How to boost referrals from satisfied customers

TommyCarey Level X³

August 4, 2018, 4:40 pm

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Whenever you start a website you will usually focus on your own sales and how to do your own marketing to bring people in who will love what you have. Generating referral sales will likely come up, but not until you start to see a decent amount of your main sales coming in through marketing and advertising. This is normal because you don't really focus on others in the beginning when you're trying to build something great, but you should never forget that your customers can actually be your sales team

If you have been selling for years and not trying to get your customers to refer their friends and family members, it's ok, you can still start and capitalize on those previous buyers

Your satisfied customers will love to see an email from you, asking them to share your business, because they will likely come to make an additional purchase or they will like the rewards they'll get for sharing

In this discussion, I'll be going over a few ways you can boost your referrals from satisfied customers, and they are:

Offer them a free gift for referring people to you
When you do decide to get your happy customers to send in referrals, you should always offer them a free gift in exchange for going out of their way to help your business. You don't have to give away anything crazy, but it should be something of value, and it can be as small as a few stickers or your cheapest product.

Even if you're giving away a sticker pack, valued at just $5, you'll get a decent amount of people sharing your business with everyone they know

Give your current customers a discount on their next order
Normally, companies will send out emails with a discount code if they haven't heard from a customer in a certain amount of time. A nice little twist on this is to give them a discount code in exchange for sharing your business on forums, blogs, social media profiles, etc.

The only downside of this is it will take a bit of time to track everything and be sure they're actually doing it. If you can automate this process, you will have a lot of people advertising for you, and just to get a discount on their next purchase which you'll still profit on

Give your customers trackable coupons
I actually don't see a lot of this, and that's likely because it's a twist on an affiliate system, and why would people do it if they can just send affiliate links? Well, they'll do it because it's more legitimate and people love saving with every purchase they make

What you can do is make a specific coupon code for each profile that is registered on your website. The person can then share their coupon code, which is linked to their profiles, and they will get credit for each person that purchases using their coupon codes

You should have it set to input the code automatically, just in case people forget the code, in order to boost your sales with ease

Have a loyalty program for referrals
I don't see this method done as often because it's not as good as an affiliate system, but you can still try it out and see what happens. Basically, you'll be asking people to share your business and their links will be trackable. With every purchase, they'll get a mark on their digital loyalty card, and once they build up enough marks they will get something from you.

In conclusion
Your current customers can be your biggest sales team, so just ask them if they can help out and you'll likely get a few who will jump on the opportunity. Your program will grow gradually due to people talking about how many referrals they've sent and how many sales they've generated, and others will want the same thing, so they'll start pushing your business as well

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Thanks!

Tommy Carey

Comments

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lei08pineda

I agree with this. Getting satisfied customer is a really good way to boost referrals. As we all know the word of mouth strategy is a good way to spread news and is a good marketing strategy. Be more caring and feel your customers and meet their needs and they will spread their experience dealing with you or your business. It is a good strategy as they cost lesser than promoting your business (but of course promoting is essential too). This goes the same when you get an unsatisfied customer, they also spread their stories and experience dealing with you or your busines. So be considerate on your customers. The above mentioned strategies are really good.

8 years ago

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TommyCarey

I actually think that unsatisfied customers need to be paid attention to more than the happy ones lol

This is because angry customers tend to leave reviews online more than a satisfied one will, and we all know a negative review can be a business killer if you're just starting off lol.

I like to figure out who my angry customers are by sending out a follow-up email to anyone that has purchased from me. It will ask them how our service was, what they liked about it, what they disliked about it, and if they would refer any of their friends and family to us in the future. Normally I can get a basic understanding of who hated my service through just these few questions. When I see someone saying "I hated everything!" I will usually send them a custom email asking them how we can turn their frown upside down lol

A lot of them are usually understanding and will not leave a negative review online when they see I'm genuinely trying to help them, but we can't please everyone, so I know I'll get a bad review here and there regardless of what I do How to boost referrals from satisfied customers

How to boost referrals from satisfied customers

The only thing I can hope for is to keep everyone happy, turn a profit, and hopefully cheer up some negative customers by sending them a free gift that I don't really have to pay for lol

8 years ago

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lei08pineda

Exactly my point. Unsatisfied customers can ruin your business. Find out what made them unsatisfied, deal with it. Make something that will compensate them somehow or do not make the same thing that made them unhappy.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

You have a very good point about paying more attention to the unsatisfied customers then the happy ones because the unhappy and an unsatisfied will badly tarnish the public image of your business especially if it's the type of person that is good with YouTube video making. Bad news spreads like a wild fire, so it's better to control it on time before it spreads.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

I would like to agree with you @tomcarrey. The unsatisfied people can help to indicate the holes that one has to put in more work on. They can also be converted into future customers when you satisfy their needs.

