How to Leverage Multipliers to Reach More Potential Customers
From client testimonials to brand ambassadors, multipliers help you spread the word about your business
Whether you’re a freelancer or a small business, you can’t be everywhere at once. There is only so much you can do on social media. There are only so many conferences that you or one of your staff members can attend.
When you start to feel the pressure of thinking about all the things you should be doing or could be doing, you need to remember the power of having “multipliers” on your side.
What’s a Multiplier?
Basically, a multiplier is someone who tells other people about you or your organization/company on your behalf — whether paid or unpaid. They cover social media channels that you cannot, substitute for you (or at least spread your message) at conferences you can’t attend, or simply tell other people about you and your product or service.
Here are some of the main types of multipliers and how you or your business can take advantage of them.
1. Client testimonials
After you have completed a project for a client, it’s a great idea to ask them for a short testimonial about their experience with you. A testimonial of 2–3 sentences is a great way to establish that you or your company has provided value to someone and that person would recommend you to others.
A client testimonial can be posted on a specific page of your website where you collect the best testimonials you have. If you are just starting out with your business, a page with even 2–3 testimonials is valuable for establishing you as a credible service provider.
You can also use the quote to make a graphic that can be shared on social media. All of the various social media channels are great outlets for sharing a graphic with a quote from a client. I like to also include a photo of the person who is offering the testimonial. For my copy editing clients who’ve published a book, I sometimes use an image of the book cover instead of a photo of the author.
2. Client referrals
Many people will trust the referral of a business colleague above simply seeing an advertisement for a freelancer or business service. You might consider establishing a special referral program, offering current clients an incentive like a discount on a future service or purchase in return for a successful referral.
Sometimes, all it takes is to ask a current or past client to feel free to refer people to you. While there are people who will naturally boast to others about contractors they’ve used or products they’ve purchased, the truth is that — for many of your customers — this will not automatically spring to mind as something that can or should be done. You need to at least plant the seed by directly asking your clients to refer others to you.
3. Friend referrals
Do your friends know what you do for a living? No? You should always make sure that your friends and family members know what you do — whether you are a freelancer or if you have a small business selling products online. I’m not saying you should start spamming your friends with business marketing emails, but they may know of someone who could use your services or products.
For example, I make no secret of the fact that I am a freelance copy editor and translator. Recently, a friend reached out to me because she knew someone who needed a copy editor for their book manuscript. If your business is selling products for pregnant women, many of your friends may know of someone (or be related to someone) who just got pregnant and could be interested in your products. If your friends have no idea that you sell products for pregnant women, how could they possibly be able to let their newly-pregnant friend know about your business?
4. Social media influencers
When you hear the word “influencer,” you might think of someone who has thousands of followers on Instagram and gets paid to promote certain products or services. However, an influencer can just be one of your followers who is very engaged with you on social media and likes to share your posts on their own channels. As long as someone is respected by their followers and has good engagement with them on their posts, this person can be considered an influencer.
5. Brand ambassadors
As Head of Communications for the nonprofit Hostwriter — a network that helps journalists to easily collaborate across the border — I see the importance of having ambassadors for your brand. While the organization has more than 4,600 members in 150+ countries, there are also about 30 ambassadors (volunteers) who help spread information about the organization to their regions and in their journalism fields of interest.
You may decide to recruit a few “brand ambassadors” — either official or unofficial — to help you spread the word when you have new blog posts or special campaigns. Perhaps you could even offer a discount to an ambassador in return for them regularly sharing your social media posts. Or you can set up an informal arrangement with another small business owner or solopreneur so that you both agree to share and promote each other’s info on a regular basis.
Parting Thoughts
When you run your own business, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day activities and to neglect the outreach that is necessary to grow your business and attract new clients or customers. You need to leverage your assets — especially your current and past clients — to help you reach more people efficiently, without spreading yourself too thin.
Having a few people who function as multipliers for you and your business is a great way to be in more places than you otherwise could as an individual trying to do it all.
