Make Your Customers Refer You!

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I definitely did. If anyone knows how to make good sushi pllllease let me know. I made some with a friend and it didn't turn out that good, but it was a grrreat time. Its always good to spend quality time with people you care about ;)

Now back to our lessons. In the last lesson, I talked about your most valuable assests in your business is your current customer list. They truly are your life line in business and it is your job to continue to keep them happy and coming back.

Another way your existing customers benefits you and continues to feed you is by giving you referrals and its your job to "stimulate" those.

I'm sure you know about "word of mouth advertising" and that it is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. When you say talk about how your business or service is so great, people will always have their doubts, but if someone that doesn't have a vested interest in it says something positive, those comments go a long way towards motivating a prospect to action.

Don't you wish there was something you could do to motivate your customers to refer you and your business on a consistent basis to get you predictable results?

Well, hopefully you guessed there is and its really not difficult. Your first step if you aren't already is to ask! Simply ask, "Do you know of anyone else who would be interested in receiving the same great service or product I provided you?" Make sure to add in some benefits of doing business with you.

Not only should you ask for the referral but you should also create a system; a referral system.
One of the easiest ways is to create a rewards program for when customers refer you. For example, you can tell your customers that for every 5th referral, they will get a FREE service or bonus item or discount. I know, many of these ideas are basic but you would be surprised how great they work. Remember, you aren't here to reinvent the wheel. You need to IMPLEMENT what works.

There are many ways to keep your customers referring you, but a simple way is to write them a simple thank you note for the referral. This does a couple things for you, it reminds them you are there but at the same time let's them know you are keeping track and appreciate their efforts. Big dumb corporations would never be able to give the personal touches like you can.

Another simple way I used to spark referrals in my restaurant was to give customers a couple simple business cards that offered a free appetizer. They pretty much said "Here's a gift from a friend" and then had a spot for their name. This almost guaranteed the customer was at least going to tell someone about my business but also incentivize their friend to come in.

Again, I showed you how your existing customers can be those golden nuggets for your business and that if you take care of them, those nuggets will keep growing. Now remember, they are the most important and you should not neglect them, but your next tips will be about some powerful techniques on how to attract NEW customers.

And please leave any comments below on what you have been reading or any problems you are facing now with your current marketing.

I'm out,
John Barry
The Marketing Maniac
http://www.ontargetprofits.com
Follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/realjohnbarry