A referral network bands together individuals or companies which offer referrals, primarily, through word-of-mouth. Basically, a business referral alludes to the process of informing someone the positive features of a business. For instance, explaining to another business or person why collaborating with this particular one would be a lucrative proposition for them to consider.
Of course, a business requires referrals to grow. Several businesses get only the benefit of random referrals. You cannot always control how frequently those go out, and from whom. However, a referral network could help you maintain some more control over this. A business can also build various kinds of referral networks, including ones with formal agreements at the center, as well as those which are extremely loosely built. All of these present real benefits to different kinds of businesses.
Who Can Use Referral Network
To cut the long story short, any business that could benefit from a referral or two can benefit from the network itself as well. The concept of referral networking tends to be particularly popular with businesses that provide services, as personal recommendations often have that persuading power.
The concept can be pertinent to just about any business sharing a target audience with others, which does not offer the same service or product as your own. For instance, an online business coach might connect with a design and branding agency, which too works with a rich business clientele. Referral networks do not push clients away from each other, but instead offer more value to each other’s clients, and obtain more referrals. It is a deal that can mutually benefit both business parties.
How to Build the Network
The act of building a business referral network actually depends on the type of relationships that you are interested in nurturing. In order to connect with professionals in your industry, and other businesses which might be pertinent to your target audience, consider attending industry conferences or trade shows. You can start by connecting with each other and sharing contact details. Moving forward, you can keep in touch and perhaps send referrals their way.
Online communities related to your segment, or your chamber of commerce may be beneficial in creating such connections as well. However, first it is essential that you identify people or organizations that have connections relevant to your audience. Then, you can focus on building authentic relationships with them, and on creating an environment that is equally beneficial.
Bridging the Gap between Clients and Customers
When it comes to building a network encompassing the different players in your business, there are several benefits capable of transforming it completely for the better. There are also many ways to go about this, the most popular and effective one being an offer of rewards or discounts. What you are doing here essentially is acknowledging an existing customer for bringing in new sales. For this, you would need a system finding out from customers how they came to know about your business in the first place. That information lets you track which parties referrals came in from, and take measures to reward those partners and customers that got you new business.
You would also find it useful to nurture a cordial and communicative relationship through email, social media posts, and even person-to-person interaction. The main advantages of this are that all customers stay reminded of the precise range of services you provide, you find it easier to build connections, and everyone is able to see what perks they can get from referring you to friends, family, and even random acquaintances. At any rate, you should make sure that this “branching” sticks within a pool of professionals whom you trust, and that you do not start using this method as a cheat code or shortcut just to gain exposure.
In the long run, it always ends up mattering how genuine your efforts were towards building connections with an intended customer base. No business should let its focus veer from providing value services and products to customers, because that easily and surely sets them on a downhill slope. If this is you, then all your hard work gets wasted for the simple reason that you preferred the apparently easiest way forward. As a much better approach, you could pay attention to what your customers want, and what the people that they know want. Stick to the basics of finding out how you could be improving your wares in the marketplace, and make sure the way you communicate with them stays organic and natural. Any sign of contrivance could send a potential customer running away from you and right into the competition’s arms. No business can benefit from that state of affairs, and the best way to avoid it is by keeping things real, right from the get-go.
