Does your website get referrals?
Sunday, March 15th, 2009How are you using your website to get referrals?
One way is to give your loyal customers a coupon or something free for referring new business to you. This works well for offline and online business, but the beauty of the internet is that you can automate this process.
You can create a special page so that when customers submit their email addresses or phone numbers, they can automatically download a coupon, ebook, audio or video file. You want to provide something of real value that they can use. Don’t be cheap, but don’t go overboard either.
If you have an offline business you should be building a “house list” and using direct mail to communicate with people who have expressed an interest in your business. When you mail them they may not need your services at the moment, so offer something for providing a referral now.
Have you partnered with businesses that already have targeted traffic in your niche? For example if you have a landscaping business then you should seek to partner with a plant nursery. You could work out a deal where you will provide plant delivery for them if they will refer people to you for plant installation.
You already know where to find these potential partners, you meet them at industry conferences, call them on the telephone, and just get to know the people in your local community. Once you have the agreement in place make it easy for people to refer others to you. Give them business cards, flyers, free samples, whatever you have, but focus on making it a win win for each of you.
