Everyday people talk about products they use and what things they like and/or dislike about them. The medium for these conversations varies and could be anywhere from a blog to a chat room to a face to face conversation. But when it comes time for a consumer to actually purchase a product, whose recommendation are they most likely to trust?

Mintel recently conducted a survey to find out just who the most influential recommendations come from. According to their data, 34% of U.S. Internet users who bought a product or service because of a recommendation, were told about the product/service by a friend or relative. 25% of those surveyed received the recommendation from a spouse or domestic partner. Interestingly, only 10% of people said that the recommendation came from a blogger or a chat room. This data shows that a personal recommendation from someone you know and trust is still extremely valuable.

There is also the question of what motivates people to recommend a product or service to others. As seen in the chart below, the number one reason is price.

Word-of-mouth marketing can be extremely beneficial for the right product or service. But to do it successfully you need to have a high quality product and provide a mechanism that allows people to quickly and easily tell others about it.