The short answer
Give customers an introduction that is easy to share and easy for a friend to act on. Nielsen’s 2021 global survey found that 88% of respondents most trusted recommendations from people they know. That supports the importance of personal recommendations, but it is not a referral conversion rate. [1]
What the study actually measured
Nielsen describes an online survey of more than 40,000 consumers across Latin America, North America, Europe, MENA and Asia-Pacific in September 2021. Its study sheet identifies 56 countries and people aged 15 or older. Its public article reports trust in advertising and information channels. It does not track appointments generated by a local referral program. [1]
The number cannot tell a salon how many referrals to expect, what reward to offer, or whether a referred guest will become a regular. Those are separate questions for the business to measure.
IMS interpretation: remove the explanation work
A customer might happily recommend you while struggling to explain your offer. Give them a simple path that answers the friend’s first questions. This is an IMS operational recommendation, not a tested result from Nielsen.
For example, a gym member wants to invite a friend. “Tell them to call us” leaves the friend to ask about times, eligibility and what the first session involves. A clear guest page can explain those details and offer a direct next step.
For a salon, the path might identify the service and let the new guest request a consultation. A med spa should keep the invitation appropriate: recommend learning about a consultation rather than implying the friend is suitable for a treatment.
Follow the introduction through
Choose one service and prepare one clear introduction route. Ask a customer to read it and explain what they think happens next. If they have to guess, revise it.
Make sure staff can recognize a referred inquiry and record its source. Keep referred inquiries, booked appointments, attended visits and repeat visits as separate counts. A single referral label cannot show where people get stuck.
Ask: Can a customer share the introduction in seconds? Can the friend understand the first visit? Who responds if the friend has a question?
If you test a reward, record its cost alongside completed visits. Avoid judging the program by shared links alone. A busy sharing campaign may still produce few useful conversations.
A better agency conversation
Start with the customer’s actual introduction experience. This gives an agency something more useful to discuss than a general promise of word-of-mouth growth. The Revenue Leak Assessment can help identify reported referral-process gaps. The next step is to inspect and measure that process in the business.
Original source
[1] Nielsen 2021 Trust in Advertising. Published November 2021; online fieldwork September 2021; more than 40,000 consumers. Nielsen study sheet identifies 56 countries and population aged 15+; exact item denominator and weighting are not public.
Original publisher study sheet.
IMS interpretation and examples are editorial recommendations, not additional study findings.
IMS examples and suggested actions are practical guidance, not additional findings from the original study. Review the source and its limitations before using the statistic.