According to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is:

Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easier for that conversation to take place. It is the art and science of building active, mutually beneficial consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-marketer communication.

But why call it the most honest for of marketing? Well, here are three ways:

1. You can’t fake it. Organic WOMM is something that happens when people truly love your products and services. They naturally tell their friends, family and colleagues about what you offer because they gained so much value from it themselves.

2. WOMM is fostered by actually listening to and respecting your clients and customers. When you provide your clients with a way to provide feedback and then take action on that feedback, you make a good impression. Not only will they keep coming back for more, they’ll pass on the good news about their experience.

3. When you try to use dishonest WOMM it almost always backfires. Using deceptive means to encourage WOMM leaves a bad taste in consumers’ mouth and they’ll be vociferous in spreading the bad word about your company.

When you can inspire word of mouth by “empowering consumers, respecting their opinions, thanking them for sharing their input, and making changes based on consumer counsel,” says Dave Balter, founder of BzzAgent, a word of mouth marketing agency, and author of The Word of Mouth Manual, “word or mouth marketing is successful all the time, every day.”