How To Get (More) Referrals NOW!

Referrals
Exploring a great marketing tool that will help your business survive in a bad economy and thrive in good times.

Fact: Referrals are an important and inexpensive alternative for acquiring new business.
Fiction: Getting referrals is hard and unpredictable.

If, at the beginning of the year, you have just one client, and that client refers a single client to you each month, and each of those referrals refers another client to you each month, you would have 2,048 clients at the end of the year! Too bold for you? How about one referral every two months? That’s still 64 new clients in one year without spending a single ad dollar! If your referral numbers fall below these numbers, your referral generation and management systems - or lack thereof - need another look.

To generate referrals and boost your bottom line, you can:

1. Ask each of your clients for referrals.
Acquiring referrals is a numbers game. Asking X number of clients yields Y number of referrals. Thus, Y number of referrals yields Z number of new clients. Rinse and repeat.

2. Offer an incentive.
While some clients will be so pleased with their fresh, new haircut or the success of an effective marketing campaign that they tell the world about you and your company, most happy customers are happy QUIETLY. Encourage them to speak up-- with gift certificates, freebies or discounted services each time they refer a new client to you. (Be sure to check the legality of using such incentives in your industry and State where you do business.)

3. Create a system for generating and managing referrals.
Your system for generating and managing referrals does not have to be a complicated endeavor. In fact, it can be a rather simple undertaking, so long as it includes:

• The methods you will use to ask your clients for referrals. Examples: verbal at point-of-sale, post-sale follow-up letter, referral promotion postcard, etc.
• The processes you will utilize to recognize and track referrals.
• The incentives you will use to reward your referrers and entice your referees.
• The systems you will employ to follow up on referral leads.

4. Put it in writing.

By committing your referral plans to paper, you will go a long way towards manifesting new clients and, therefore, new revenue for your business. A written referral plan will serve as a reminder for you and your staff to ask clients for referrals each time they use your services-- and even when they don’t!

5. Offer friendly reminders.
Periodically encourage your clients to spread the word about your business. If, for example, you see a client once a month, an in-person reminder may suffice. For clients you interact with less frequently, postcards, letters and/or e-mails will do. Don’t underestimate the value of direct mail—in today’s electronic age we are inundated with e-mail and social media messages, which are easier to track for marketers, but also easier to ignore or miss for the target audience. On the other hand, there is a plethora of free or low-cost social media tools that can facilitate referrals and provide valuable insight about your relationship with your customers. More on this later.

6. Do it sooner rather than later.
A client’s enthusiasm for your great product or service will eventually wane. Therefore, it is in your best interest to harness the power of satisfaction when it is at its peak. Most referrals are made at the point of sale or immediately after transaction completion. So strike the iron while its hot, and be ready to ask for referrals and offer incentives when it counts the most!