply, we find messages more believable and compelling when we hear them directly from other people, particularly people we know and respect." Regis McKenna

"We rely on word-of-mouth information when determining what products to buy, what companies to trust, what written reports to read, what corporate leaders to believe." Regis McKenna

"Hardly any computer of any size is sold these days without some word-of-mouth reference preceding the transaction. This kind of information gathering is not unlike the way we choose a family physician or attorney. When the risk is high, we seek advice." Regis McKenna

"The no-questions-asked policy allows customers to communicate honestly with the dealer." Regis McKenna

"Building a communication strategy and process based on word of mouth and insuring a positive customer experience is hard work. It's a lot easier to run an ad, issue a press release, or hold a press conference. It's a lot easier to talk than to listen." Regis McKenna

"Companies first must concentrate on establishing themselves in the infrastructure and building favorable references. Then, and only then, should they worry about getting press coverage." Regis McKenna

"Like it or not, people are talking about your business all the time. Some talk is positive, but because of a quirk in human nature, negative talk reaches a much wider audience than positive talk." Jerry Wilson

f-mouth marketing ultimately depends on the quality of your customer service." Jerry Wilson

"Goodwill is the only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy." Marshall Field

"I believe the growing commodity is influence. It is difficult to transfer power but influence is a measure of common currency that can be applied in any situation." Rich Stiller

"A man's reputation is not a quality that he possesses, but rather the opinions which other people have about him." F.G. Bailey

"Word of mouth may both accellerate and slow up product acceptance." Johan Arndt

"Word of mouth emerges as one fo the most important, if not the most important source of information for the consumer." Johan Arndt

"A man is always stronger while making a reputation than he is after it is made." Josh Billings

"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches." Ancient Proverb

"For many years, word of mouth has been thought to be almost irresistible." Johan Arndt

"While personally employed as a tool by some enterprising owners, word of mouth advertising has seldom been shaped so that customers can generate comments on behalf of a business." Godfrey Harris

"There is simply no getting away from use of standard sales and marketing communications methods. Once established, a terrific product or service may indeed sell faster or in higher volume due to favorable word of mouth, but this can rarely be relied on to expand or grow a new business to any great degree." Kim T. Gordon
(Editor's note: While we disagree with Ms. Gordon's opinion of word-of-mouth marketing, we wanted to record her thought here.)

"Word of mouth seems to be a frequently used risk-reduction device; and this source of information is particularly sought for in situations characterized by high uncertainty." Johan Arndt

"Word of mouth tends to be highly persuasive because the sender apparently has nothing to gain from the receiver's subsequent actions." Leon G. Schiffman and Leslie L. Kanuk