Customers are what keep your business alive, but have you ever thought of them as an asset to grow your business?
Your customer base is one of the key assets you have. If these customers are happy, why not encourage them to tell others about you.
Various experts have claimed that around 90% of business for professional offices and 80% of business for retailers is from word of mouth referrals.
An amazing statistic, but it will only continue if you set up a system to handle referrals. You need to have a ‘new customer’ system to record details of the new customer and ensure the existing customer receives special treatment. This is important – you want them to continue referring people so why not give them an incentive.
When you get a referral, send the existing customer a letter thanking them for the referral and maybe a small gift, such as a voucher. Then give the ‘red carpet’ treatment to the person who has been referred. Don’t let the person who has been referred go back to the referrer and complain about the lack of service. Not only will you lose the person who was referred to you but you also run the risk of losing the original referrer.
Remember that you may have to encourage existing customers to refer people. They may think that you have enough business already. Tell them you are looking for referrals and offer special incentives.
When mailing out brochures or other promotional material, always send two or three copies and ask customers to hand on the extra copies to friends and associates.
Click here for a local Auckland Accountant
No comments:
Post a Comment