I met a lot of people who think that these 3 words mean essentially the same thing. And they don’t.

If you have ever been confused by all this, I’m about to make it all clear for you.

The only thing common about these three is the fact that they all give you a way of getting more business without advertising. That’s it. That’s where the similarities end.

Networking is a way of establishing new contacts by meeting people where people congregate. There are business functions (networking meetings, conventions, trade shows, exhibitions, seminars, workshops, association annual general meetings, etc.) and social functions (parties, outings, church events, hobbyist & enthusiast events, etc.) that you can attend. To me, this is hard labour. Sweaty, unpleasant grunt work which you still do because that’s the quickest way to expand your network. (You may have figured out by now that I’m not a naturally-born networker. You may like networking a lot more than I do, which is a good thing for you.)

Word-Of-Mouth is an “organic” process of turning your customers or clients into raving fans and ambassadors for your business. It’s a great thing when this happens. The issue with the word-of-mouth is that it’s hard to control or to influence.

Referrals, on the other hand, are typically the result of having the right referral system in place that automatically attracts qualified referrals to your business every day of the week. A good referral system doesn’t happen by chance. It needs to be engineered, tested, and put to a good use. And once it’s in place, it’s like having a referral tap in your office: Open the tap and the referrals pour in, credit card in hand, wanting to do business with you.

Both the Networking and the Word-Of-Mouth can be made a part of your Referral Process:

By implementing a Networking Referral System in your business, you can become a much more effective networker.

By creating special incentives for your customers or clients to refer your business, you can stimulate and control the word-of-mouth.

Referral systems go far beyong just networking or just word-of-mouth. This entire site is devoted to helping you engineer a system that will attract an endless stream of referrals to your business.