Why having a Referral Program is a Gold Mine for your Business
In today’s digital era, where time is mercilessly passing by without waiting for anyone or anything, how is a customer going to find the time to sit down and search for a business that will provide them with exceptional customer service, offering the right products and catering to the needs as demanded by them? Yes! You got it. If you want more customers for your business, waiting for the phone to ring is a lousy marketing strategy.
You need to “ask” your customers to refer you to others; referrals are forgotten gold. No, they probably won’t do it on their own because they’re not mind readers — it’s your responsibility to ask!
Acquiring new customers doesn’t necessarily mean you must run expensive campaigns and spend on posters/billboards etc, it could be something as simple as encouraging your current customers/prospects to refer you to their family and friends. One thing about a satisfied customer is they want their experience to be shared, what’s better than a happy customer sharing his/her experience with your brand? Word of Mouth is a powerful tool, it can make or break your brand!
Here’s why referrals are so important:
More sales:
We’re all customers, aren’t we? If you receive a call today from a salesperson trying to convince you to buy their product, you’ll never really be down for what he/she has to offer. Now, if it’s a friend or a peer suggesting you buy the same product, you’d want to give it a try — because you trust them.
As a business, you are more likely to close a larger sale as a result of a referral.
Less or no cost at all:
Referrals don’t cost your business much at all; you’re not paying any salesperson to find the lead, there’s no catalogues or expensive phone calls and exhibitions don’t need to take place.
Word of mouth is a cheap (if not the cheapest) yet very powerful source of driving traffic towards your business.
Increasing life time value:
Customers who come through via referrals from their family or friends are far more likely to stay with you for a longer period of time. So, it’s not just the first purchase that counts towards building loyalty with your customer.
Customers who are referred already know a list of things about your company, which gives you leverage in your efforts to build trust and increases the chances that they will spend more with you over time.
In this day and age, especially for SME’s, word-of-mouth is the key. Furthermore, there are now smart tools which allow you to automate the WOM process so it can happen in the background whilst you continue running your business.
