Buzz doesn't affect all businesses in the same way. If your company makes paper clips or clothes hangers you can't expect much buzz. Here are ten industries (in no particular order) where word of mouth plays an important role in the purchasing process.

Expensive, exciting and visible products have a better chance of being talked about, so it comes as no surprise that people talk about new cars. But they also talk about where to buy them. Fifty seven percent of customers of one car dealership in California learned about the dealership by word of mouth. "This is not unusual," says Jim Callahan of the Dohring Company, which conducts surveys for hundreds of car dealerships around the country every year.

People love to talk about new things, and the consumer electronics industry provides us with a constant flow of innovative products. The key word here is New. Today, digital cameras are a hot topic but one can expect fewer people to talk about them as the novelty of the product wears off and people begin to spread buzz about a new gadget.

A lot of high-tech buzz in recent years has focused on the Web. For example, a 1999 survey sponsored by Priceline.com shows that on-line shoppers on average told 12 other people about their experience with on-line purchases. The extensive buzz about high tech products is also driven by their complexity which makes them difficult to evaluate. Talking with current users of a certain software package helps customers reduce the risk associated with the purchase.

The Blair Witch Project earned $50 million in its first week through on-line and off-line buzz. (The film's web site got 21 million hits before the movie opened.) Fifty three percent of movie-goers rely to some extent on a recommendation from someone they know, according to a study by Maritz Marketing Research. No matter how much money Hollywood pours into advertising, people frequently consult with each other about what movie to see.

Social learning plays a major role in the way fashion spreads (I call this visual buzz). More than half of the respondents who were asked by market research firm Yankelovich to specify sources of information about new styles, said they learn about fashion by observing what others are wearing.

Health is obviously a high-priority topic for most of us. By asking around, we reduce the risk of getting a second-rate doctor or getting stuck with a physician we don't like. Seventy percent of Americans rely on the advice of others when selecting a new doctor, according to Maritz Marketing Research.

When personal experience is needed to asses a product or a service, buzz can be expected. This affects several sectors like the travel and entertainment industries. What's interesting about the book publishing industry is the role played by resellers in spreading the word about a new book.

Forty three percent of people surveyed by the Travel Industry Association cited friends and family as a source for information about places to visit or about flights, hotels or rental cars.

Children tend to socialize more and be more influenced by their peers than their elders. As a result they seem to talk more about products. From Beanie Babies to Nintendo, word of mouth has always been the driving force behind successful toys and games.

Do people actually talk about things like soap, detergents or toothpaste? They do. Of course, the discussion about Colgate is not as intense as the discussion about Harry Potter, but there's definitely constant exchange of information about these products, especially when they are new.