Marketing in the Recommendation Age

Written by Alexa Vaughn of Entrepreneur.com

If you're still talking about how to market in the Information Age, catch yourself -- that was so five years ago. We're now in a booming Recommendation Age.

Getting hundreds of search engine results from one keyword loses more of its novelty and efficiency every day as consumers opt for recommendations from real people. Instead of typing "hip sushi, Portland" into a search engine, consumers are going straight to Web sites like Citysearch and Yelp, where they can find several customer reviews for restaurants fitting that description. And as social networking Web sites like Facebook automatically import reviews into profiles, the exposure and influence of customer reviews are increasing.

Even consumers still primarily using search engines find customer review pages at the top of their search results. If you really type "hip sushi, Portland" into a Google (GOOG Quote) search, for instance, you'll see pages of review results before a result that goes directly to a restaurant.

The main reason: Studies, such as one done by Deloitte and Touche in late 2007, are finding that 80% of readers' purchasing decisions are influenced by customer reviews. And 70% of them say they share business reviews with friends and family online.

"It's critical for companies to respond to this trend because you just don't know what influence that message board or blogger might have if you're not listening and responding," says Toby Bloomberg, president of Bloomberg Marketing and a blogger for Diva Marketing. "If you're not continuing the conversation in a better direction, then people are left to their own conclusions."