Why you should focus on your word-of-mouth advertising. One of the biggest reasons people don't buy is lack of trust. Your product or service can be astounding, but if prospects don't trust you, they won't buy. A word-of-mouth referral comes with a high degree of trust compared to other advertising methods. The more trust your prospect has in you, the easier it is to sell.

So why not invest in your word of mouth advertising? Why not make it easier for people to refer you? Well this is where your web site comes in! Here are 5 ways to use your web site to boost your word of mouth advertising:

1. Tell all your word-of-mouth advertisers about your web site. Often, a business will either put up their web site for the first time or make significant updates and not tell anyone. People who can potentially refer you business ought to be aware of your web site. So when you put up a web site or make significant updates, let everyone know about it.

2. Get your web site on all your points of contact. This will help spread the word about your web site. In addition to putting your web site name on brochures and business cards, put it on the not-so-obvious places like your emails, voice mail greeting, and customer receipts. The more times people hear about your web site, the more they will share it when telling people about you.

3. Put your referral program on your web site. Having a page on your web site that explains your referral program will help others be more effective at sending leads your way. On this page, make it clear how to refer business to you and what kind of business you are looking for.

4. Put your special offers on your site. Special offers are good for getting prospects to take action. They also can make referring people to you easier. For example, instead of saying, "My friend Joe is a plumber, he can help you," a referrer can say, "My friend Joe is a plumber, go to his web site, and you can get 10% off!" After you put your offers on your web site, let the people who will refer you know about them.

5. Give free information on your web site. Free information is a good way to make referring people to your web site easy to do. It can be as easy as saying, "Oh, go check out Jen's web site. There's a lot of good free advice there." Everyone wants good free advice. Let everyone who may refer you business know about the free information on your web site.

Wouldn't it be great if people who used to say, "Hey, my friend Ann is a graphic designer, umm, I have her card somewhere." can now say, "Hey, my friend Ann is a graphic designer, visit her site at www.anndesign.com so you can get free design samples?"In conclusion, use your web site to boost your word of mouth referrals. By doing so, you will attract prospects that have a higher degree of trust, and you will have an easier time closing sales.