The document discusses the importance and impact of word-of-mouth marketing and brand advocacy. Some key points: on average 40% of customers are brand advocates who recommend brands without being paid; brand advocates in the US number over 50 million and over 1 billion worldwide; and for every dollar spent on word-of-mouth marketing, companies see $10 returned in leads and sales.

1. Twitter: @Zuberance Event hashtag: #ZubeBAS

2. On average, about 40% of customers are Brand Advocates. (They recommend brands and products to others without being paid to do so.) -Zuberance

3. There are 50 million Brand Advocates in the US and over 1 billion Brand Advocates worldwide. -Zuberance

4. On average, North American consumers recommend 5 brands. -GFK Roper, Global Word of Mouth, 2006; Zuberance

5. The average American consumer discusses brands 56 times per week. 62% of these conversations are positive. -Keller Fay Group, 2006

6. There are 500 billion Word of Mouth impressions each year in the US on the social web. -Forrester Research Inc, Peer Influence Analysis, 2010

7. Twitter: @Zuberance Event hashtag: #ZubeBAS

8. 94% of consumers trust Word of Mouth; 14% trust ads. -Forrester Research Inc, Intelliseek, 2006

9. The ROI of Word of Mouth marketing is 10:1. For each dollar marketers invest in WOM marketing, they get $10 back in qualified leads and sales. -Zuberance, The ROI of Energizing Brand Advocates, 2010

10. Each time a Brand Advocate recommends a brand, he/she reaches 150 people on the social web. -Forrester Research Inc, Peer Influence Analysis, 2010

11. Brand Advocates are 5X more valuable than average customers because they spend more and recommend more than average customers. -Zuberance, What’s a Brand Advocate Worth, 2010

12. Word of Mouth is the #1 driver of buying decisions in nearly every product category including cars, computers, software, hotels, restaurants, and movies. -McKinsey, The consumer decision journey, 2009