Smooth Move Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘referrals’

In his classic best-seller, How To Win Friends And Influence People, Dale Carnegie’s second chapter is entitled The Big Secret of Dealing With People. The secret is summed up in this principle: Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Carnegie said there is only one way to get anybody to do anything — by making the person want to do it. How can you encourage customers to say good things about you and give you referrals? By giving them what they and all human beings crave: honest and sincere appreciation.

The Two Magic Words

The big secret of dealing with people (or customers) is often overlooked or forgotten. It’s simply saying “thank you” consistently, personally and, above all, sincerely. These two words work marketing magic because customers want to feel important.

Saying “thank you” is an act of kindness, besides. But don’t say “thank you” for the sake of flattery. It must be sincere. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “You can never say anything but what you are.”

“Thank You” Promotes Referrals

The uncertainty of referrals can be disconcerting. Can you control them? No. Can you influence them? Absolutely.

First you must provide a valuable product or service for customers. (You’re already doing this, right?) But perhaps you can make an even bigger difference in their minds by your continued interest after you’ve delivered the product or service.

Each customer has a different level of satisfaction with your products and services. However, all customers to whom you say “thank you” are satisfied that they’re important to you. This can determine whether you’ll continue a relationship with them and get referrals.

“Thank You” as Direct Mail or E-mail

If you’ve never used direct mail and are considering it, start a thank-you correspondence program. If you’ve used direct mail or e-mail but haven’t sent thank-you letters or e-mails, start now.

The thank-you letter or e-mail to your customers is targeted (you know them, they know you), personal and effective. It’s guaranteed to receive a positive response.
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Effective business networking is the bringing together of like minded individuals who, through relationship building, become walking, talking advertisements for one another.

Keep in mind that networking is about being bona fide, building trust, and seeing how your relationship can genuinely help others.
1. Always figure out before you even walk into a room, what your specific goals are in attending each networking meeting. This helps you to pick groups or associations that will help you get what you are looking for.

2. Ask open-ended questions during your networking conversations, questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how. Try to avoid questions that require a simple yes or no response. By using this line of questioning you can open us the discussion and show listeners that you are interested.

3. Become a walking resource centre. When you become known as a strong resource, others remember to turn to you for suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. This keeps you at their “top of mind”.
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1.  Supersize It!
Okay, okay… the real marketing term here us upsell it, but the word association takes me to McDonalds.  You’ve been there… you pull up to the window, place your order and they always say…  “Would you like to supersize that?”

What bugs me is that I instinctively say, “Yes!”  After all, for a few cents more I’m getting nearly twice the amount of fries and beverage.  We won’t discuss the fact that a person with normal size kidneys couldn’t possible drink the supersized drink before it goes flat… and that if I were to eat all of the supersized fries I’d be perfect advertisment for an acne medicine company… but hey, I got a good deal!

When your customers have their wallet out and are reaching for their money, they are ripe for shelling out just a few more bucks to sweeten the deal.  In fact, about 50 percent will say yes without a second thought.  It’s the perfect time to offer an upgrade or an extra warranty.
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