Category Archives: Vermont

Word-of-Mouth primary driver of local business

Posted on Saturday, October 27, 2012 by No comments yet

#VT – Need a recommendation for a plumber?  Best burrito in town?  Slate roof repair?  People turn to Front Porch Forum again and again in our coverage area.  Now a new study offers some insight (below).  People use FPF to get a recommendation from a neighbor, to read reviews in the archives, and to see the ads from our local sponsors.  FPF is word-of-mouth accelerator for local businesses.

A new Street Fight poll finds that even with a slew of new locally targeted marketing platforms at local merchants’ disposal, word-of-mouth is still a primary driver of local consumer behavior.

The poll of 500 U.S. consumers found that 43% of consumers are most likely to shop or dine at a local business after a recommendation from a friend or colleague. 30% are primarily motivated by daily deals, 15% after seeing a locally or behaviorally targeted advertisement, and 12% after reading a positive review about the merchant online. The poll was conducted on behalf of Street Fight by third-party opinions platform Toluna QuickSurveys.

Are you more likely to shop at a local business after…

Dogbreath…

Posted on Wednesday, October 17, 2012 by No comments yet

#VT – Our neighbor came over early this morning all upset. His friend had to undergo surgery and needed someone to watch his dog, and neighbor agreed. The dog is 15 years old, disinclined to wander, and neighbor found that when the dog wanted to go out it never went beyond the sidewalk so it was let out without a leash.

His friend finally came home from the hospital and desperately wanted to see his dog. Neighbor had just let the dog out, but when he went to retrieve it the dog was gone!

Neighbor described the dog to me, asked if I’d seen it, and part of his description was that the dog wore a sweater and had incredible halitosis, even for a dog.

Last night on FPF there were two mentions of a stray dog found downtown, and one of the postings mentioned that the dog had some nasty smelling breath. I put two and two together, gave neighbor the phone numbers listed on the FPF postings, and dog and recovering owner are now enjoying each other’s company. Good job FPF folks!

Shared by Ted on the Bristol Front Porch Forum today.

Search your FPF archive for past recommendations…

Posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 by No comments yet

#VT – Hinesburg resident John Eastman just completed an electrical project for us and did an excellent job!  I found his name in the archives of our Front Porch Forum.

He was affordable, always showed up on time, handled my many questions with patience and the end result is exactly what we had in mind.

If you are looking for an electrician, I highly recommend him.

Posted by Brigitte today on the Hinesburg FPF.