Small business owners who use Facebook for marketing have a new tool. A software company has developed a refer-and-reward platform as a Facebook application to help businesses experience growth in a down economy.

The ReferQuest Facebook app, available at http://apps.facebook.com/referquest/, allows business owners to utilize the power of social networking to develop leads and acquire new customers. Small business owners can use the free application to offer finders’ fees to reward customer acquisition (such as, “$10 reward if you refer a new customer.”) The ReferQuest Facebook application is available to Facebook users in North America.

ReferQuest Facebook application allows business owners to acquire warm leads or leads from a known party with exposure via viral networking channels in which payment is only required on a per-acquired-customer basis. As with other business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) promotions via social networks, the ReferQuest application is the online version of word-of-mouth advertising.

According to Camille Landau, the CEO of ReferQuest.com, the benefits for small-to-midsized business owners are noteworthy:

• Businesses can acquire new customers directly, in stark contrast to traditional advertising methods;

• Advertising is free, and payment is only due upon a successfully acquired customer;

• Businesses can find customer