Six Tips To Increase Business in Tight Times
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888.772.0777
303.499.9318 |
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If
you're like me, you've been barraged with news of colleagues,
friends and family losing their jobs, or businesses that are
having a tough time weathering the current economic climate.
With banks failing, companies shedding jobs, and whole sectors
of the economy in chaos, it can be discouraging.
After talking to many of our customers, we're going to devote
our next eLearning Series to "Six Inexpensive Ways
to Increase Business In A Tight Economy." All of these suggestions
are tried and true: we’ve either done them for ourselves or
for our clients.
Let me know if you have additional suggestions, as we're happy
to share tips and techniques with everyone else. Read
More Below >>
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| Six
Tips To Increase Business in Tight Times |
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| Tip
#1: Ask For Referrals |
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The
first tip - Asking For Referrals - is
a tried and true method that leverages
chains of trust.
Unlike
traditional advertising, word of mouth
referrals can be a top way to generate
new business.
Why? Referrals are based on trust.
The highest compliment any customer
can give to a vendor is the compliment
of saying, "Your company has done
so well, I'm willing to risk my personal
reputation and recommend you to someone
else."
Because a referral comes with this type
of implicit trust, it's a lot easier for
a new prospect to become a paying customer.
If someone you know and trust gives you
a recommendation, that carries a lot more
weight than a glossy print ad or a TV
spot. (Not to say those don't work, too,
but they're not quite as powerful.)
One of the most successful things that
the winner of the recent US Presidential
election did was create a system that
asked people to ask their friends to support
a candidate and get out and vote. Several
hundred million dollars in TV advertising,
as well as loads of technology also helped.
But it was paid for by contributions raised
(in part) using referral-based networking
strategies. (Sorry to digress into politics;
we did all of the early email marketing
for the Howard Dean campaign, when they
first started and had a $25-per-month
hosted website.)
The greatest example of successful referrals
I've ever seen was back in the dot-com
boom days when I was working for a $47
million venture-backed company. I spoke
to one of the investors who put in $12
million in venture capital into the company
- based on a referral; he did no due diligence
but simply trusted a colleague. (Email
me back if you want to know how his investment
turned out.)
Before I delve into specifics for creating
a successful referral strategy, I'll first
state a couple of quick assumptions.
First, I'm going to assume
that your company does a reasonably good
job at providing a product or service
to the majority of your customers. You'll
never be able to please everyone, but
as long as most of your customers have
a positive experience with your organization,
seeking referrals can be extremely effective.
If people really don't like your company,
but are forced to buy from you for contractual
or monopolistic reasons, you have bigger
problems to work on than building a referral
network.
Second, I'll assume that
you enjoy a broad client base that spans
across several vertical industry categories.
If you have a very narrow industry focus,
clients could worry that if their competitors
use you, they could lose a key competitive
advantage. In this case, you should probably
focus on expanding your products and services
to new markets.
So, if your customers like and
trust you, and don't feel competitively
threatened if they refer you, here are
suggestions to create referrals from your
customers:
1.
Ask For Referrals.
People won't think to refer
others your way unless you let them know
that this is important to you. In nearly
every email I send out I have a line below
my signature that says:
It's a not-so-subtle reminder
to let people know that you'd welcome
new clients. In the last 30 days, I've
personally sent 1,093 emails through Outlook
(I just checked), plus many more from
my Blackberry. This is in addition to
our weekly newsletter. It's a great way
to spread the word.
2. Give People Your Referral Promise.
The last thing a person
wants to do is refer their friend, only
to have them hounded endlessly by a sales
person. We put our referral promise on
our website, and we stick to it. Here's
what it says:
Our Referral Promise:
- If
you refer others to us, you have our
heartfelt thanks. One of the highest
forms of trust in business is sending
friends and colleagues along to us.
We know that your trust in us is hard-earned,
and we pledge to take care of anyone
you send our way.
- We
are happy to set up an initial meeting
or phone call, but then it is up to
the client to pursue the conversation
(we won't hound them endlessly).
- If
the referral isn't a good fit for
either party, we're happy to make
additional recommendations that will
allow them to accomplish their goals.
- We
promise to do what is in the best
interests of a potential client. Metaphorically
speaking, we can teach a person to
fish, we can act as a seasoned fishing
guide to navigate difficult waters,
or we can fish for them and prepare
a complete meal.
We also list the Problems
We Solve, as well as list our Typical
Client Profile.
Visit here to see the page.
3. Reward People Who Refer Business
to You.
While most people
are happy to refer you to others, some
people respond to a gentle incentive that's
good for them. It might be 5% off their
next purchase or project, a gift certificate
to a favorite restaurant, or a set of
free movie tickets. |
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The majority of our business comes
from repeat clients or from referrals. We do try to
go the extra mile, and our team knows that it's important
to make sure we exceed expectations.
I hope you enjoyed this message, and my wish is that
it helps you bring in new clients. We've recently
updated our logo (let me know what you think).
Thanks,
Jeff Finkelstein
Founder, Customer Paradigm
jeff@customerparadigm.com
303.499.9318 x8282
P.S. If you know of anyone who needs
help acquiring, retaining or interacting with customers
via web marketing or print design, we'd love the referral. |
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Paradigm
5353 Manhattan Circle, Suite 103
Boulder, Colorado 80303 |
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