The New Way to Market Your Company – Referral Programs

As with the majority of decisions facing businesses today, it is necessary to weigh the costs of implementation before taking the plunge into something new. But there are some areas that are obviously worth their cost, and one definite program to always have is a referral program.

Everyone knows that if one client recommends you to another via word of mouth then the individual referred is much more likely to buy. A referral program is just like this, except a little more systematic. It is a method that encourages your clients to recommend numerous people to your company. Remember the Pareto Principal – you’ll get 80% of your business from 20% of your clients. It is impossible to know right off the bat which ones will give the most business.

If this is new to you, it’s worth running over the basics of a referral program. It’s important to ensure that your customers are happy – an unhappy client is not going to recommend you to anyone. When a client sends you a referral, make sure you thank them. That will mean everything to someone, that little bit of recognition will go a long way. Always reward your clients for these, even just a simple ‘Thank You” will always be appreciated by your customers.

Be sincere when you ask for referrals. People have a tendency to not want to spend time on something outside of their own immediate needs, so making it as simple and quick as possible is always a good idea. Taking an idea as simple as this and using it consistently can have a wonderful effect on your company.

A referral program should ensure that you get quality, actionable contacts to follow up on. This doesn’t mean that they must “buy now” but that at some future time they will change to active customers, if followed up on properly. With any program, it is best for you to ensure that it’s implemented properly. Absolutely no point paying for an awesome on line referral program offering whatever, if most of your sales get done face to face by your sales force, or in a retail outlet.

Try to keep it simple, this will usually give you the best idea on how to have them work well for your company, this may only work for your business and not other companies. You should test several versions of the program, known as A B split testing – this will grant you the right formula for a great campaign.