So you’ve already multiplied the number of referrals you get by five from my previous post, right? Perfect. Here are five more ways to increase your referrals:
1) Be Nice: simple enough. Without getting too metaphysical, understand that business works in karmic circles just like life. Nice guys don’t finish last when it comes to referral generation.
2) Give Referrals: being nice might not be good enough. You also have to give to receive. The more referrals you give, the more you will get. Networking groups like BNI and Le Tip have successfully leveraged this concept for decades. When you give a referral, something special happens. Not only do you look good, but the recipient of the referral will undoubtedly look for opportunities to return the favor.
3) Join and Participate in Local Organizations: this strategy is part of my recommendation to connect locally. Notice that I say “join and participate.” Joining isn’t enough. You must participate as well to generate referrals. Plug into your local Chamber of Commerce, Leads Groups, Associations and more. And don’t sit on the sidelines…get in there and play!
4) Create an Affiliate Program: generally conducted on-line to leverage technology, affiliate programs are an excellent source of referrals. Essentially you are paying commission-only salespeople to find customers for you. They post links to your website on their blog, website or emails. If a customer clicks through an affiliate link and purchases something on your site, the affiliate receives a percentage of the sale. Amazon has built a significant portion of their overall business with affiliates. This type of program can be done on a small or a large scale. Check out Commission Junction for more information.
5) Be Unique: if you are one of a kind, customers will find you. If you are unique, special and different there is nowhere else to turn. Since customers will not be able to find your product or service anywhere else, people will refer business your way easily and often.
Chew on these ideas for a bit. Generating referrals is not a daunting task, but it can be if you want to do all things all at once. Pick one or two ideas from today’s post or the previous post and focus on that intently. Master that, then tackle the next.
Even by mastering one, you will see your business move to the next level.
Showing posts with label repitition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label repitition. Show all posts
Marketing = Parenting
My daughter is 3 years old. She is quite playful and energetic which makes meal time difficult. While she generally stays in her seat, she is easily distracted from her food. I tend to be a bit firm in my discipline and I find myself repeating the same messages: finish your veggies, no elbows on the table, no dessert if you don’t finish your meal, etc. It’s pretty much the same one-sided dialogue night after night.
But you know what? The repetition is working. We are seeing her focus a bit more on the meal. She is not perfect, but she is beginning to understand the importance of eating everything on her plate. She even repeats our instructions to her when she sees us with elbows on the table. Our parenting success in this realm has come from the consistent repetition of the same message over and over.
Marketing is no different. Successful marketing comes from the consistent repetition of the same message. There is really no secret to the whole thing. Just repeat, repeat and repeat. In time, the consistent message will be heard by the end user. Over more time, those end users that hear the consistent message will take action. And in the long run, end users will spread the message themselves.
The “Marketing = Parenting” analogy is further understood when we talk about using different marketing channels. Let’s imagine that Peter is a high school student. Peter’s mom, Suzie, wants to make sure that Peter doesn’t forget his doctor’s appointment next week. To remind him, she makes a sign for Peter and hangs it in the bathroom. On the day of the appointment, Suzie calls Peter’s cell phone and leaves a message. She also texts him to remind him several hours before the appointment.
Did it work? Of course! The consistent repetition of the same message across a number of channels (signage, cell phone, text) forced Peter to remember his appointment. Not only did he remember the appointment, he took action and got himself to the appointment on time. This is parental marketing success!
Perhaps I am oversimplifying things by saying marketing is the same as parenting. Of course there are other elements to parenting and marketing that don’t equate. However, my point is that in parenting we need to repeat the same consistent message over and over again to achieve the desired result. In marketing, we need to do the same thing: repeat the same message—perhaps in a variety of venues—over a long period of time to accomplish the desired return.
Similar to parenting, think long term for your marketing. Think about repeating the same message over and over across a number of marketing channels. The more you repeat, the more it will stick, the more action will be taken and the more referrals you will get. It may take time, but neither children nor consumers will understand your message if you just say it once.
But you know what? The repetition is working. We are seeing her focus a bit more on the meal. She is not perfect, but she is beginning to understand the importance of eating everything on her plate. She even repeats our instructions to her when she sees us with elbows on the table. Our parenting success in this realm has come from the consistent repetition of the same message over and over.
Marketing is no different. Successful marketing comes from the consistent repetition of the same message. There is really no secret to the whole thing. Just repeat, repeat and repeat. In time, the consistent message will be heard by the end user. Over more time, those end users that hear the consistent message will take action. And in the long run, end users will spread the message themselves.
The “Marketing = Parenting” analogy is further understood when we talk about using different marketing channels. Let’s imagine that Peter is a high school student. Peter’s mom, Suzie, wants to make sure that Peter doesn’t forget his doctor’s appointment next week. To remind him, she makes a sign for Peter and hangs it in the bathroom. On the day of the appointment, Suzie calls Peter’s cell phone and leaves a message. She also texts him to remind him several hours before the appointment.
Did it work? Of course! The consistent repetition of the same message across a number of channels (signage, cell phone, text) forced Peter to remember his appointment. Not only did he remember the appointment, he took action and got himself to the appointment on time. This is parental marketing success!
Perhaps I am oversimplifying things by saying marketing is the same as parenting. Of course there are other elements to parenting and marketing that don’t equate. However, my point is that in parenting we need to repeat the same consistent message over and over again to achieve the desired result. In marketing, we need to do the same thing: repeat the same message—perhaps in a variety of venues—over a long period of time to accomplish the desired return.
Similar to parenting, think long term for your marketing. Think about repeating the same message over and over across a number of marketing channels. The more you repeat, the more it will stick, the more action will be taken and the more referrals you will get. It may take time, but neither children nor consumers will understand your message if you just say it once.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
