Referral marketing is one of the most effective techniques
for creating steady streams of prospects and clients.
Anyone who has been in business for any length of time has
learned to appreciate the value of getting referrals due to
these important reasons:
Referral-generated customers are the most cost-efficient,
profitable, and the most loyal source of new business you
could ever dream of acquiring.
Referral-generated customers buy quicker, negotiate less,
buy larger quantities, and refer more business to you.
You can easily set up referral systems that are fool-proof
strategies for skyrocketing your profits upward... and onward!
The philosophy of referrals:
Your referral systems leverage all of your marketing tactics
by getting others to spread the word about your company and
your great products. So why would you ever deploy capital on
advertising, or trade shows, or any other marketing technique,
until first you have in place at least one (or preferably
several) referral marketing systems?
In am not suggesting that your business can - or even
should - move to being a 100% referral-generated enterprise -
although many businesses have. They have benefited
spectacularly from referral marketing, and so should you.
What I am suggesting is that you can find at least one (but
preferably 5 or more) easy to use referral systems that will
each generate a 5%, 10%, 20% (or more) increase in customers,
sales, and profits for you.
Referral Marketing Success Stories:
A real estate professional went from being a struggling
agent to number 46 nationally with RE/MAX by setting up
referral systems.
A voice mail company gets 40-50% of new business comes
from referrals - about 150 new subscribers are acquired
each day with just one referral marketing system.
A mortgage professional who was "burned out" by her hectic
schedule now gets 80% of business coming automatically
from referrals. This increased her income substantially,
and allowed her to reduce her work schedule to 4 1/2 days
a week.
A financial planner gets 65-70% of his new business from
referrals and now only spends 10% of his time on the phone
trying to get appointments.
A computer software company now gets 35% of new business
from referrals and made an extra $200,000 from just one
direct mail piece sent to his list of referral prospects.
A newly-opened skin care business launched into high
profitability and perpetual referrals with just one
innovative referral marketing system.
The above examples are impressive, and the fact is, any type
of businesses or professional practice can use referral
marketing to drastically increase their leads, clients, and
profits for little or no extra marketing cost.
Referral Marketing Tips:
Increasing clientele and customers with referrals is a simple
process, but it is amazing how few companies realize the
upside potential. This is because very few understand how
referral marketing works. For example, many people think that
generating referrals means asking their clients these
intrusive questions:
"Do you have anyone to recommend to me?"
"Whom do you know that could use my product?"
These questions will NOT convince anyone to refer ANY
business to you. The following is a list of general tips on
how a referral marketing system works:
1. Position yourself as unique in your industry
2. "Wow!" your clients with an excellent product or service
3. Actively trade referrals with your contact and clients
4. Make referrals a condition of doing business
5. Offer your clients discounts on your products/services
for referrals
6. Give incentives for referring business to you
Conclusion:
If you wish to leverage your business into increased profits
and sales, as well as reduce the amount of money and time
wasted on not-so-profitable tasks such as cold calling and
prospecting, then referral marketing is almost always the
first place to start for any business or professional
practice.
About the Author
Matt Hockin, Interactive Marketing, Inc. For
detailed case studies of the referral success strategies
above (and many more), plus specific information about how
YOU can set up innovative, yet easy-to-use referral marketing
systems, visit our free consultation page:
http://www.publicityadvisor.com/consultation.html