Getting customers to interact with products and services is just one obstacle small business owners face these days. The next is getting them to tell their friends and family about the business to bring more people in the door.

According to research research conducted by Constant Contact and Chadwick Bailey*, people are more likely to rely on recommendations from friends than purchase products and services from an unknown business.

“Half of the survey respondents said they are more likely to purchase a deal if it is recommended to them by friends or family - and that’s why merchants are more than happy to reward people who recommend them and share their deals on social networks or through email," said Dave Gilbertson, general manager for SaveLocal.

Keeping this in mind, small business owners should bring in employees with a marketing degree who know how to foster word-of-mouth marketing.

Business owners should also keep in mind that most conversations about their brands take place offline. BusinessNewsDaily** referenced recent research from The Keller Fay Group, which found 90 percent of discussions about a business occur via word-of-mouth marketing.

*http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120731005392/en/Email-Marketing/Daily-Deals/Small-Business

**http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2012/07/27/value-close-encounters-offline-kind/​