Seems funny, right? Of course your customers know what you do! After all, they’ve hired you to do it!
Yeah but do they know everything that you do? Probably not. I was reminded of this when I came across a note I scribbled a while back. I’m not sure who to attribute this ‘Rule-of-thumb’ to but I know I can’t take credit. I’m not that bright 
The Law of Generating More Referrals:
To generate referrals from your customers, tell them what you do.
Why? Because 80% of your clients only know 20% of what you do. Furthermore, 80% of your clients would provide referrals but only 20% are ever asked.What’s the lesson here? It’s two-fold…
1.) The best referral programs combine education with incentive. You inform your customers of all that you do and you incent them to provide referrals. When you think about it, all the affiliate programs on the web these days are really formalized referral programs. I refer you to a vendor and, when you buy, I get a commission or a referral fee. You don’t have to be so formal but why not knock a few bucks off your customer’s bill each time they refer a customer to you? What do you have to lose … except business!
2.) Ask the 80% of your customers who aren’t currently providing referrals to do so. Do it in conjunction with an education and incentive program for the best results. And don’t just ask them once. Periodically ask them. You don’t need to be a PITA (pain in the ass) but you should from time to time remind them of not only what you did for them but what else you can do (hey, they may end up referring themselves!) AND what you’ll do for them for their efforts. Seriously, how much does it cost you to acquire a new customer? I’m pretty sure you can run a decent referral program for less then that amount per referred customer.
Here’s a simple system (must be, cuz I thought of it) for incenting your customers. Give them or mail them a coupon with their name on it. Tell them if they give it to a colleague or friend who’s not currently a customer and that colleague uses it, you’ll send them a coupon for their own use. Yeah, you’ll have a few bad apples who’ll try to scam you but run a limited test and see if the increase in new business is worth the effort. I’m betting it will be.
Whether you incentivize your customers or not, whenever you do get a referral. Say thanks. Send the referrer a card or a gift basket. Make a big deal out of it. In other words, show them that you’re paying attention and that you appreciate their efforts on your behalf.
