Are You Nurturing Recommendations?
Valuing and retaining your current clients and customers is essential
. Not only will you benefit from their continued custom, you are also more likely to benefit from any new clients or customers they recommend.
Personal referrals and recommendations can account for as much as 85 percent of business for many businesses, particularly those with a high service focus.
Clients and customers who already trust and respect you:
Are more likely to acknowledge, and value, what you provide and the benefits they gain from dealing with you
May be more willing to accept your prices, terms and conditions without question or negotiation
Are often more loyal
Require less 'selling to' and
Are more likely to continue doing business with you, and even increase the amount they spend, as their trust in you increases.
They are also significantly more likely to recommend you to people they know and trust giving you an opportunity to gain new clients whilst reducing your acquisition costs and improving your profitability.
But, and it's a big but ... people will only recommend you when they are confident you will deliver on your promises, as it's not your reputation they're putting on the line when recommending you. It's theirs.
So how can you improve your chances of being recommended more often and acquire low-cost / high-value clients who are positively pre-disposed to dealing with you? Adding value to your existing clients and customers on an ongoing basis is essential.
Deliver on your promises, on time, every time. Over-promising and underdelivering is one of the biggest reputation damagers there is. Make sure you take the time to clarify understanding and expectations before agreeing to something you may not be able to deliver on.
Be respectful. Avoid assuming people want to be treated in the same way. Many don't. If you're unsure about what may work for them - ask! The very act of asking demonstrates respect, so long as you act on any information they give you.
Genuinely care. We can only serve effectively when we fully understand what a client or customer truly needs and wants. Discover their motivations before trying to sell anything, and if you feel you're not the best person to serve them,
recommend someone who is!
Make them feel valued and valuable. Adding genuine, spontaneous, 'no strings
attached' value such as forwarding a relevant article, website, or passing on a hint or tip you've come across, for no other reason than you feel it may be helpful or useful for them, nurtures the connection you have and shows you genuinely care about them. Random acts of kindness can have long-lasting, positive, effects.
Act with integrity and live your values. Be clear about what's important to you in terms of what's negotiable and what's non-negotiable and act accordingly. When you live your values, and demonstrate them in tangible ways on a day-to-day basis, you build trust. And trust engenders confidence which helps improve your chances of being recommended or referred to others.
People who are willing to recommend you, without incentive or reward, are putting their reputation on the line for you. You have a responsibility to protect not only your own reputation, but that of the person recommending you, by delivering what's expected, with integrity.
by: Hannah Samuel
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