It is a well-known fact that referral business or “word of mouth” marketing is one of the most effective ways to attract new clients while strengthening relationships with existing ones. But not many business owners or coaches take advantage of its full potential, despite it being extremely powerful and virtually free (or at most very inexpensive).
Imagine if every client referred just one person to you over the next 60 days, that would double your client base! You could potentially earn more income and support and encourage more people if you did that.
What is the best way to utilize word of mouth for your business? We have listed 5 steps you can start implementing now
1. Be sure to tell your clients consistently that you appreciate them
Creating endless referrals entails attending to this vital, but overlooked element. Profits take precedence over people at many businesses. When you focus only on profits, you may not be successful; ‘Word of Mouth’ success is finding ways to enrich the lives of your customers, beyond just profit.
Get in touch with your clients at least once a month and let them know you appreciate them. Give them something they will appreciate, something unexpected, a bonus report, a special piece of news. Send it regularly, and make it relevant.
2. Make every interaction with you or your company an exceptional one
Your customers will want to tell a lot of others about the exceptional experience they had doing business with you. Everybody wants a great experience!
As an example, there is a special relationship between a Life Coach and a city coffee shop. On average, every eight weeks, he invites his in-person clients to a ‘brain trust’ meeting with free coffee and cake. Each client who attends receives a card and voucher from the owner of the coffee shop to thank them for coming today, and they are welcome to come back soon. The vouchers are for ‘buy one get one free’ coffee. This will encourage them to return.
Since the coach is exposing his company to new potential clients, the cafe owner charges him only the cost price for coffee and cake. A typical gathering has about eight people and costs about $30. Your business can stand out a little more with just a little extra touch!
What actions are you taking now to make your customers’ experience exceptional? If you would like to network with other professionals while also providing amazing value to your clients, maybe you can work on the example above or something similar. Don’t wait, make a difference now!
3. Incentivize your customers to refer you
You are sitting on a gold mine if you are passive about referrals. Provide rewards for clients who refer your business. For example, you can give them a free coaching session with you for 90 minutes, a certificate for a massage or a nice dinner, or a gift card (e.g., $100). However you choose to go about it, the key is to make sure whatever you choose to offer is something your clients will really appreciate!
Encourage your clients to refer you to others by rewarding them. Offer rewards that your clients will find valuable. You might want to consider an Amazon gift card if your clients use a lot of equipment at work or enjoy shopping. Lastly, when trying to think of a gift idea, do not forget that money is always a great motivator!
4. Referrals should be easy for clients
Making it easy for your clients to refer you is the key to getting lots of referrals. Be realistic in your expectations about how they will help you grow your business. Keep it simple if you can.
Build a referral package for clients that you can give out to them. In order to work with like-minded people, ask your clients to be your ambassadors for your business. Your package would include a professionally designed document explaining why referrals matter to you, as well as referral cards/invitations/links that your client can pass around and post to their social media accounts. Be certain to always present everything very professionally in order to increase the perceived value of your offer/services and to represent your business to the best of your ability!
5. Make sure you ask at the right time!
Do you know when to ask for referrals? Whenever! Following the steps above…you’ve informed your clients of your appreciation, you have consistently provided them with amazing experiences, you’ve given them an enticing incentive to spread the word, and you’ve made it easy for them to do so. In this stage, not only should you be able to ask for referrals anytime, but you should also see excellent results!
Now is the time to act. I recommend you start an email today and send it to your clients so they know how much you value them, how much you’ve enjoyed working with them, and include some information that’s going to be useful to them. Develop your ‘referral package’ and start using it over the next 4 to 6 weeks. Do something outside of your comfort zone and take action… You’ll definitely be rewarded in the end!
Don’t be left out of this amazing opportunity to build a community between your clients and your company. Start today!
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