Referral Marketing
The best way to generate new business is by referrals. It doesn't matter whether your business is a hair salon, mortgage broker, boat sales, or anything in between. The most loyal customers you will ever receive will be the ones that were referred to you by another satisfied customer!
Not only are they more loyal (read: "repeat business"), but they are more likely to spend more initially than a customer that just walked in off the street, responded to a newspaper ad, cold call, or a trade magazine article.
Why are referrals so important to your business?
1. Referrals are believable from the very start. It's not you selling your business, it's a satisfied customer selling your business for you! When a close friend tells you about a certain business, your trust is immediately transferred to this company whether you have heard of them or not. In fact, many times, even if a person has had a negative experience with a company, then at a later date a friend recommends them to that same business, they will overlook their negative experience and give them a second try!
2. As mentioned previously, referrals to a business are found to spend more money. This has been proven time and time again. Why? People tend to refer other highly qualified individuals and not just people who are price shoppers or tire kickers.
3. The bottom line is that referrals are the most cost-effective way of advertising your business or product! In most cases it will cost very little. And in some cases the cost to you may be nothing! Either way, the cost will only be a fraction of the money you would normally spend on advertising.
In ALL businesses, your products or services WILL be chosen instead of the competition, merely because a friend recommended them.
If you are not getting the majority of your business through referrals then you may want to reconsider the ways you are treating your current customers. You see, your current customers should be treated like gold! They are the ones that ultimately pay your bills, and put food on your plate! DON'T TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED!!! Your customers should feel like they are the most respected and important people on the planet when dealing with you. The number one most important person in your business is your customers! Let me repeat that so there is absolutely no misunderstanding.
THE NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR BUSINESS IS YOUR CUSTOMERS!
It is not the CEO, the board of directors, or the person who signs your paycheck. For without the customer, none of these people would exist.
Imagine if you can, that every one of your customers were so ecstatic and committed to your product or service, that they told all there friends. And then imagine that when their friends gave you their business, they told their friends. And so on, and so on... Your business would grow beyond your wildest hopes and dreams, and you would have more business than you knew what to do with. Isn't that a problem everyone wished they had?!
This is what we refer to as referral marketing! It cost next to nothing, yet the rewards you reap will exceed any expectations you could ever conceive. A true WIN WIN situation. So remember how valuable your customer is today, tomorrow, and the next day. And treat them BETTER than even you expect to be treated.
Are you ready to take the next step...?
Ken Harrington is an expert in the field of Referral Marketing, helping businesses grow beyond what they previously thought was possible. And all for a fraction of the cost of their current marketing strategies. He currently runs FirstUp Marketing
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