Now if I had a penny for every time a small business owner said (or thought) that, I'd invite you to my very own island in the South Pacific. Oh, I can feel the fine, white sand beneath my feet as I approach the crystal-clear, blue-green water—oh my! look at those beautiful, exotic fish darting too and fro!
(Slap in face to blog author who now returns to the subject of referrals)
We could probably spend hours discussing where this idea came from (that it's inappropriate to ask your customers for referrals), but instead let's take at look at this from another perspective.
Do you deliver a great product to your customers? Is your service something your clients need, want and appreciate? Do you do your utmost to ensure a quality experience with those you do business with?
Assuming you answered affirmatively, let's take a minute and get into the mind of a few of your satisfied customers. If they derived real benefit from their association with you, is it not a fair statement that they would want their friends, family, co-workers, etc. to have a similar experience?
So, if you deliver a great product or service and your customers feel the same way, then where is the harm in asking them to refer someone to you? You could almost demand it of them, but I won't stretch the envelope here.
After you've finished delivering your product/service, what's one more superb thing you could do for THAT satisfied customer?
Deliver the same product/service to someone s/he knows!
It's really okay when the business world creates win-win situations for everyone. You win because you get a new customer. Your new customer wins because they get a quality experience with you. Your existing customer wins because they referred to you a friend (family member, associate, etc) whose life is bettered in some way and that makes the circle complete.
Now that last sentence may have sounded a bit spiritual, but I do believe it's a practical fact of life: if you deliver something that people really need and want, then they will WANT others to have that as well. You asking them just nudges that along.
Now how you ask for those referrals, that'll be the subject of another post. Hey, I've got the right to keep you coming back for more!
Blog author respectfully ends this post to ponder a bit more on the unbelievably soft sand...
Comments