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Think
about your newer clients. How did you land the clients? Did someone refer
them to you? Did they do a search on the Internet and find you? Did they see
an ad and respond? Chances are, you've probably met most of your clients
through referrals—one of the most effective ways to gain business.
In
addition to in-person conversations, another form of referral to rely on is
content: email newsletters, blogs, articles. When people like your content,
they forward it to others, and your organization's name gets passed along.
How
do I get more referrals?
You
have many options for receiving more referrals, but these three are the most
recommended approaches:
1. Build
a referral program
2.
Collect customer testimonials
3. Stay
in touch
Build
a referral program
Many
businesses use affiliate programs so others earn a few bucks for selling
their products. Though the businesses behind the affiliate programs earn
less from affiliate sales, they would be earning zero if they didn't have
affiliates doing the referring.
Collect
customer testimonials
Collecting
testimonials from your customers provides a great way to talk about your
business—you let your customers do the talking for you.
Be
aware that some testimonials are useless. They say something to the tune of
"You're great! Thank you!" This leaves the door wide open to
interpretation and doesn't speak to what the person did well. Instead, ask
"why do you believe I did a good job?" The answer should create a
valuable testimonial.
Stay
in touch
When
someone asks you, "Who do you recommend to do such-n-such job?" Do
you find yourself struggling to remember a name? You probably know someone,
but he or she has been out of sight for so long that the person isn't coming
to mind. To avoid this happening to your business, stay in touch with
current and potential clients.
It
could be as simple as sending an email or a postcard, or being more
organized and sending an email newsletter on a regular schedule.
A
few hours a week of staying in touch pays many times over. Hey, you can put
testimonials in the newsletter and even use it to promote a referral
program, if you're willing to open it to everyone. Whatever you do, don't
slip the customer's mind—stay in touch.
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