We’re in the heart of March Madness, everyone’s brackets are a mess, the games are streaming on computers at work and the occasional dig at a Kansas alum is made. Some of us took the day off for tournament games in the hope of seeing our team advance. With the Sweet 16 games up on the big screen, we have 16 sweet referral program tips to share with you.
1. Have a communication plan.
This might seem obvious, but it’s important to think through all the touchpoints with your referrals and how you go about communicating to them. Is it going to be partially or fully automated? Will there be any follow-ups to either the referral or referee? Walking through the logic of your referral program will help catch and avoid some pain points you may not have thought of otherwise. This is where flowchart programs like Lucidchart will become your best friend.
2. Talk about it!
The easiest way to get your message out there requires very little work. If you have a good strategic plan and creative development, people will share it with their friends. Word of mouth referrals will get you far! But if you’re not sure if you have the bandwidth of clients and supporters, you can ask your brand advocates to be your spokespeople.
3. Be transparent.
Secrets, secrets are no fun… if you’re hiding stuff, they won’t trust you. No one is about to enjoy buying a house only to learn later that its foundation is cracking. You would have some pretty angry homebuyers if you try to fudge your way out of that one. Hopefully, you don’t have such extreme situations, but regardless, honesty is the best policy, right?
Same goes for your referral program. Make sure you aren’t keeping any secrets!
4. Write a blog.
And we’re not just saying that to be ironic. If you don’t have content, you have nothing to market. As a real estate agent, and especially a client of VHT Studios, you have access to the best content you need to market your listings, high-quality photography. Creating content and getting your brand out there gives potential clients access to your style and personality and will result in more referrals. The more they know you, the more likely they are to come to you and send their friends to you. More content = more clients.
5. Post organically on social media.
So, how do you get your content out there for your potential clients to see? Obviously, you need to make it accessible to people. If your content isn’t available to people, there’s really no point in making content in the first place. The easiest and cheapest way to do it is to utilize your social channels. Post your listings to your own profiles, it’s free advertising! The more people you connect with, the more you’ll start seeing likes and shares, giving you more opportunities to get referrals.
6. Do some paid advertising.
But if that’s not enough for you, start putting in what you want out. Money. Paid advertising is a step up and I’m sure you’ve seen it before. With paid social advertising you can choose who sees you. Let’s say Angela Agent is a real estate agent in the Bucktown neighborhood in Chicago. She can target people in the area based on their likes and dislikes, their location and even target specific people. Now people who live in and love this neighborhood can tell their friends who are home shopping in Bucktown to call Angela for help.
7. Give em’ something worth referring for.
The ‘what’s in it for me?’ attitude isn’t going anywhere. Why would they tell their friends about you? What more can you do for them? Give them a little incentive. We go to work so we can buy more shoes, we go to the gym so we can eat more tacos. Incentive. Check out what some of your favorite brands are doing to incentivize referrals, like Airbnb and Southwest!
You could check out the VHT Studios referral program too, should you feel so inclined.
8. Gamify it.
Make it a competition! Get people amped up to participate in your referral program. You could give away free services to whoever refers the most people to you, or even a cash prize, say, $500? Use current events and trending topics, like March Madness, to drive interest in your campaign and get more participants.
9. Ask your advocates.
If you’re anything like the vast majority of consumers out there, you really only like to try things if a friend of yours has tried it too. How often do you actually wander into a restaurant that you’ve never heard of and never read reviews on? I’m guessing you haven’t. That’s because we just want to please and be pleased. If your coworker or friend has been there though, you’ll have no problem taking the whole fam.
So, how do you get brand advocates? There will always be clients who can speak positively to your brand. All you have to do is ask for their help! Try using a rewards program, like VHT Studios Hot Shots, to give them some incentive.
10. Share marketing tips with your colleagues.
What goes around comes around… sharing is caring… you’ve heard it all. Helping others means you’ll get some good karma back. If you have a friend looking for a home in a different market, why not refer them to an agent in their area to help them out? Chances are, they’ll do the same for you when the time comes. Share your tips and introduce people in the same network to each other.
11. Use science to help.
There are a number of tools out there that allow you to track and review analytics on your referral programs. There are a few free tools that will help you manage your referral program and keep you on track to referral success. Check out growsurf.com for a free referral campaign tool that has unlimited contacts and campaigns. Don’t forget to set KPIs (key performance indicators) to help you stay on track (number of referrals a week, number of leads generated, number of conversions from lead to referral success).
12. Segment your customers.
The first rule of thumb is to make sure you are targeting the right individuals to provide you referral business. If someone had a bad experience or is not even a client of yours, it’s probably not the best idea to ask them for referrals.
Use the old 80/20 rule. If 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers, it speaks true for referral business. The more active a client of yours is, the more likely they are to refer someone else to you. Use that to your advantage when you are putting spend towards your referral campaign initiatives and target the 20%.
13. Make sure it works!
Test, test, and test again, especially any automation and tracking elements. With the number of communication assets required for a referral program, there are bound to be a few hiccups. Connect the two people, the “referrer” and the “referee”, and automate how you communicate to them to credit them if you are offering an incentive.
14. Put a note in your email signature.
There’s some science out there that says it takes seven touchpoints to actually remember something. So, when you’re communicating with your clients daily anyway, you might as well add a reminder in there!
15. Keep it personal.
Whatever tactics you use to build your referral leads; email, digital ads, social ads, or organic social posts, make sure to always keep it as personable as possible. These are your clients. Be responsive and be sincere. They know you and will respond more if it comes as a respectful note from you. Heck, picking up the phone and asking for testimonials and referrals couldn’t hurt.
16. Always send a thank you note!
A handwritten note makes you stand out. Who doesn’t like getting mail that isn’t a bill? We’re so accustomed to receiving our news and information digitally that getting a quick thank you in the mail is a nice and welcome change. Take the time to write to the people who send you referrals or potential clients.
Have we said ‘referral’ too much? Probably. But now we’re at the end and you’ll never spell the word referral wrong again. You’re welcome. Use these 16 sweet tips when you’re creating your own referral program and see the new clients come pouring in. It’s a guaranteed swish.
