With social media getting so much attention, is word-of-mouth by clients still an important source of new business?

Yes, yes, YES!

I conducted a poll recently asking professional estheticians what their best form of client referral was, listing everything from Yelp, to Facebook, to Instagram, and included word-of-mouth among the choices.

Overwhelmingly, personal recommendations by satisfied customers was cited as the most productive source of new business over any other.

And why? Because to prospective clients it seems more authentic than a company talking about good it thinks it is.

A spoken endorsement (assuming it’s genuine and not scripted) is earned proof of a company’s claim about its quality.