NFIB

Referrals Are a Key to Your Future
06/ 05/ 2002

Few things are more effective for building a business than having satisfied customers recommend your company to their friends and associates. But few small businesses actually establish a dedicated referral program among employees and management. In today’s Workshop, Jeffrey Moses discusses how to capitalize on this valuable source of revenue.

Ask employees to listen for the following types of referral "alerts" when speaking with customers: "I know someone who could really benefit from your services," "I wish the company I worked for used you" or "My brother is having the same problem, I should tell him about your company."

In each of these instances, your employees should immediately respond with something to the effect of: "If you’d like, I could give that person a call. And if you wouldn’t mind, I could say that you referred me." Frequently, the customer will agree and give you the name and phone number. When the customer says, "I’ll have them get in touch with you," your employee should respond, "Fine, do you mind if I follow up in a few days to see if they have any questions I can answer?" Sometimes you have to push a little for the name of a referral, but customers seldom find it offensive.

Remind customers that you are grateful for referrals. When a customer seems satisfied with your work or products, simply say, "I would really appreciate your referring me to your friends and business associates."

Sometimes you need to tell customers exactly what they should do when referring your company. Be specific about the steps they can take. For instance, you or an employee could say, "Call your friend in the next few days, if you can, and have them call me at this number." Hand the person your business card for future reference.

An ongoing referral program can be most successful if you offer customers an incentive for making referrals, such as a one-time discount of 10 to 20 percent for each new customer referred. Such a program could be a regular feature of your business--but you may have to remind customers of it from time to time by sending flyers or having a sign made for your sales counter.

The customers who are most likely to give you a new referral are the ones who have already referred someone. Don’t think that because someone has referred a few people, they won’t want to refer others. If you continue providing excellent services and products, every new customer will be satisfied. Based on this, customers can continue referring people to you for years.

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