I also get the idea that the poster was trying to put across. If you neglect your current customers you can lose them one by one until at last you have no one. It is important to keep them engaged.

8 years ago

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Alymae

I think so too. We really should give attention to the unsatisfied customers. They say that customers are always right. So, better to avoid misunderstandings and just compensate them. Personally, when I look for reviews in a hotel, restaurants, apps etc. I look for the negative comments and if there's a lot I won't bother to read the good comments.

8 years ago

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treecko142

Yeah, people usually just think that giving rewards isn't really worth it and good customer review can only do so much, but they don't think about the opposite and how unsatisfied customers can negatively affect your business.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

They say that the best advertisement is a satisfied customer. I have seen this in one restaurant where they post the pictures of the satisfied customer with focus on the celebrities. There is another restaurant that makes a hand print of the selected customers, again more on celebrities, that they display on the mural. It is like having free advertisements when you have satisfied customers.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

The listed ideas are pretty awesome in boosting the sales profit of an online business. I have seen some online businesses offering a free gift when referring people to them and also giving discounts when customers make their second orders. However, giving a traceable coupon and having a loyalty program for referrals are not widely spoken and needed to be enhanced as soon as possible for a higher company's earning.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Exactly! Referrals boosts one's business and profit making on the short run because over a short period of time with increasing referrals, your business will absolutely boom over the night like a fertilizer was added to it and the one best way to getting more people or prospective customers being referred to your business is by satisfying the already existing customers to bring more customers in for your business products and services.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

Whenever I purchase something for the second time in the same online shop, a discount 10% off is always offered plus free shipping. Shipping fee is high for an overseas order, so I, myself as a customer is really grateful because I save much. This is proven a very effective strategy if aiming for return customers.

8 years ago

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lei08pineda

Me too, I find shipping fee for overseas very high. And as a customer it is very helpful indeed that some offered something like this. It is a good marketing strategy to offer discounts and free stuffs, and much if they offer free shipping fee.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Of course yes, any current customer that is treated well by any business establishment or enterprise will definitely get the loyalty of that particular person to always patronize the company. Just like you have mentioned above about getting 10% discount and free shipping, enjoying those offers will definitely make you feel better shopping with the online store.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

Absolutely right! These coupons can build trust, loyalty, appeal to customers and most importantly, it builds brand awareness. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful allies of sellers to customers because whatever the customers will say, it will have a domino effect to the business.

8 years ago

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aeon

Free shipping is what I always looking for in online shopping, the cost of shipping somehow makes me not to order the product, and with their strategy for free shipping on loyal customers helps me a lot.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

I feel exactly the way you do. Honestly, I do not buy online even if they have a lot of interesting products to offer if I will shoulder the shipping cost. Basically, there are a bunch of online companies that offer 'free shipping' and as a customer, this is indeed a big thing. Yes, our customers value the quality but we also need to remember that they also value money.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

Other incentives like free shipping or additional vouchers like 10-15% discount for some items really mean a lot for customers. For them, saving still means money, no matter how big or small it is.

8 years ago

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aeon

Sometimes the company keeps playing with their consumers by giving big discounts if you buy online, but with the cost of shipping look likes you did not also get any discounts, and right, with a lot of online shopping stores right now, we can choose the best offer.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

I would have to agree with you on 'with the cost of shipping looks like you did not also get any discounts.' I have been in different online companies before and basically they offer huge discount every month however, thinking of the shipping fees cost, it seemed that the customers did not have the discount they wanted to have.

8 years ago

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ballyhara

This is one of the things every customer totally love, to get spoiled by getting discounts, free items, free shipping, and anything that means privilege. As a customer, I want to be rewarded, especially when I do a strong and expensive investment. But also, I like to be taken in consideration whenever I have an issue, so taking care of customer suggestions, is a thing to pay attention too.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

That is unequivocally. I, myself, as a customer too, rewards, discounts, vouchers and free shipping are highly appreciated. As I always experience customer related issues, I make sure that my customers are well taken care of and fully satisfied with the services and products. Customer's suggestions are always highly appreciated for the betterment of a company.

