Power Referral Marketing: How to Create a Buzz About Your Business

Sherry —The Biz Starter Author

Nov 11, 2023 |

Referral marketing can happen organically or through a targeted approach I call power referral marketing.

Organic vs Power Referrals

The number one objective for most entrepreneurs is to obtain customers consistently and help people along the way. Marketing strategies vary by business and ultimately depend on your ideal customer, your product/service, and providing solutions. This includes using paid or organic traffic to gain customers which I'm sure you know takes a lot of effort, fine-tuning, and focus. Paid marketing can get expensive, especially when you cannot find your ideal customer in one place or on just one platform.

For example, it’s no surprise that someone who specializes in LinkedIn will find most of their customers on LinkedIn. Or someone who specializes in Twitter, to find their customers there. Same thing with Facebook, and Instagram. The challenge comes when you have a unique value proposition for people who can be found on any of these platforms. Or your customers are all face-to-face. It’s impossible to be in all places at one time. That’s why referral marketing is one of the best ways to grow your business.

Think about it.

The initial investment you’ve made—all the time and money you’ve spent to get a new customer. Going above and beyond with your customer which includes a streamlined onboarding process. A referral from this one customer can deliver new business to you that you did not have to spend additional time or money to get.

Organic referrals happen when your customers are happy with your offers and they happily share the wonderful experience they’ve had with their peers, friends, and family. This is when they become your brand advocates and tell everyone about your superb products and services. Although organic referrals are a huge win for your business, just remember that you are not in control of the message that is communicated about you or your services.

Referral marketing can happen organically or through a targeted approach, which I call power referral marketing. This is when with you create a campaign that encourages your customers and other brand advocates to promote you by a referral. This is a great option because you control the narrative and message that is being shared about your business. There are specific strategies you can use to create a buzz about your business and influence what they say about your products and services.

Where to Begin with Power Marketing

Start thinking about what you want customers to say about you and your business. What is the message you want people to share with others?

Create a power referral campaign that will stir up the conversation around your prices, quality, community, onboarding, etc. This should align with what your target audience finds important.

A good example is someone who wants to stop one-on-one coaching sessions because they are too time-consuming, and instead wants to increase online course sign-ups. You would create a power referral marketing campaign strategy that encourages customers to talk about and share their experiences with your course.

Tips to Get People Talking

Now that you know what you want your customers to rave about in your power referral marketing campaign, here is how you get them talking about you to others.

1. Level up Your Key Message. Identify what makes you different from others in your niche. Reinforce what makes you different to keep that in people’s minds, and then prompt them to share it with someone else. One way to do this is to highlight what makes you different from your competitors in the emails you send during customer onboarding or after they’ve made a purchase. This prompt will trigger people to remember this and they will refer to it during your product review or when they engage with you on social media. For example, after a customer purchases one of your offers, send an email highlighting the areas in the offer you’ve identified as being the most marketable, then ask them to share their experience with their peers and friends.

2. Add a Visual Trigger. Bring out your creativity and make an intro video, meme, or an about us page that is truly memorable and unique that people will want to share.

   

3. Stir Emotions. Create content and discussions that make people feel something. Do this by making conversation about a topic that is close to your heart and related to your niche. This could be your personal story or a traumatic or happy experience and how you overcame challenges. Just be truthful and sincere. For example, if your ideal customers are women, donate a percentage of your income from a particular event to an organization that empowers women by providing women with economic support, and resources. It aligns with your business, but most of all, it’s a good cause.

4. Design a Referral Program. Give people incentives for referring your offers to others. Offering customers something can turn a satisfied customer into a brand advocate. Try rewards like discounts off a future purchase, gift card or a bonus gift related to their last purchase. You could also give them a shout-out to your large audience and highlight someone new each month in your blog, newsletter, or on social media.

Get Your Quiet Customers Talking

Let’s say that you have loyal advocates online who frequently comment on your social media platforms and they share your offers with their peers, family, and friends. You also have a group of customers who happily grab up all your free lead magnets, opt-in for your email list, like your posts, and attend your live events on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.

But, they are quiet.

They don’t leave reviews for your offers, they don’t ask questions during live events, and they rarely comment on your social media posts. They are content with grabbing your freebies, buying your offers, and getting on with things. You know they are satisfied because they keep purchasing your offers, but they don’t want to broadcast how they feel about your products and services.

This is how you get these people to talk.

1. Give Freebies. Give an incentive for reviews on your website, social media platforms, or a review site. This encourages them to share out loud what you know they are already thinking about your offers. You can also offer a discount, loyalty points, or an upgrade to a product they’ve already purchased. Promote this incentive program in your newsletter, blog post, the emails you send out post-purchase, or during your customer onboarding

2. Create a sense of community. Most people want to feel a part of something bigger. A person might not want to refer you because they don’t feel a sense of loyalty or part of a community. Give them a sense of belonging, like sending a happy birthday wish with an automated or personalized email with a gift. This nurtures the relationship and sense of community with you and your business. Create an online group just for loyal customers and make it worth joining. For example, I created a free online community built inside The BizStarter Hub to access the full library of entrepreneur resources, training, and meet other entrepreneurs and network, ask questions, share their wins, support each other, and know they’re not alone.

3. Encourage conversation. Start conversations on your social media platforms that will invite positive comments and feedback about your products. Ask them: What is your favorite product/service? Why? Describe the first time you tried my product. What is your favorite benefit or feature? What kind of results have you experienced?

There are many ways to encourage power referral marketing and guide the narrative shared by your business. Not just your vocal customers, but work to get everyone talking about your business.

Encourage a wide range of customer perspectives to expand your base. Power referral marketing is mighty— use it wisely. Get people talking, expand your customer base, generate sales, and increase revenue.

Ready to get the benefits of power referral marketing to get leads and make sales? Grab my free ebook, 15 Greatest Strategies to Get Clients. Get more clients, spend less time marketing, and get your satisfied customers talking about your business.

Categories: : Biz Growth