Asking for referrals can be a nerve-wracking experience. As with anything that requires putting yourself out there, there’s always the chance of inciting a negative response. However, when it comes to referrals, you can\u2019t just sit around and expect them all to come in organically without some effort. The best way to get them is to just ask. This is especially the case if you have a decently sized contact list because the likelihood of success is greater.<\/p>\n
There are a few ways to reach out to customers<\/a>, but everyone seems to be asking digitally or by automation these days. By asking directly (either in-person, by personal phone call, or personal email) and throwing in this unexpected changeup, a business can set themselves apart from the rest by being more personal.<\/p>\n There are also a few things to consider before reaching out directly to get referrals. Let\u2019s go over what we mean.<\/p>\n People are lazy. And, as we mentioned, everyone wants automation these days\u2026 so this is a great opportunity to switch it up and offer a little bit of unexpected personalization mixed-in with your communication efforts.<\/p>\n To make the whole process scalable, we suggest segmenting your \u201cbattles\u201d (pick and choose wisely). Not all customers will respond the same. So scale out your asking points by planning out who to ask, and do so when it makes sense.<\/p>\n Part of the initial battle is figuring out who you want to invite. Asking in the first place can be stressful, and to add on to that, deciding on who you\u2019re going to ask can make it even more confusing. The truth is, you can ask all customers, but you shouldn\u2019t ask every single one directly. For example, it may not make sense for you to directly ask someone for a referral who hasn\u2019t purchased from you in a few years. You\u2019d instead have better luck asking a current or frequent shopper. You can use automation to ask the masses, but segment your direct asks for a specific type of customer.<\/p>\n Good people to reach out directly for a referral include:<\/p>\n If you have the opportunity to get back in front of the customer after leaving them with a positive impression or good experience, you should. It\u2019s the perfect time to ask. Take advantage of this when you can.<\/p>\n For example, if you\u2019re a realtor who just sold a house, bring the new homeowners some cookies or a small gift after they move in. Since you\u2019re going above and beyond what is expected and what others are doing, you are making a lasting impression on the customer, which could mean referrals for you in the future.<\/p>\n Whatever you do, just be sure to ask at the right time. If you\u2019re having a face-to-face interaction, a good time may be at the end of it. \u00a0As you\u2019re saying your goodbyes, give them a couple business cards and mention something like \u201cif you have friends who need (insert your service\/business\/product), we\u2019d love to help them out.\u201d Going about it like this is asking for a referral<\/a> in a way that isn\u2019t too pushy, but it gets the point across.<\/p>\n Why you are contacting the customer matters. If you\u2019re stopping by or meeting with a customer and there is no relevant or good reason to do so, it makes the interaction fall flat. So be sure that you have something valuable to offer, on top of your initial reason for contact.<\/p>\n Look for opportunities. If you don\u2019t have a good reason to directly ask, that\u2019s okay. There will likely be some other opportune times that are perfect for asking. Even if you don\u2019t have face-to-face or post-purchase meetings, there are still other ways you can reach out for a referral.<\/p>\n For example, after receiving a good review, positive email, or even a friendly \u201chow\u2019s it going\u201d message on Facebook. If you have a reason to believe the person reaching out to your business is happy, you have reason to believe they are willing to refer. Most happy customers are willing to help you out, and would gladly give you a few referrals if you just ask.<\/p>\n Don’t ask just for the sake of asking. You shouldn\u2019t have to force your way into an interaction, especially if it\u2019s to ask for a referral. It\u2019s important to remember, customers are doing you a favor by referring business to you. If you make it seem forced it could come off as being insincere and you risk your chance at getting a referral. Customers shouldn\u2019t feel like their relationship with your business is abused or purely one-sided. So, if you don\u2019t have a good reason for asking in the first place, hold off until you do.<\/p>\n Relating directly to your customer<\/a> through personalization differentiates your brand. It could mean sharing a little anecdote or story you remembered of their experience with you. Little personal stories, as such, are easy to incorporate into the message you\u2019re delivering to them. Even if you\u2019re only delivering their invoice or receipt, hitting on a personal story that connects them to your brand is a great way to personalize the experience and make them feel special.<\/p>\n If you add an element of personalization, you can directly ask in an email or over a phone call. It makes the customer feel like you are talking to them, rather than just sending an automated and impersonal message.<\/p>\n Do your research before you try a direct ask. You can look at surveys, reviews, or simply keep up with your customer\u2019s history with your business. Chances are you will gain some knowledgeable insight and you will be able to better provide a more personalized message and in turn, deliver a better ask.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve done your research, you have probably learned a few ways to relate to your customers. Whether it\u2019s a personal reason or not, finding some sort of common ground to help you produce a more successful ask.