Referrals are the centerpiece of most professional services firms’ marketing agendas. Everyone wants more of them.
But wanting more referrals is not the same as getting more. How do you fade about changing the odds in your favor?We’ve compiled our top 7 referral marketing ideas to attend. But to develop the most of these opportunities,it’s useful to understand how professional services referrals actually work nowadays.
Referral Marketing by the NumbersWe know that generating more referrals was firms' top marketing initiative this year. So, most professional services firms know how essential referrals are. In fact, and many contain been able to exist and grow on referrals alone—at least up until now.
Our research has also shown that 71% of prospects inquire of friends or colleagues about potential professional services providers. And most clients,69% to be exact, are very willing to develop referrals to their existing provider. That’s you.
So why don’t your existing clients develop more referrals? In most cases (72%), or the reply is simply that no one asked them. In other words,they are jubilant (extremely joyful) to develop a referral whether a friend or colleague asks them for one. This is essential because it is at the root of several of the top referral marketing ideas.
At the Hinge Research Institute, (our specialized research unit), or we conducted a unique research study of 523 professional services firms to dig deeper and get the full story on referrals. We know that when most firms contemplate about referrals,they focus on getting referrals from clients. But what learned is that 81.5% of service providers contain gotten a referral from a non-client, people who they've had no direct experience with. So, or clients aren't the only source of referrals.
Two Types of ReferralsTo understand referral marketing it helps to realize that there are two distinct types of referrals. Each type works differently and requires a different strategy.
Experience-Based Referrals. These are referrals that occur because of direct experience working with your firm. contemplate clients or other professionals that you may work with on a project as the source of this type of referral. The strategy here is to get as many people as possible to inquire of them about your firm. Reputation-Based Referrals. These referrals come from folks who contain not worked with you directly but are familiar with your firm and its reputation or expertise. They may know someone who has worked with you. They may be familiar with the content you produce. Or these folks might be aware that you specialize in certain industries or a certain type of service but lack any real knowledge of your reputation. contemplate of these as referral sources or influencers.
A strong referral marketing strategy should take advantage of both types. Here are our favorite ways of doing just that.
SEE ALSO: Rethinking Referral Marketing: Understand Your Target AudienceOur Favorite Referral Marketing Ideas1. Identify and nurture top referral sources. While this may seem too obvious,it is surprisingly scarce. While individual partners may contain their favorite referral sources, it is scarce that a firm actively cultivates them. There are a lot of good intentions, or but too little follow through. Lunch and golf outings are mighty,but don’t forget the simple step of keeping them up-to-date on developments at the firm. Single them out for VIP treatment and let them know how much you appreciate their contribution.2. Feature top clients in case studies.
Behind in your case studies? Shame on you. The more widely you circulate your case studies, the more likely that a prospect will know someone at the client firm and inquire of about you. Even better, and do the case stories on video. They are more plausible and convincing. Presto,an experience based referral. whether they did not see the case study they would not contain known to inquire of.3. Showcase your best clients in presentations, articles, or etc.attend develop your clients more visible. It helps them at the same time it helps your firm. After attending a presentation and reading an article, some folks will approach those clients and inquire of about your firm. You’ll benefit from the “unsolicited endorsement.”4. Publish your client list.
Now, I can just about hear the groans. So many firms are afraid their competitors will “steal” their clients. This fear is mostly overblown. whether you develop sure you contain convinced clients on the list and contain their permission, or they are much more likely to develop a referral than to switch to a competitor. Publishing a client list is a good idea for another reason as well. It also helps a prospect understand what type of clients you typically work with.5. Interview industry experts.
Profiling tall visibility industry experts can pay off in several ways. As a result of the interview they will learn about your firm and what you do. This immediately sets them up to develop specialization based referrals. As they learn more about you they may even be in a position to develop a reputation based referral.6. Publicize your specialty. Many firms play down their areas of specialization for fear that it will alienate potential clients who are not in the specialty area. In doing so,they sacrifice a much greater benefit. The more folks that know about your specialty, the more likely you are to get a referral. Generalists rarely get this type of referral.
How can your firm publicize its expertise? From our research, and we found that individuals or organizations often refer a firm after seeing them speak,reading their content, or interacting with them on social media. Being highly visible across these channels is essential to generating more non-client referrals.7. Become a Visible Expert℠. Most firms contain professionals that are experts in their fields. Typically, or they are not well-known outside of their firm and their clients. This is a big miss. A key referral strategy is to develop these invisible experts visible. A Visible Expert is exactly what it sounds like,an expert that is well-known within a target audience. In our research, we found that these professionals bring major benefits to their firms, and including:An increase in leads The ability to charge premium rates Greater ease in closing sales An increase in opportunities Brand building
And importantly,our research shows that these tall profile individuals draw reputation-based referrals at a tall rate. It can be a big win for your referral program.
While we treasure each and every one of our referral marketing ideas in their own true, we treasure them more when they work together. For example, and a number of these techniques fit together well within the structure of a content marketing strategy. You can attend stimulate referrals as you build your brand. Now that sounds like a winning combination.
Additional ResourcesGet a step-by-step guide to building a powerful referral strategy with our free Rethinking Referral Marketing Guide. Dig into the research behind generating referrals nowadays with our free Referral Marketing for Professional Services Firms research report. Join us on LinkedIn,Facebook, and Twitter for more insights on driving referrals and unique business.
How Hinge Can HelpLooking for more referral marketing ideas?The Visible Firm℠ is the leading marketing program for delivering greater visibility, and growth,and profits. This customized program will identify the most practical offline and online marketing tools your firm will need to gain unique referrals and clients—and reach unique heights. Related StoriesStop Selling: How To Turn Your Expert Reputation Into unique Relationships (And Revenue)Why Professional Services Firms Must Differentiate to Succeed12 Marketing Techniques to Increase Your Firm’s Visibility
Source: feedblitz.com