Wouldn’t it be great if customers just came to you without having to spend thousands of dollars on marketing materials and lead generation strategies? For many businesses, this is a reality thanks to referrals. With referrals, you can see a reduction in costs to acquire new customers, your sales cycle will be shorter and you will see a higher amount of closed sales.
As an entrepreneur, your job is not just to acquire customers but to keep them. The market is competitive and there are plenty of brands for consumers to choose from. What keeps them choosing you is how well you take care of them when they become a customer. When you maintain the highest level of customer satisfaction, you start creating brand advocates who are out there doing a lot of word-of-mouth marketing for you.
Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most powerful tools for any successful business, referred to as the “W-O-M Factor” in Ivan R. Misner’s book, World’s Best Known Marketing Secret. Word-of-mouth can go either really well or really wrong. Customers will tell more people about a bad experience than a good one, so to counter that you need to be prepared with a well-crafter customer service program. Being consistent on satisfying expectations and going above and beyond means that more people are talking about you in a positive light, sharing their great experiences with other potential customers.
Creating loyal customers is just one small part of generating a steady stream of customer referrals. Implementing a referral program can help to increase the number of people coming to you because they were referred to your business by a previous customer.
Ready to build that referral pipeline? Here is what you need to be doing:
Start Asking for Referrals Early
As you are moving through the sales process, you might ask your prospective customer to let you know about anyone they may know who would also be interested in your product or service. If the prospect feels that they have built some trust in you, they are likely to agree to name a few possible referrals, even if they do not move forward with the sale. Try to walk away with two or three referrals so that you have more opportunities for a successful sale.
Ask for Referrals After the Sale is Closed
Once you have reached the end of the sale and closed it, customers are often on an emotional high. This is a great time to ask for referrals. They are happy with the service and the product you provided and are more willing to send other people to you so they can have their needs met too. When you go above and beyond in the way of customer satisfaction, they feel a connection and want to see you succeed too.
Reach Out to Your Satisfied Customers
When you have a good number of repeat customers who feel loyal to your business, then you have a great resource for referrals. Take time to call them up or send an email asking them if they will put you in touch with anyone who might also benefit from your product or service. More likely than not, they will be eager to send more business your way, especially a friend or family member.
After the Referral
Once you receive a referral, be sure to contact your customer to thank them for it and assure them that you will treat their friend with the same respect and courtesy you showed them when they c ame to you. When you make contact with the referral, you want to make sure you reach out to your referring customer again. If their referral results in a sale for your business, be sure to send out a thank you gift to the customer who referred their friend to you to help reinforce that relationship that you have built. This will serve to get your best customer to become one of your best referral sources too.