Referral business is the most trusted form of advertising

and marketing there is. It's totally organic, and it's

credible because it isn't coming from you. It's coming from

your customers. Truly satisfied customers tell their friends

and colleagues about your products or services, and as a

result, you get the honor of doing business with these

friends and colleagues. Your customers become ambassadors

for your brand.

But getting referrals requires some work on your part. Let's

talk about some of the best ways you can get more referral

business from your customers:

1. Offer products and services that are worth talking about

- Bottom line: You aren't going to trick someone into

referring you. Your products and services have to be worth

referring. Otherwise, your customers won't put their name

and reputation on the line for you. This means you need to

be great every time. Always keep your promises, and always

deliver the same excellent service with every transaction.

Greatness is worth telling others about.

2. Give customers an incentive for referring others - Even

if you offer the best products and services in your

industry, your customers may not feel compelled to tell

others about you. Sometimes, they need a little prodding ...

a little motivation to get them talking. Reward them for

referring business to you. You can reward them with

discounts on future purchases or with actual cash (think of

it as commission for bring in new business).

3. Eliminate risk - Remember, when someone refers your

business to a friend, he's putting his name on the line. If

you fail to deliver, it makes him look bad. That's why it's

a good idea to eliminate the risk of doing business with

you. You can do this by offering money back guarantees, free

trials, buy now/pay later pricing, and other similar

techniques.

4. Make it easy for referrers - Make sure your customers

have all the tools they need to refer their friends to you.

Give them business cards, your email address, your website,

or something similar information so they know where to send

the people they refer.

5. Ask for them - It's really simple: If you want referrals,

just ask for them. Whenever a customer tells you how much

they enjoyed doing business with you, thank them for the

kind words and ask them to tell their friends about your

business. It sounds simple enough, but it really works.

You'd be surprised how many referrals you can get if you

just step up and ask.

6. Let everyone know what you do - I'm not saying you need

to be the constant, pain in the neck self-promoter who can't

stop talking about himself, but you should always be

networking and letting others know who you are and what you

do. Even if they don't need your services, they may have a

friend who does. It pays to have that elevator pitch ready

at all times.

Do you get a lot of business from referrals? How do you get

them?

L8tr on,

Mickie Kennedy
Founder, eReleases.com
CEO, eReleases.com & Press-Release-Writing.com

http://www.ereleases.com
http://www.press-release-writing.com

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