8 years ago

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ballyhara

That's always appreciated from customers. Whenever I do a suggestion, I like when I get a feedback, or they let me know they read my comment. I don't tend to do rude or bad comments, unless I have a very bad experience with the business. So, getting a thankful note, or client's reward, will be always very appreciated.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

I definitely agree with you on that. Basically interaction with customers and giving them the best solution on something they are into, is one of the best we can do as a page administrator. However, having said that some customers are abusive, sometimes patience really plays an important role.

8 years ago

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nrnlss

This is true, I know a site who do this too and it that kind of strategy works because I keep coming back to that website to order things and the fact that they are always on time and their products are all high quality. Also, because of its offers and greatness I recommend my friends to the website.

8 years ago

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centurion

Great techniques you have shared on here. I have been searching for a beautiful techniques so that I can get huge and huge referrals on my SEOClerks affiliate link. I have been driving traffic on my affiliate link for long term but does not getting quality buyer under my referral link. For that reason I shall use these techniques from tomorrow when I will be more serious about my affiliate link marketing overall the nationwide or overall the worldwide.

Thanks
Centurion

8 years ago

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Kakashi2020

I do agree that one needs to maintain and grow his satisfied customers list and way of doing this is by asking them for referrals. But what would you give them in return if they refer someone? It's time to get creative on this. You can do a cash for referrals or points for referrals or items for referrals or raffle for referrals, the list of options goes on and on. It's always the best to develop a new and unique rewards system that would be interesting, fun, useful to both the old customer and the referred individual.

8 years ago

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lei08pineda

Getting cash from referrals is a good one I think. I like it, speaking as a customer. New, innovative and unique techniques also attract customers. Know what the customers like. Know your target market, do some surveys or feasibility study, develop plans and strategies. All of this I think is essential to do.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

I think a cumulative points system is always great. It will be good for your businsss as clients will keep coming to add on to their total points to receive a freebie depending on their points. The more the points the more the cash that has been spent in your business.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

The point 'referral system' is well taken. Honestly, by word of mouth, a company will have an automatic marketing team. Rewards for these people should also be given. I think cash for referrals is better than points because some people will take this opportunity to earn extra so I think cash is a lot better.

8 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

Speaking as a customer point of view, all of those incentives work on me. I love getting rewards and gifts for my customer loyalty. If there is one thing that will stop me from giving a company my business is when they behave in a way that I think they don't appreciate my business. They better be the only game in town, otherwise, I'll take my business to their competitor. When I shop at certain places, I have had the cashier ask me if I would take the time to fill out a survey and indicate if I was satisfied. Often it's printed on the receipt and if you complete the survey, sometimes they enter you in a contest and you have a chance to win a gift card or something. Those "sweet carrots" keep this rabbit biting! I am more than happy to tell others about the business.

8 years ago

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lei08pineda

The same works for me. As a customer I also like those kind of thing. Everyone likes it. And as they keep on doing that, they will get loyal customers as long as they also give the best products/services and the deals for their customers.

8 years ago

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amelia88

I totally agree with this - it doesn’t matter if a company offers great freebies or incentives if their overall customer service is poor. Sure, I love feeling valued, but not at the expense of good service overall.

8 years ago

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Barida

Giving the customers a reward in the form of coupons codes for sharing our business link on social media is definitely one of the best ways to get lost of them doing great when we are talking about increasing our sales. The more that they share it, the better others get to know about them.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

I really didn't know about how great coupons are when it comes to online shopping until I was told by a friend how much he got to save from using coupons to shop online. Ever since then, I have always looked for the opportunity to get coupons to use for my purchases. So, online shopping stores that offers their customers coupons are doing enough to keep them for the foreseeable future.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

This is a nice idea, I would have to agree with you. Basically, I have not seen or encountered a company that offers coupons when customers or a potential customer shared the company's business link on social media. Well this idea is really great and point is well taken. This will definitely increase the sales if this will be practiced.

8 years ago

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lei08pineda

I agree. Everyone loves coupons. If you will give your customers aome coupon, they will surely love it and most probably tell it to their friends and family. So the more customers you can get.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

Point well taken as customers will surely love it and most probably tell it to their friends and families. This will bring you return customers and new customers at the same time. They will also serve as your marketing team without asking them to do it. Absolutely, coupon is one of the best ideas in complimenting customers.

8 years ago

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ballyhara

Yes, I do love coupons. In fact, one of the best national chains of makeup and fragrances, based its success by applying that system. Women love to gather points on coupons, so eventually they can get items for free, especially if we are talking about makeup. So, imagine if guys can do the same with tools, video games, and tickets for sport matches.

