Marketing Blueprint - Part7
7) Calculate And Increase The Lifetime Referral Value Of Clients
This involves calculating and tracking the average referral value of your clients. Once you know how much each customer is worth to your bottom line in terms of referral value, you’ll know how much money you can invest in a formal referral system, to get new clients and increase sales.
The beauty of referral systems is the clients and customers who come your way are presold. They have less resistance, they spend more, and they’re more loyal. On top of that, they tend to be more profitable clients and customers than someone who was acquired through advertising.
A referral program can be as simple and informal as creating a basic referral recommendation form and asking for referrals at the point of purchase. Or you could get fancy by implementing a formal referral program that involves a series of postcards and sales letters asking for referrals, and thank you gifts.
Your referral system can also include ‘social guilt’ using ongoing newsletters that include blurbs or photos showing people who you appreciated who’ve sent referrals. These can be existing clients, vendors, and even competitors.