Business Builder

Get the Referrals You Need

Whether you’re a part of a thriving chain of stores or a single-person operation, bringing in new business is key to your future success.  There are many different ways to approach new business depending on the client, product and circumstances.  Oftentimes, salesmen rack their brains for the most clever, innovative ways to approach new business.  While this is admirable, and can be tremendously effective in some cases, it’s important not to lose sight of classic strategies, too.  There’s a reason they’ve been around for as long as they have: they work.

Word of Mouth

According to one industry survey, 88.2% of customers rely on word of mouth to bring in new business.  Not fancy TV advertisements, not full page ads in magazines, not enormous baskets of wine and cheese…word of mouth.  It’s easy to understand why, too.  A reference from a friend or colleague gives a client an immediate sense of trust.  People are reluctant to do business with those they don’t know.  There’s a lot of risk involved.  Although reading about a company or hearing about them through an advertisement lessens that fear of the unknown slightly, it does not curb it.

A testimonial from a friend or colleague is often just the push that a client needs to try your business.  This kind of referral does away with the marketing speak in advertisements and brochures in favor of good old fashion experience: yes, I have used X company.  Yes, X company was fabulous.  X company gave me great product on time and was friendly and helpful every step of the way.  Sign me up.

How to Get Referrals

So how do you go about getting clients to refer you?  Ask.  And keep asking.  Don’t be pesky, but do be persistent.  Remind your clients to tell their friends if they liked the service they received with you.  Offer them an incentive for referring new business—give them a percentage off their next order or a small gift like a $5 gift certificate to the local coffee shop.

Although it’s fine to ask for referrals conversationally, you may have even better results if you approach your clients with a survey.  “Strike while the iron’s hot”, and give your customers a survey as soon as you finish a project with them.  Ask how they liked the service and merchandise.  Assuming they liked the work you did, ask them if they’d be willing to provide any leads of business colleagues or friends.

Survey & Referral Tool

SanMar has a pre-made survey and referral tool in its Marketing Tools section that can help you make a survey to your specifications.  The Survey & Referral tool allows you to pose key business questions to your clients in just minutes, at no cost, using an easy-to-use pre-existing template.  With the Survey & Referral tool, you can find out how clients think you’ve performed in the past and what you can do better in the future.

Check out the Survey & Referral Tool at: http://www.sanmar.com/marketing/prebuiltSurvey.shtml

For more information regarding SanMar’s new Survey & Referral tool, contact 800-426-6399.