Do you actively "encourage" word of mouth recommendations? If so, what's your strategy?

Word-of-mouth is a powerful tool for marketing/growth, because recommendations more often than not carry a high level of trust. People are more likely to believe and act on recommendations from someone they know and trust. Often times they just get a recommendation or referral and won't think twice before going into business (subscribe/purchase/sign, whatever). I often get the impression that people seem to see it as a passive benefit to the business—but maybe I'm wrong. So, do you actively "encourage" word of mouth recommendations? If so, what's your strategy? What techniques do you use? How do you encourage people to give a recommendation or referral?