The London School of Economics and Political Science researched the positive and negative effects of word of mouth and produced several interesting discoveries:

• A 7% increase in word of mouth advocacy unlocks 1% additional company growth.
• A 2% reduction in negative word of mouth boosts sales growth by 1%.
• Companies with above average positive word of mouth and below average negative word of mouth grow four times as fast as those with below average word of mouth and above average negative word of mouth.

That is a 400% growth difference between good and bad companies mentioned in the last point. The principles of word of mouth also apply to the church. If you give people something positive about your church to talk about, it will grow. Do not, however, rely on great advertising to be your catalyst for word of mouth and still expect it to produce church growth. Church growth begins with the marketability of your church. It is the core concept we presented in February’s Church Relevance newsletter, Marketability First. If you focus on a great ministry and church experience, you will create positive word of mouth.

Special thanks to Church of the Customer Blog for highlighting LSE’s research.