No doubt you already know the power of word-of-mouth referrals. An incredible amount of purchase decisions are made via recommendations from friends, family and work colleagues.

But as a business owner, what are you doing to actively increase the number of referrals your business receives? If your answer is nothing then a huge opportunity awaits you!

So, how do you get more referrals?

It’s as simple as asking for them! After all, if you don’t ask, how will people know that you want them?

Many people assume that your business is already “flat out” and you wouldn’t be able to accommodate Auntie Joan even if they were to recommend you to her. So they don’t bother.

Here are some tips to kick the referral rate for your business into overdrive:

• Explicitly tell your customers that you would appreciate referrals. Say something like “If any of your family or friends need help then it would be great if you could pass on my contact details.”
• Give out three or four business cards to customers instead of just one – it is more likely that several cards will be shared around to friends and family.
• If appropriate (and legal) for your sector, offer a reward for referrals. Gifts such as restaurant vouchers generally work better than cash.
• The rate of “natural” referrals will increase in proportion to the quality of the service you provide. Word spreads rapidly when, for example, a customer raves about how honest and reliable their car mechanic is.

And finally, remember that referrals do not only come from customers. Two other important sources of referrals are your own employees and professional referrals from owners of complementary businesses.

The latter is particularly powerful and you should always be on the lookout for reciprocal referral arrangements with other quality business owners.

Kick your referral rate into overdrive is a post from: Sharp Dart

There is one time above all others that you have the undivided attention of your customer. And that is the moment they purchases from you and gets their hands on your product or service.

Let’s say, for example, that your business delivers products using snail mail or a courier. The customer is typically waiting to take delivery of the product and may even be excited to open the package.

Apart from the product, what do they find inside? A crumpled invoice perhaps? Maybe even nothing at all?

If your business operates this way then you are missing a golden opportunity to engage with the customer at the time they are most attentive to your message.

So what can you include in your next package?

How about a hand signed letter thanking the customer for their purchase and welcoming them to the business?

Better yet, how about also including a one-time irresistible offer for one of your related products? Technically known as up-sells or cross-sells, these offers are proven to yield fabulous conversion rates and will bring additional revenue into your business for the cost of a few pages printed on your office printer.

And if your business sells products or services face to face then this strategy will be even more powerful – because you can make a similar offer in a much more personal and engaging way. What’s more, you can do it at the exact moment your customer has committed to buy from you and is reaching into their wallet for their credit card.

If you are wondering whether this strategy works in the real world – spend a few minutes in McDonalds and tally up the conversion rates when the sales assistant asks “Would you like an ice cream sundae with your meal for an extra 50 cents?”

So, what’s your ice cream sundae?

Your ice cream sundae is a post from: Sharp Dart

Every day your prospective customers are asking themselves the same question about your business. Your response to this question and how you communicate it can mean the difference between your business thriving and going under.

So, what’s this all important question that your prospects are asking? It is this – “Why should I choose your business/product/service over all other options – including doing nothing at all?”

Our world is full of choice. For any problem there are countless solution providers vying for your prospect’s attention.

With so much choice around, what is it that makes your offer stand out from the crowd – and what makes it compelling enough to overcome your prospect’s natural inertia and have them reaching for their wallets?

Here’s a task.

Grab a pen and a sheet of paper and write the above question at the top of the page. Spend the next 10 minutes brainstorming your response.

Approach it as if your ideal customer has just walked into your premises and asked you the question directly. What would you say? Try to talk in terms of benefits to the customer rather than features of your product or service. You can think of a benefit as specific outcome that the customer will get from using your product or service.

For example, a benefit of hiring an accountant is that you will not have to worry about getting a nasty call from the tax office.

Once you’ve finished brainstorming, highlight the most compelling one or two benefits and summarize them into a short statement.

If you like you can call this your positioning statement or USP (Unique Selling Proposition).

But don’t stop there. Your positioning statement won’t do any good gathering dust on your desk. It must become the central theme of all your marketing efforts and you should take every opportunity to communicate it to your prospects and customers.

Step into your customer’s shoes is a post from: Sharp Dart