Referrals, the following is the central premise of referral marketing:
All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust.
So why are you reluctant to ask for them? Is it fear? The worst thing that can happen is they’ll say “no.” The hardest part is getting up enough courage to ask. Just swallow your pride and make the request.
Why Ask for Referrals?
There are some very compelling reasons for you to make referrals part of your ongoing marketing plan. Did I mention they don’t cost anything? Everyone has a network of contacts, and it’s highly likely they know someone to refer to you. And, consider this; your customers are better at marketing than you. Well, maybe it’s not that they’re better – it’s just that prospects are more likely to believe them over your sales pitch. Referrals are like compound interest, they multiply when referred customers give you additional references.
Why Clients Don’t Send You Referrals
Four reasons account for your lack of referrals:
1 You didn’t ask for them. Small business owners need to do a simple thing – learn how to ask for referrals. You may be too focused on current clients or a host of other issues, but asking for referrals should be part of your ongoing marketing strategy.
2 You didn’t “wow” your clients with customer service. You have to do more than meet expectations. Make sure that you leave customers with a memorable experience at the end of your interaction together.
3 They’re busy. Everyone is busy. Make sure that you keep in touch with past clients, so they remember who you are. A regular cadence of communications will keep you top-of-mind.
4 They had a bad experience. Your client may have had a bad experience, and you may not be able to get a referral. You can still get an opportunity to regain their trust, and that’s worth a lot.
How to Ask for Referrals
Here are my recommendations on how to ask for referrals:
Create a process. Develop a process to ask your clients for referrals regularly. With many projects, there’s a final meeting with the client, which is a perfect time to ask. You could also schedule monthly check-ins with the client and make referrals part of the agenda.
Give them something. Sometimes you may want to sweeten the pot. Some companies offer discounts on future services, a prize, or other referral incentives. You’re rewarding the people who are helping you build the business.
Develop your network. The stronger your network, the more referrals you’ll receive. Attend networking events and join referral networks or online communities like LinkedIn.
Use a script. Until you’re comfortable asking for referrals, develop a script that you can use. It might be something like this: “I’m happy you’re pleased with my work. I’m always looking for referrals and wonder if you know anyone else who might be interested in ____________ (what you do).”
Make sure to request referrals face-to-face. It’s more respectful for your clients and more successful. When you’re asking for a referral, it is also an excellent time to ask for a testimonial.
Before you start a referral program, it’s essential to change your mindset and commitment. It won’t happen overnight, but your referral engine will eventually pay off.
10 Bob Burg, Endless Referrals, New York, McGraw-Hill Education, 2005.
Mistake #17
Not Defending Your Online Reputation
Your online reputation is made up of everything about your business that’s online. According to Google, “Your online identity is determined not only by what you post but by what others post about you.” When that happens to be something terrible, you have one of two choices. You can ignore it and hope that it gets buried with more favorable ones, or you can contact the customer and try to do something about the problem.
It may have taken you twenty years to build a favorable reputation, but one lousy blog post could ruin it in a nanosecond. Consider this. 90 percent of consumers read reviews before visiting or buying from a business. And online reviews impact 70 percent of all purchase decisions. In short, reviews can either be your greatest asset or significant weakness.
When you move part of your marketing budget to reputation management, you can increase your ratings on sites like Yelp and Google, giving you a 20 percent boost in revenue.
How to Defend Your Online Reputation
Defending your reputation online is a long-term strategy that requires much attention. There are several actions you can take to boost your ratings; some work faster than others:
Get more reviews. Actively seeking out customer reviews helps bring in more customers and outweighs the bad ones you may have. The best way to get reviews is to ask. Seek out your most loyal customers and ask them to leave a review on Google or Yelp. The most popular option is to email customers after a transaction with a link to the review sites.
Respond to bad reviews. Customer reviews live on the internet forever, so you need to control the narrative by responding to critics. Fight the urge to say what you feel. Instead, tell them something like, “We are sorry you feel that way and will do everything we can to resolve this matter. If you contact me directly, I will do everything I can to find a solution.”
Use Google. One of the most natural first steps is to Google your business name and see what people are saying about you. Next, set up Google Alerts to do this automatically. Finally, register your business with Google, Yelp, and LinkedIn. When you don’t register your accounts, it raises a red flag for potential customers.
Monitor your reputation. You need to “listen” to your customers regularly. When you receive notification from Google, or other sites, that someone has mentioned you, it allows you to formulate a response.
Produce positive content. When you produce content that is helpful to your customers and prospects, it establishes you as a local thought leader. You can’t control what customers write about you in a review, but you can control what you write and post with informative and relevant articles.
Be active and engaging in social media. Try to participate in the sites most frequented by your customers. Many customers see social media as a primary source of customer support, so you’ll need to be ready to respond.
Mistake #18
Ignorant of a USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
You wouldn’t have started your business if you wanted to be like everyone else. Your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP, is what sets your business apart. It tells why customers should buy from you and not someone else. However, many small business owners have a hard time articulating this difference. You need to create a USP because it will be the central theme of all of your marketing efforts.
A USP can be the following:
A product or service feature that your competitors don’t have
A
