Last week, we began to talk about getting back to the art of communication. Not an e-mail exchange or voice-mail tag. A real conversation.

Today, let’s cover the old-fashioned kind of conversations. When was the last time you took clients to lunch or just stopped what you were doing when they walked in the store? I’m not talking about the phony “comment on their kids’ pictures” kind of chats that some networking books recommend. I’m not even talking about asking about their lives or business at all. This time, why not talk about yours?

If you have clients who are raving fans, why not ask them to spread the word? I’ll bet they know someone else who would benefit from your work. Tell them about your ideal customer (hopefully they fit that description), and ask them if they can help.

What’s more of an old-fashioned conversation than the kind that used to take place over a neighbor’s fence? Word of mouth is an incredibly powerful tool. In the book “Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer” author Michael Silverstein comments, “the way women try new products is a girlfriend puts an arm around her and says, ‘This stuff is fantastic. You ought to try it.'” In fact, in a recent national survey, word of mouth was found to be the most influential form of advertising.

But you can’t create word-of-mouth buzz in a vacuum. First you have to deliver a product or service worthy of the praise. Then you need to encourage the chatter. Referral programs, loyalty rewards, scarcity promotions, a sense of exclusivity or belonging … all of these will generate lots of little conversations that will spark lots of big new opportunities. More on word of mouth next week.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and the author of “99.3 Random Acts of Marketing.” He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com.