Create a Successful Client Referral Program

One of the biggest reasons small business owners and solopreneurs struggle to see any results from their marketing efforts is that they are simply trying to do too many different things.

And it’s no wonder. On top of all the traditional ways to market our businesses (i.e. advertising, trade shows, direct mailings, signage, etc.), today we also have access to a smorgasbord of low-cost, online marketing tactics, like squeeze pages, social media, videos, SEO (search engine optimization), blogs, vlogs, ezines, article marketing and more.

What’s worse is that thanks to effective online marketers who know how to write a truly irresistible sales page, we’re convinced that each of the above-mentioned marketing tactics could be the magic pill that will instantly boost our business into the seven-figure stratosphere. It’s more tempting than being a kid in a candy store.

Don’t get me wrong. These are all amazing small business marketing tools and, if used as part of a larger (read: strategic) plan, they’re great. But as with anything, they all take time or money—or both—to be effective.

So is there a magic pill for marketing your small business? Well, I suppose it depends what your definition of “magic” is. But if you’re looking for a highly effective method of bringing pre-qualified, warm leads into your business on a continual basis, only paying for those leads when they become paying clients, and putting forth “minimal” effort on your part, then “yes,” there is.

I’m talking of course about referrals. Or, more precisely, a client referral program.

While perhaps not as sexy as some of the newer online marketing tools, word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful multiplier of future business.

When you provide an amazing client experience—and then put in place a simple, repeatable referral process—you can transform your existing customers or clients into an army of commission-only salespeople. The goal is to inspire your most loyal, pleased, and vocal customers to become credible, persuasive, and influential champions of your products and services.

As with everything though, in order to run a successful referral program, there are some things you need to know. Here are three important ones.

You have to create a WOW experience.

In order to create those champions, you first need to have an outstanding product or service. In other words, you need to give people something worth talking about—and in a good way.

Back in college I worked for a large department store and they constantly drilled it into our heads that if a customer had a good experience at our store (i.e. the experience they expected to have), they likely wouldn’t tell anyone. If they had a “great” experience, they would tell one to three people. And if they had a bad experience, they would tell at least seven people!

So if are thinking about starting a referral program, you need to make sure you’re giving every customer or client a “WOW” experience. What does that mean? It starts with delivering amazing products and services, meeting deadlines and being friendly and accessible. But to truly get to a “WOW” you need to go beyond that to making every client feel like they’re a VIP.

(Note: We’ll be talking more about how to create the VIP experience in Brilliance! You can get your complimentary subscription here.)

Position it as “helping.”

Most people love to help. It makes them feel good. So instead of going about a referral program from the perspective of feeling like you’re bothering people, look at it instead as though you’re giving people an opportunity to help.

Who exactly are they helping? Well, for starters, they’re helping you of course. But, when you position your services or products as solving a specific problem, you’ll also be giving people the chance to help others that they know.

Imagine for a moment you’re a graphic designer and you use Sally for your bookkeeping needs. Tomorrow you invite Sally to be a part of your referral program. Next week, Sally meets with another client of hers who laments how much he needs a new logo for his dry cleaning business. Voila! Because you recently planted a seed with Sally through your referral program, she’s able to tell her dry cleaning client that she “knows the perfect person to help him.” She’s helped you. She’s helped him. Sally feels great. And everyone wins.

You have to keep it fresh.

Even though most of the administrative parts of running a successful referral program are things you can “set once and forget,” you still need to infuse something new into it periodically. Otherwise, your “sales force” will get bored and become complacent.

You can keep things fresh by:

• Promoting only one service or product for your business at a time. Then, after a few months, ask your network to send referrals to you for a different product or service. This will help them think of new people they haven’t thought of before, as well as give them a reason to follow-up with those they’ve already contacted.

• Changing the reward. More than likely, a few people in your network will be the most active. These are your true champions. But you don’t want to keep sending them the same gift card or fruit basket all the time. So periodically change up the referral reward. Even if you’re paying your referrers in cash, you can still offer an added bonus. For example, in addition to the standard 10% commission you typically offer, you could also motivate people to send you referrals by gifting a free Apple iPad to anyone who sends you three new clients in the next 30 days.

• Tapping different people. In the course of your business you are constantly coming into contact with new people. Those new contacts are connected to entire networks of people who may not have heard of you or your business. So be sure to periodically let a fresh crowd of contacts know about your referral program and what steps they can take to start earning rewards right away.

Would you like to learn more about the magic formula behind successful client referral programs that allow you to market less, fill your programs, courses and workshops faster, and sell more of your products… all while staying true to who you are?

If so, then don’t miss our upcoming tele-class on Wednesday, June 2, “Building a Sure-Fire Referral System:  Create a Thriving Business With No Marketing Budget.”

Toni and I will be walking you step by step through the process of creating an effective referral program and will share why it’s important, what it can do for your business and how to do it with no marketing budget!

So be sure to grab your seat now!