There are a lot of ways to go about referral marketing. It’s common knowledge that you ask your customers where they heard from you, or why they decided to use you – but what do you do that that information? We all know that when you ask your customers where they heard from you, it’s for “marketing purposes” but what do you ACTUALLY do with the information?
I think that so often we start to use methods that we know that we’re supposed to use, but we just do it, and there is no actual use behind the reason that you’re doing it. I know that you probably know this, but I think that the biggest factor in asking someone how they heard of your business is to make sure that you’re marketing to your clients the correct way, and the way that it actually works.
Here’s another thing, are you making sure that your clients are happy before they leave? Let’s not talk about reviews, we all know that reviews are not real. I want to know that you actually ask your clients if they are happy, because you want to make sure that they come back, but you REALLY want to make sure that your customers are happy so that they will REFER you. And you know what? This is actually genuine.. I said I wasn’t going to talk about reviews, but I am. If you ask your clients to leave you a review, it is NOT so that other people will read that review, it is for SEO purposes. So, if you’re asking your customers to leave a review, just know that it is not for referral purposes. When you ask your customers if they enjoyed your service, it is so that you develop a more personal relationships with your client, and you will know that they will be willing to refer you.
When it comes to referral marketing, you need to make sure that your customers will actually be willing to refer you.
If you are not sure if your clients will be willing to refer you, then referral marketing is out of the window.
When you want referrals, you have to be able to ask for them the right way. If you just automatically see your client after the sale and ask them to refer you, I promise it is not going to work. You have to build a relationships with your client over time to that they are more willing to refer you.
This does not mean one thank you card after the initial sale, it does not mean you call them once and ask if they are loving their new house, it means you need a thorough, lengthy processs that keeps your clients remembering your name throughout the year. I promise that your clients come into contact with someone at least monthly that are looking to buy a new home and sell theirs, and let me tell you this, when your client JUST went through the process of selling their home, people who are having the same ideas REALLY want to talk to them about it..
Never forget that your clients are your best source of marketing.