Each day, consumers are bombarded by more than 3,500 commercial messages. Each year, marketers shell out billons of dollars with the hopes that their message will be the one that breaks through. How can your brand find the power to bridge the gap?

More than 90 percent of people say that a recommendation from a friend, family member, colleague, or expert is the single most powerful determinant of their purchase decision. Positive recommendations help sales. Negative recommendations hurt them. The power of word of mouth cannot be underestimated.

Question is: How do your current marketing strategies position your brand to be recommended over your key competitors?

According to PQ Media, Word of Mouth - commonly referred to as either WOM or WOMM - is the fastest growing of the advertising/marketing/communications disciplines today. Two things are driving this growth: 1) the continued consumer shift to alternative media (online channels) and 2) marketers need for both a deeper brand engagement and an insistence upon ROI.

Zócalo Group taps the power of word of mouth strategies that are sustainable, getting beyond 'buzz' marketing and traditional Public Relations to harness true brand advocates to achieve three objectives:

1. Fuel positive recommendations
2. Combat negative recommendations
3. Ensure that the net sum of your entire marketing mix leads to powerful recommendations by your industry's most influential consumers and experts