Do you dare buy any product today without researching the truth about its advertising claims? Ok, so it was a cheap, sophomoric headline to get you to read this post, but it just goes to prove my point. Advertisers have over hyped their products and services for so long; we’ve created a whole generation of advertising skeptics.

Recent studies show that 78% of all consumers and business buyers consult their peers, colleagues or independent reviews before making a purchase decision. Social media tools, like Tripadvisor, and even directories, like Google Maps, are soliciting reviews from actual customers and people are reading them.

As advertisers and marketers, we have to acknowledge the fact that we are no longer in control of our brand (not that some of us ever were). Our customers are in control or at least share control of our brand. Instead of fearing this technology, embrace it! Most of us have hundreds, even thousands of happy customers. We need to empower them to become brand evangelists for our businesses.

How do you do that? Make it easy for your customers to review your products and services. Boldly give them the opportunity to do so on your web site and provide links to popular third party review sites. Allow them to become fans of your business on Facebook or MySpace, two of the largest social networking sites on the web.

Yes, a majority of the users are young, but the fastest growing age segment is people over 35 who are just discovering these sites. There is little doubt these sites are being used by some of your customers today, but there is no doubt these sites are being used by your customers of tomorrow.