One of the best ways to build your business and gain recognition for your brand is through customer referrals. Most people trust the opinion of their friends and family when deciding which company to buy from or use for a service and will be more likely to use that business if it has been recommended to them.
The beauty of a business referral is that you don’t have to spend money on advertising or trying to entice these customers as the hard part has already been done. Many fantastic businesses are run solely on referrals and these entrepreneurs don’t have to spend a lot of money on advertising which helps them maximize their profits. How can you encourage business referrals when building your own brand?
Offer Great Customer Service
This is the key to creating a referral business. If your customers are satisfied with the job you have done for them, they are more likely to recommend you to their own social or business network and will feel more comfortable doing so. Go for the extra mile for each customer and you will reap the rewards.
Stay Connected
You can stay connected with your customers by creating a post-sale relationship with them. For example, you may be selling a product that will need to be kept in prime working order or a service that a customer will need on a semi-regular basis. Staying connected with these customers could bring you further business in the future and help to keep your brand in your customers’ minds, making them more likely to refer you in the future.
Incentivize Your Customers
Offering your customers an incentive, such as gift card choices is a great way to get referrals and they will feel they are getting something in return. If they like the incentive or you offer a points system for referrals it will encourage them to search their personal or business network for people that they can introduce to your brand. You could find that some of your customers will find multiple referrals and keep your brand in the spotlight.
Build Referral Partnerships
Your customers might have businesses of their own and you can offer to exchange referrals. This can lead to a long and happy partnership if you and your customer can offer complementary products or services.
Ask for Referrals
This may sound incredibly obvious, but it is surprising how many entrepreneurs don’t ask for referrals. It may be that they find it embarrassing to be direct or they may not want to risk harming their business relationship with their existing customer. However, if you don’t ask you don’t get, and if you believe in your brand and know you are providing something exceptional then don’t be afraid to take the direct approach and ask for what you want.
A referral business can be one of the quickest and easiest ways for an entrepreneur to build awareness of their brand and increase profits. Use these techniques to make sure you are not missing excellent quality business as you build your own company.
Blog received on Mail
