Both Online and Offline – Part 1
Word-of-mouth advertising isn’t just old-school, it’s timeless. Whether it’s a neighbor recommending a local coffee shop or someone leaving a glowing online review, personal recommendations drive trust and action like no other form of advertising.
In today’s world, word-of-mouth has expanded beyond casual conversations. It now includes online reviews, social media posts, and even the ripple effect of eye-catching offline advertising.
What Is Word-of-Mouth Advertising?
Word-of-mouth (WOM) happens when people share their opinions or experiences about a business with others. It’s often free, organic, and incredibly effective because it’s based on trust.
Why it matters:
- 90% of people trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other form of advertising.
- It influences both buying decisions and brand reputation.
What Is Word-of-Mouth Advertising?
Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the oldest and most trusted forms of marketing.
It happens when people share their personal experiences with a business, product, or service with others, whether that’s friends, family, coworkers, or even strangers. Unlike traditional advertising, word-of-mouth doesn’t come from the business itself; it comes from real customers, making it far more authentic and trustworthy in the eyes of others.
This kind of recommendation carries a level of credibility that advertising alone can’t achieve.
When someone has a great experience with a local bakery or mechanic and shares it with others, that recommendation can drive new customers through the door. It’s organic, genuine, and incredibly effective because it’s based on trust and personal experience.
Another example is when you go to see an outstanding movie and want to share it with your friends, family, and coworkers.
In fact, research has shown that people are significantly more likely to act on a recommendation from someone they know than from a paid ad. Word-of-mouth isn’t something you can fully control, but you can create the conditions that help it happen more often.
Be Cautious…
Word-of-mouth advertising can work both ways. When people have a positive experience with a product or service, they want to share it with others. However, it appears that when people have a negative experience with a product or service, it tends to go viral. People love to complain and feel like it’s their duty to let those they know and don’t know not to shop at THAT store.
Take a look at the statistics…
To neutralize a single bad review, you typically need about 4 to 10 good reviews, depending on several factors:
1. Numerical Rating Impact (e.g., Stars)
- If your average rating is high (e.g., 4.8 stars), a single 1-star review can significantly pull it down.
- To bring it back up, you may need 8–10 five-star reviews.
- If your average is already lower (e.g., 4.2), it might only take 4–6 good reviews to recover.
2. Platform Weighting
Some platforms (like Google or Yelp) weigh newer reviews more heavily, meaning:
- A bad review today might have a greater impact than older positive reviews.
- You may need more recent positive reviews to counterbalance.
3. Review Volume
- If you have only 10 reviews, a single bad one is 10% of your rating base.
- If you have 100 reviews, the same negative review carries less weight.
- The fewer total reviews you have, the greater the impact of a single negative one.
4. Content and Tone
Even one bad review can damage trust if it’s detailed or emotional. Good reviews with:
- Specific details
- Personal experiences
- Photos
…carry more weight in the eyes of readers and may offset negative ones more effectively.
The New Word-of-Mouth: Online Reviews
In today’s connected world, word-of-mouth doesn’t just happen in person – it happens online, too.
Online reviews have become a modern form of word-of-mouth advertising, giving customers a platform to share their thoughts publicly. Whether it’s a five-star review on Google, a detailed Yelp post, or a quick Facebook recommendation, these digital endorsements carry real weight.
When potential customers search for a local business, the reviews they read can be the deciding factor in whether they visit or move on to a competitor. Online reviews are often the first impression someone gets of your business, and they remain visible long after the customer has left.
That’s why encouraging satisfied customers to leave a review is so important. It takes the power of one great experience and extends its reach to everyone browsing online.
While it may seem less personal than a face-to-face recommendation, it has a compounding effect—one review can influence dozens or even hundreds of potential customers. And because reviews are publicly available, they continue working for your business 24/7, creating a lasting form of indirect word-of-mouth that builds trust over time.
Summarizing Online Reviews…
Online reviews are the digital version of word-of-mouth.
- Sites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook give your happy customers a platform to share their experiences with the world.
- These reviews are often one of the first impressions people have of your business.
- Encourage satisfied customers to leave a review – it amplifies the impact of a single positive experience.
Tip: Include signage or reminders at the point of sale or checkout asking for reviews. Make it easy for them! Stay tuned for Part 2 of this word-of-mouth article, where I will share two real-life stories that illustrate how this works.
As I researched and, from personal experience working in the marketing and advertising business since 2008, I realized I had a lot to share in just one blog post, so I have written a part two.
Creating Word-of-Mouth Advertising… I’ve been promoting this for years. You can see here that it is one of the selling points of a tabletop ad, and I’ll explain how it works in Part 2 of this article. LocalTableTalk.com
Would you like help creating a system to get good reviews? Set a free Discovery Call with Jimmy to create a personalized plan. Set up a Discovery Call Now
Word-of-Mouth Advertising Part 2
I’ll add the link when it goes live.
Coming Soon – A Mini-Course on Word-of-Mouth Advertising Tricks for Small Business Owners.
Please let us know in the comments what ideas you’d like to add that have worked for you in terms of getting reviews or encouraging people to talk about and recommend your business to others. Thank you!