Tips for Getting More Referrals

Referral marketing can be the easiest way to connect with new potential customers. Many businesses assume their friends and colleagues will think to refer them lots of new business. So with this assumption why do many referral marketing programs fail?

Firstly businesses need to ask for referrals. If a business is not looking for referrals people can wrongly think they are too busy to take on new work and not actively try and pass them new business. This can happen because businesses make the assumption that people will “just know” they need new customers. Unless you ask for referrals you will not get them.

Many feel that asking for referrals is being pushy, or they feel they have not done enough for the customer yet to be in a position to ask for a referral. If that person is your customer and you have treated them well then you have already done enough to ask for a referral, if you have done your job then your customer will feel that by referring you they will be doing the person whom they refer a favour more so than doing you one. Everybody likes to share a great product or service, especially when they were first to find it. So make sure that people can refer your business with confidence with great products and great service, every customer is a potential sales person.

Always remember WIIFM? – What’s In It For Me? Its not the best sounding acronym but it is an important one and it helps you look at things from your customers perspective. By going one step further and offering a cash reward to people who make referrals to you, you give a very compelling reason for people to keep you in mind. When you a new find people will happily share details of your service to their friends, however over time you will be less memorable as people think of your product or service as just part of the furniture rather than something new to show their friends. By always offering people a cash reward you will always be in some part of their mind, so make WIIFM work for you and give people who refer you a reward for doing so.
Remember to follow up and thank those who make referrals. Even if the lead turns out to be cold still take the time to respond and thank the person who made the referral, just because this one didn’t work out shouldn’t make you think they next one won’t!

Finally you need to make is easy for people to refer you. A quick overview of your services or your company being close at hand can only help this. Here at ChaChing we allow you to have your referral information published online in a quickly accessible format of www.chaching.ie/, so for example www.chaching.ie/blueface would instantly get you to Blueface’s referral offering. Many companies have referral programs which they either don’t talk about, or if they do they make sure to bury it deep within their website practically hidden.

So remember if you want to get more referrals you need to:

1. Ask for them
2. Make yourself more referable by giving great service
3. Reward those who refer you
4. Always say thank you
5. Make it easy for people to refer you with easily accessible information

About the Author:
Co-founder of ChaChing