Building your referral business is probably not a new concept to you, but are you implementing it properly? Most people in business can understand the value of referrals and that referral business leads to greater customer satisfaction, which leads to more referral business. This is not limited to sales referrals. A good referral can be for a supplier, a lead for a new employee, a sales lead, or a referral of a good SEO (search engine optimization) professional.
The Value of Referral Business
If you put a pencil to the value of referral business, you will find that the value far exceeds the cost. The list of benefits is long, but here are just a few of the ways referrals can benefit your business.
- Shorter sales cycle
- Lower sales or recruiting cost
- Greater customer satisfaction
- Potential for more referrals
- Increased market share
- Improved image from the word of mouth
- Improved trust
Referrals Go Both Ways
When we think about referrals, it is common to imagine somebody telling their friend about your product or service, saying that you will call the referral soon, and the deal will be a sure thing. This is a great business referral, but also consider the referral that you may be able to provide them. You may think that you do not know a lot of people who would be a great fit for their business need, but you may be surprised. Often, the referral of a potential employee who may work harder, or a supplier who may provide a better fit for them can be just as useful. It is important that you do not close your mind to opportunities to offer referrals, because when you give a referral, you are much closer to receiving referrals for your business.
Building Referral Business Using the Internet
Of course, because my blog is centered on improving Internet marketing and SEO, I want to point out the value of referral business as it applies to the Internet and your Website. Many people neglect or underestimate the value the referral business coming from people linking to your Website. Any search engine optimizer knows the importance of incoming links from other Websites, but do you? One of the top factors in the success of your Internet marketing is how many other Websites link to yours. Each link pointing to your Website is, as Google describes it, like a vote from that Website for yours. It is a primary factor in Google’s vaunted PageRank technology, which estimates the importance of a given Website. Although you may not look at this as a business referral, it is likely only because the referrals often come in without your even knowing it, thus, neglecting the value of these referrals is common. Perhaps if you truly understood the value, you would send a nice thank you note to the sites linking to your Website … wouldn’t that be a neat idea? It would probably take you less than an hour to thank each and every site owner or Webmaster with a link pointing to you. This brings me to another point on thanking those who give you referral business.
Give Thanks for Referral Business
If you are not giving great thanks for the referral business you receive, you are making a big mistake. I occasionally see an attitude that a referral is just something that the giver was not going to use anyway, so it is no skin off the giver’s back. The reality is that when you are given a referral, you should respect it as if they just gave you a family heirloom. After all, they not only gave you their confidence that you will be respectful and caring to the person they referred, but they also gave you something that you can measure in your success.
Asking for Referral Business
Asking for referral business should be a daily practice. It is not like asking for a birthday present. Although a referral is a highly treasured gift, referrals are often something that your clients and friends will be happy to give. This is especially true if they know the value you place on them.
What is your plan to ask for referrals? Are you sending letters requesting referrals? Are you asking for referrals by sending email to your existing client base? Are you blogging about it?
Referrals Welcome
Your referrals are welcomed by me. I understand the value of your referrals, and I will not only thank you very sincerely, I will write you a check of no less than 10 percent of the initial value of contracts I receive from your referral leading to a SEO (search engine optimization) project. As for Website link referrals, I will thank you kindly, and in many cases return the favor.
