Problem #1
Most local professional practice and service businesses struggle to get more new clients in general, and referrals specifically, for one primary reason: they’re focusing the vast majority of their marketing resources – time, effort and money – on the wrong market.
A client is not just a “sale” or a “buyer.” A client – every client – is a potential referral source. Same goes for people who’ve taken some action to learn more about you, but have yet to buy (prospects). And the same goes for other business owners in your local area you know. All of these are potential clients AND potential referral sources. And they constitute your WARM market.
Everyone else – all those folks who’ve never heard of you except possibly to see your advertisement somewhere – constitute your COLD market.
Don’t chase sales, build relationships.
That’s the fundamental message I want to convey to you. And it’s the fundamental philosophy of ALL the most successful businesses I know.
It’s at least 700% more difficult (and expensive) to convince a cold “suspect” to try your business than it is to attract a warm “prospect”. Don’t be in the convincing business. It’s hard, lonely and expensive. Be in the attraction business. It’s far easier, much more fun and dramatically more profitable.
Far too many business owners are willing to write a check for $1,000 to pay for a space advertisement, or some other form of “external” marketing in an effort to convince cold suspects to try their business – which is the single hardest thing to do, the single heaviest “lift” in marketing – but they’re either not willing, or just don’t consider investing that money in marketing to warm prospects and potential partners and hot clients – the people who already know, like and trust them and can buy from them again and again, and refer to them over and over.
These businesses, maybe including yours, are focusing their resources in the wrong direction – in the riskiest direction – and more often than not coming up empty, getting little or no return on that investment of marketing dollars – because they’re spending them in the wrong place trying to persuade the wrong people.
Problem #2
Business owners think, incorrectly, that just doing a really good job for their clients is enough to warrant referrals. That’s like thinking that just telling your wife you love her is enough to keep your marriage solid, vibrant and passionate. It’s not. You have to SHOW her you love her with your actions, not just words. Because loving your wife is what’s EXPECTED in a marriage. And just meeting the most basic condition of marriage – loving your spouse – is not enough to make a marriage work long term.
You have to do the unexpected.
There are two operative words in that sentence. “Do” – which means some form of action. “Unexpected” – which means out of the ordinary; not regular; unforeseen; unanticipated; unpredicted; surprising.
Far too often businesses think that just doing the expected in a very professional manner that produces the promised results is enough. It’s not…because that’s what the client paid for in the first place. They gave you money for an expected result. You delivered that result. And that’s great. But it’s not necessarily referral-worthy. It’s not necessarily going to get them talking about you. It’s not even necessarily going to get them to come back and buy again.
Just doing the expected is not enough.
Remember, you are in the SERVICE business. And that’s a good thing. Because unexpected, truly exemplary service is the best way to tangibly differentiate your business, attract and retain loyal clients and partners and dramatically grow your profits.
And the (unexpected) quality and quantity of service you provide is completely within your control. It can be as awesome and unforgettable as you want it to be. And the more awesome and unforgettable it is, the more memorable you become – and the more LOYAL and referral-inclined your clients become.
But unexpected, awesome service cannot be “transactionally limited.” It cannot only occur when the client is buying something or receiving a service they’ve already paid for.
Unexpected, awesome service is also delivered over time via consistent communication. Just think about any relationship you have with a friend. The quality and strength of that relationship is largely dependent on the amount of communication you have. The longer you go without seeing, speaking or writing, the weaker the relationship becomes.
My goal with The Referral Challenge is to show you how to do the unexpected with your marketing. It’s to show you how to consistently communicate with your warm market in a way that bonds them to you and keeps you top of mind with them so they buy more from you and refer more to you…consistently.
NOTE: Regarding problem #1 above, please understand that I’m NOT saying you should stop all advertising to your cold market, particularly not if you have something that’s working. What I’m saying is that you should shift a healthy percentage of your marketing dollars towards your warm market. The ROI will be significantly better and you’ll build a rock-solid marketing foundation you can’t get any other way.
