Global Behaviour Shift: Entrepreneur Warns Small Business Has Lost the Human Touch, and Reveals the 'Referral Gap' Costing Billions Worldwide

After working with businesses across multiple continents, award-winning entrepreneur Justin Herald says small businesses worldwide have drifted away from the one thing that has always driven their growth: the human connection between customers and the businesses they love.

Herald, who grew the global clothing brand Attitude Inc. from just $50, says the world has become so dependent on digital ads, algorithms, and automation that the oldest and most trusted driver of business, word of mouth, has been neglected.
But new consumer behaviour research across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US has revealed a surprising global problem.
Up to 80 percent of recommendations people intend to make never actually reach the business.
Herald calls it "The Referral Gap", a global, modern challenge that is costing small businesses billions in lost revenue.
"This isn't an Australian issue. It's global," Herald said. "People everywhere still rave about the businesses they love, but life gets in the way. The referral never gets passed on. The intention is there, but the action isn't."
A global problem intensified by tough economic conditions
As cost-of-living pressures rise across the world, small businesses are being hit the hardest. Shrinking margins, higher operating costs, and more expensive advertising have forced many to cut back on marketing altogether.

"Small business is doing it tougher now than at any time in recent memory," Herald said. "They are being told to spend more on ads, more on boosting posts, more on digital everything, but the return just isn't there."

Herald believed small businesses didn't need more marketing. They needed a cost-effective way to make what already works actually work again.

That conviction became the catalyst for ReferUs.
A modern fix inspired by old school connection for just over $1 a day

To close the referral gap, Herald developed ReferUs, an Australian-built platform now being adopted globally. It brings back the old school idea of sharing trusted recommendations but modernises it so it works in today's fast-paced world.

"When you are already talking about a great business, you should be able to pass them on instantly," he said. "ReferUs captures that moment. It is the global evolution of scribbling a number on a piece of paper, except now it takes ten seconds and never gets lost."

And because small businesses are under financial pressure globally, Herald priced it at just over $1 a day.

"It had to be something any small business anywhere in the world could access without stretching their budget," he said. "Referrals should be the cheapest and most effective growth channel on the planet. We made sure it stayed that way."

Why this matters worldwide

With digital ads becoming more expensive and less trusted, consumers everywhere are returning to the one thing that has always guided their choices: recommendations from real people.

Herald believes the next global shift will not be more automation. It will be a return to genuine connection.

Consumers trust people, not ads. Word of mouth is borderless. Closing the referral gap is how we bring back the human side of business, at a price small businesses can actually afford."

Global uptake already underway

Although built in Australia, ReferUs is already being used by businesses in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa, and Israel, with strong interest across trades, automotive, real estate, beauty, finance, fitness, and professional services.

"This is a global movement," Herald said. "We are not reinventing business. We are reconnecting it."

About Justin Herald

Justin Herald is an award-winning global entrepreneur, speaker, and author. He turned $50 into the worldwide clothing brand Attitude Inc. and has since launched multiple ventures focused on customer experience and small business growth. He was named International Entrepreneur of the Year for his impact on business globally.

About ReferUs

ReferUs is a globally expanding platform designed to close the world's "Referral Gap" by giving people a fast, simple, human way to recommend great businesses. It enables anyone, anywhere, to send a referral in under ten seconds, restoring the human connection behind word of mouth, for just over $1 a day.
www.ReferUsNetwork.com

PO Box 314 Pacific Fair, QLD, 4218

ReferUs is a global referral platform built in Australia to make word of mouth simple again. It gives anyone the ability to pass on a business they trust in under ten seconds, fixing the long-standing problem where most recommendations never reach the business.

Created with small businesses in mind, ReferUs blends old-school connection with modern simplicity. Instead of relying on expensive ads or complicated marketing, it helps businesses grow through the people who already believe in them. Customers, clients, friends, and fans can send a warm referral instantly, and the business receives it in real time.

At just over $1 a day, ReferUs provides an affordable, practical solution for businesses in a world where digital advertising is becoming less effective and more costly. The platform is already being used across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, South Africa, and Israel, with strong uptake in industries that run on trust and personal recommendation.

ReferUs exists for a single purpose: to make helping a business simple. By turning everyday conversations into real opportunities, it reconnects businesses with the customers who want to support them.

This release was published on openPR.