Referral marketing is still the most cost efficient way to build a business -- even more so given the growth of the internet and social media. Encourage your employees to engage your best customers and them for referrals -- word-of-mouth, testimonials, share your company with their family, friends and colleagues on social media.

1. The Power of Referrals
How You Can Help Your Company
Grow Revenue
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

2. Customer Experience
• While word of mouth is the end goal, the
marketing strategy has to start with customer
experience.
• Create a fantastic customer experience and
measure to make sure you're staying fantastic.
• Only by delivering an outstanding customer
experience will you motivate customers to want
to tell their friends and neighbors about you,
your product and the outstanding service you
delivered.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

3. Referral Marketing
• Here’s a simple idea to get the phone ringing
and help fill in the appointment book over the
next few months. In today’s world of
Facebook and Twitter, this is an old-fashioned
– but never out of fashion – marketing ploy:
Start asking your satisfied customers for
referrals
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

4. Just Ask
• A few days after you provide a product or service,
call or email a customer and ask if they were
satisfied with your service.
• If they respond in the affirmative, ask if they
would be willing to recommend you to friends or
neighbors.
• If they answer yes, offer to send them business
cards or brochures to distribute as the need
arises.
• Make it as easy as possible for satisfied
customers to spread the word about your good
work.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

5. Reminders
• Remind customers that their business is very
important to you and you want to ensure they
are happy.
• Let them know you're working to build your
business with referrals and you would
appreciate it if they would tell their friends
and neighbors about what they like about
your products and services.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

6. Feedback on Your Website
• Ask them to post reviews or testimonials on
your website.
• If they’re not sure where to go or how to do
that, show them or send them an email that
shows them.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

7. Facebook + Other Social Media
• Ask customers to become Facebook fans and
to post something on Facebook about their
experience with your company.
• If they prefer to share their thoughts on Yelp,
Foursquare, Pinterest or Instagram that’s
great too!
• Address any negative feedback immediately
and publicly and resolve any differences
offline.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

8. Feedback
• Ask them to fill out a customer comment card
or a customer satisfaction survey.
– Once they do, let them know how much you
appreciate their feedback.
• Remember, if a customer fails to complain,
you won’t know what needs to be fixed to
keep that customer, and others like them,
coming back.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

9. Video
• Have a Flip camera or smart phone and ask your
customer to provide a 30-second endorsement
about your company that you can add to your
website and You Tube.
– You Tube is the #2 search engine next to Google.
– People are seven times more likely to click on a video
than an article.
• Video can communicate a level of emotion and
confidence that a simple quote in print cannot.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

10. Help Your Customers Help You
• Customers, especially "raving fans," want to
see the businesses they support survive and
thrive.
• Don't be afraid to let your customers know
how they can help you, but not until after
you've confirmed that you've helped them.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

11. Greater Frequency
• Aim at customers who've only given you a few
referrals.
• The most active referrers don't need an
incentive to do what they're already doing.
It's like offering a coupon to a customer who
was going to buy the product already without
the coupon.
• There's better ROI in asking sometime
referrers to suggest you to others more often.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

12. Referral Marketing is Different
• Keep referral marketing separate from product/service
promotions.
• Don't mix the message with appeals for customers to
make purchases for themselves.
• If you just send out mass marketing to all customers,
they'll stop listening to everything you say.
• This is especially important because your customers
who buy the most from you are not usually the
customers who create the most value from referrals.
• This makes it imperative to target the right customer
with the right marketing message.
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

13. Thank People by Name
• You can never say “thank you” enough
– Thank you for the business
– Thank you for your feedback
– Thank you for the referrals
• To quote Dale Carnegie, “Remember that a
person’s name is to that person the sweetest
and most important sound in any language.”
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics

14. 5 Things Any Employee Can Do
1. Provide an outstanding customer experience
2. Ask for referrals
3. Remind customers that you are attempting
to build your business via referrals
4. Help your customers understand how to
provide referrals
5. Thank them for everything – especially for
referrals
Copyright 2014 Insights From Analytics