Nearly all small businesses report referrals as their main source of new business. Look at developing or improving your referral business as part of your marketing strategy. Here are some ways you can both get referrals and grow your business through them.
Ask for Them
Referrals are simply one of the best ways to gain new customers. For example, a company that works with auto insurance in Torrance reports that 50% or more of their business comes from referrals. The simplest way to get referrals is to ask for them. When you complete a job for a client, ask them to recommend you to others if they were satisfied. However, do give them some time to enjoy and experience your product or service. Don’t ask right at the time of delivery.
Instead, follow up a little later. This can be via phone call, e-mail or in person. It is best to ask for referrals in person. Explain to your best customers how you need their help. Most of them will be eager to offer their assistance. They will like feeling that they are doing something to help support a business they like.
Offer Rewards
If just asking isn’t enough, you can offer incentives. The simplest way to do this is to offer coupons, deals or free products. These deals should be given to both the customer who refers and the new customer they bring in. For example, the existing customer and the new customer can both be given a generous coupon. You can also operate a referral program that is a little more in-depth.
These programs usually involve rewarding an existing customer each time they recruit a new one. There are different types of referrals, and you can give different rewards for each one. The three types of referrals are word-of-mouth recommendations, testimonials and online reviews. Be specific about what action you want your client to take when asking for a referral.
Continue to Offer Top-Notch Customer Service
The best referral program will not help grow your business if you cannot retain customers. Your company must also focus on offering top-notch customer service to both new and old customers equally. Never start neglecting established customers to divert attention to new customers, and don’t give new customers a lesser experience than established customers.
This means you will need to design and implement an effective training program for all your customer service employees. They all need to be very aware of how you want them to interact with clients. This is a critical step because if what your established customers love about you goes away, both new and old customers will not be impressed.
Give Referrals Yourself
One of the best ways to get referrals is to give them yourself. It’s much easier to ask someone for a referral after you have given them a referral. Doing this also adds value to your business and helps you stand out from your competition. How your business can truly differentiate itself from your competition is in the extra value you offer. For example, a pet store can refer clients to good veterinarians.
Customers will appreciate that added value your business gives them, and will want to continue frequenting your store. You will have reinforced to them that you truly care about the well-being of their companion animals. It also shows that you are part of a powerful professional network and serious about your industry.
Referrals are an important element of growing your business. A referral program should have as much effort put into it as the rest of your marketing strategy. Leverage referrals to open up new doors of opportunity for your business.
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