Marketing helps promote your business. However, nothing beats word of mouth marketing. That’s when others promote your products and services for you.
While sharing personal experiences and preferences might seem normal, it’s a different matter for business owners. Such things can have a huge impact on brands and organizations.
Done right, it can catapult a start-up into an overnight success. Conversely, one viral negative tweet about your products can turn you into an online pariah by tomorrow.
This is the power of referral marketing. Read on to find out more.
What is Referral Marketing?
Simply put, referral marketing happens when your loyal customers are happy with your service – and are vocal about it. Thus, they refer your products or services to their networks, who then become your potential customers.
While it’s another way to promote your brand, it’s virtually 100% organic -and free of charge.
In other words, there’s no need for a scripted sales pitch or a paid influencer here. People who genuinely love your brand will market it for you. For free.
Hence, it comes across as more natural and authentic.
What Makes It Effective?
According to a 2021 study, the impact of word of mouth marketing is huge. A whopping 88 percent of 44,000 respondents trust recommendations from their friends and family. In fact, they rely on referrals more than any other form of advertising.
People listen to their loved ones. If their family members like or trust a brand, they’re more likely to do the same. Hence, if you can get people to like your brand, they could be gently nudged into doing referral marketing for you.
So, how do you go about it?
Referral Marketing Strategies
If your business struggles to get traction with organic referrals, here are three things you can try:
Create a Customer Referral Program
Acknowledging customer referrals is key to growing your business.
For instance, why not provide loyal customers with a 10% discount on their next purchase? Or perhaps create a program that allows them to accumulate points, which they can redeem later. Either way, choose a reward system that works best for your business (and your budget).
As long as you don’t lure people into faking their experience, incentivising can work wonders.
Make Use of Social Platforms
A social media presence is indispensable to any modern business.
When promoting your products on the ‘gram, don’t forget to tag your customers.
You can also feature glowing feedback and reviews on your highlights. Especially when happy customers recommend your products and services to their friends and loved ones.
Aside from solidifying your brand as trustworthy and reliable, it gives your followers a reason to share your featured posts on their social media accounts.
Provide a Stellar Experience
The only way to ensure a good review is to provide a positive experience. This is a no-brainer.
People will only recommend products and services that they love. Hence, always take ownership of every situation, especially the negative ones.
Acknowledge any problems, address your customers’ concerns, and train your employees to show empathy towards your end-users and clients. Especially when replying to comments on social media platforms.
Once your audience sees that you’re reliable and trustworthy, they’ll promote your brand to their networks themselves.
In the event that your satisfied customers forget to put in a good word about you, the best thing you can do is to simply ask!
After all, many people might love your business, but most people lead busy lives. There’s nothing wrong with reminding them to share their experiences every now and then.
Want to try referral marketing, but not sure how to go about it? We’ve got you!
Remote Staff has been providing Australian SMEs and entrepreneurs like you with skilled and talented remote workers from the Philippines for the last 15 years and counting. With tons of skilled marketing experts on our roster, you can be sure that they’ll come up with – and perfectly execute- the best possible referral marketing program.
Call us today or schedule a call back and let’s get started.
Serena has been working remotely and writing content for the better part of the last decade. To date, she's written for Pepper.ph and Mabuhay Magazine, among others, and has churned out more than a thousand articles on everything from The Basics of Stock Market Investing to How to Make Milk Tea-Flavored Taho at home.
