There's no question that word-of-mouth referrals are effective - 92 percent of customers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising. Yet so many businesses continue to focus their social media efforts on collecting new fans and followers rather than leveraging past clients for referrals. Where's the disconnect?

Perhaps the disconnect is literally a lack of connection. Too many businesses are forgetting to make that all-important connection with past clients and other social media contacts. The result is a loss of valuable referral business.