<\/p>\n Some easy ways you can make the experience more personalized for each customer are:<\/p>\n Note when they first contacted you:<\/strong> You don\u2019t need to state the exact day and time. But if you generalize the date the customer first signed up, it can be a quick and noninvasive way to connect with the customer. For example:<\/p>\n \u201cHey, I noticed you signed up for our service 3 months ago. I just wanted to check in and see how you\u2019re liking it thus far. Please let me know if I can help you out in any way.<\/em><\/p>\n Thanks,<\/em><\/p>\n Megan <\/em><\/p>\n P.S\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if you know about our referral program, but, we\u2019d love to meet your friends, click here if you want to know more information.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n Who they’ve talked to in the past:\u00a0<\/strong>Again, you don\u2019t have to know a lot of information to give a personalized message. So even if you just drop a short line about something simple, like the last salesperson or customer service rep the customer was in contact with, it can be just enough personalization without going overboard.<\/p>\n Past orders:\u00a0<\/strong>Mentioning past orders is a very quick way to establish that you remember the customer. Again you don\u2019t have to be very specific. You can generalize if need be. However, if the item is an everyday thing or something that isn\u2019t embarrassing, feel free to use it as a reason to talk to the customer and then end that conversation by asking for a referral.<\/p>\n We’ve all had those times or have heard of a time when personalization was a bit too creepy. Yes, you want to personalize, however going overboard with personalization can also be a turn-off. So avoid being too in-depth, as too much personalization can frighten your customers, and make them uncomfortable. Uncomfortable customers aren\u2019t usually up for referring their friends.<\/p>\n For example, many stores aim at personalizing ads, coupons, and flyers for customers based off of past purchases. Some people may feel like their privacy is invaded or that you\u2019re tracking them too closely, which could make the customer feel creeped out. And, depending on what they bought, they may even be embarrassed when sent coupons or flyers.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re directly asking for referrals you may find it helpful to mention the benefit a customer will receive by doing so. Generally speaking, people appreciate knowing what’s in it for them. So, if you\u2019re asking for referrals, make sure all your bases are covered, including why they should refer. Fortunately, there are many referral program incentive<\/a> options out there, so picking something that makes sense for your business should be easy.<\/p>\n The perfect time to ask for something actionable is typically at the end of a conversation. So, after discussing your reason for contacting, as well as the benefit of referring, you should finish with the ask or a great call to action (CTA).<\/p>\n This is really easy if you’re directly asking by email<\/a>. A lot of businesses write great emails to their customers communicating their sales, changes, product updates, and asking for specific CTA’s. But remember, customer engagement is a two-way street, so you want them to reply, comment, or do a specific action. As a suggestion, leave them with an ask, which will encourage them to do an action, like sending a referral.<\/p>\n Whether you know what you stand for or you know your brand differentiation. You want to make sure that you talk about how you have a superior curation process and the best products, or the best customer service, or whatever makes you stand apart.<\/p>\n Be sure to highlight what makes you unique, and be sure that it is evident across all platforms. Brand your message throughout. It\u2019s a great way to reinforce your brand, and build your brand trustworthiness, as well as build your social proof.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t want to have to say it outright to customers. It can be present subtly throughout the messaging you use. And, if you do point out what makes you better, it will make it easier for you when it comes to directly asking for a referral.<\/p>\n As you can see, there are quite a few things to consider when directly asking for referrals.\u00a0Let us know what other ways you\u2019ve tried asking for a referral. We\u2019d love to add it to our list, especially if it was successful.<\/p>\n Ready to mobilize customers as advocates? For the greatest success, we recommend setting up a formalized referral program to ask for referrals.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n These resources may help:<\/em><\/p>\n The best way to ask for referrals is by asking for referrals directly. You may get referrals other ways, but here is why reaching out directly is best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5985,2582],"class_list":["post-4517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-referral-marketing","tag-key-takeaways","tag-strategy"],"acf":{"takeaway_1":"Make sure you have a good reason to reach out for a direct referral, such as a stellar review or social comment, or a positive personal comment..","takeaway_2":"Personalize your outreach; you might mention a past order or past experience the customer had with you.","takeaway_3":"Mention the benefit a customer will receive for sharing. People appreciate knowing what's in it for them."},"modified_by":"Jessica Huhn","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4517"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37275,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4517\/revisions\/37275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}It\u2019s hard to directly reach out<\/h2>\n
1. Decide who to invite<\/h3>\n
\n
2. Decide on when to invite<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s important to have a great reason<\/h2>\n
People are busy and will get annoyed if you bother them<\/h3>\n
This shouldn’t be forced<\/h3>\n
Personalize your message<\/h2>\n
Do your research \/ Know about your target<\/h3>\n
Relate to them<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t be creepy<\/h2>\n
Start with an incentive<\/h2>\n
Finish with an ask<\/h2>\n
Always be branding and highlight your differentiators<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
\n