Word of Mouth counts...

Recently I've been told of a restaurant that is sort of near where I live. I plan on going just because of the hype I've heard about it. The one who told me said he travels 45minutes just to go there.

This restaurant is just a little Mexican restaurant that's practically situated in the middle of nowhere, and yet they still serve over 200 people a night, and yet they apparently don't advertise.

This is a great example of word of mouth spreading and grabbing more attention. I know restaurant service and writing are two different things (I should know, I do both at the moment), but they desired outcome is the same... offering a service, whether it's food or a good read, and hoping that the customer/reader will want more, and will hopefully tell their friends about it.

How important is word of mouth and other forms of advertising? When you write a story is it easy to grab someone's attention? Probably these days with the internet so readily available that anyone can place their work up and be seen, but what keeps bringing the people back for more? Or, what causes someone to pass on news of the story to their friends?