8 years ago

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overcast

I think loyalty program and affiliate program seems to be lot better option. You can see that many sites and the product or services that I have used personally. I would love to promote them., But if I get incentive on the same. I'd love to promote on daily basis. That way I can boost the referrals in my own context too. I think affiliate are successful for this reason. And many brands reach more audience and make money in the process.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Yeeah this is definitely great. A loyalty program will always keep customer glued to your business.

8 years ago

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overcast

Most of the shops and the diners are allowing that. Though it does have the issue with the profit. Most likely things would be lot better if you can consider how good the satisfied customers can be for the promotion. So such loyalty cards, point always help with the satisfied customers in that case. I have seen that to be working for myself.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

I think for diners it can be pretty easy since all that they have to do is offer meal promotions. The cards are nice since they indicate that a customer will be back numerous times.

8 years ago

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overcast

I have seen the cashback coupons and the group discount also works. Some places offer more discount to recurring people. And that is what I'd say would be a good option to start with. In future we can see more about the rest for sure.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

I honestly believe and strongly agree with loyalty program and affiliate program. It is a win-win situation. A win stand for the customers and also a win stand for the sellers as well. Promoting the sellers site and giving them some incentives sound really good to the ears and I, myself also do it. It is a great encouragement to the customers side and an add up to the sellers sale.

8 years ago

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overcast

Yes with restaurants the loyalty program works for sure. I have seen that some of the time satisfied customers too want the discount and coupons. So it seems like a lot can be done if we know how to retain the customers. Though it's a skill in itself. Not everything is possible with discount and coupons. But we can definitely try for sure.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

I would have to agree with you that not everything is possible with discounts and coupons. Some customers are still looking for something more or are into the products and services offered, satisfaction is the key for a long-lasting success. If customers are well satisfied with what we provide to them, they will come back to us.

8 years ago

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overcast

Mostly the restaurants often prefer the good taste. Because bad taste can not change the discount and the coupons benefit. Because you can see that some of the customers only want good taste. Those type of customers can not be bought with the small discount and stuff.

8 years ago

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NesMarcos

People spend money for food and drinks. Some go to different places just to experience and taste different kinds of food. Literally, when people eat in a restaurant especially if it is a fine dining restaurant, thinking how pricey the food is, definitely they are into good taste. Does not matter how expensive it is, but the quality and taste of food being served to them is what matters most. Certainly when you spend money on something, you deserve to get what you have paid for and of course, your satisfaction matters to the management.

8 years ago

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overcast

Yes. That's why often the discounts don't work on if we don't have a good taste. I have noticed that some of the time it can be really harder to work with the satisfied customers in that case. Because they go for the taste because they are paying good money for that. And so taste can't be compromised. Taste matters a lot.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Every customer both existing and new customers love to be treated with value, it's the only way to secure their loyalty on the long run. Giving discounts and gifts is one sure way of getting them to refer other buyers to patronize your business products and services.

8 years ago

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fishbate

Offer them a free gift for referring people to you is a good strategy specially when you have a very enticing gift. Its wise to have a plan for extra boost in referrals and i would say this is one of the best that i also recommend.

8 years ago

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Kakashi2020

You can boost referrals from satisfied customers by treating your old custumers special. There's a lot of ways to do this like launching a rewards program or a referral program or by giving them discounts and other privileges in exchange for their referrals.

8 years ago

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amelia88

I feel like everyone loves a freebie, so a free gift can be a nice incentive for referring a new customer! I feel like most of us offer word of mouth referrals to friends and family about products we love anyway, so it's nice to get something out of it!

8 years ago

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treecko142

Some companies think this as well, that because the customer loves their products, they will automatically refer them to friends and family. However, some people forget about it or tend to keep it to themselves rather than share it, and they need a little push via freebies in order to get them to refer to other people.

8 years ago

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aeon

Agree with that, focus on customer satisfaction to boost the referrals, and by giving a big discounts to the loyal customers to keep them coming back and refer some of their friends. Freebies and other gift cards to the new customer will help a lot also.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Freebies will also encourage the new customers to make referrals. They know that when they refer their friends they will tell them a free gift awaits them. They will also gain a referral gift and in that case it is a win win scenario for both.

8 years ago

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aeon

And sometimes, this is the reason why referrals become looks annoying. Some people will ask to sign up on their referrals and promise about the free gifts after that, but not giving all the info like you will just get the free gifts after you refer another person or buy something on that site.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Yeah that is definitely an annoying fact. You are promised to get freebies and then you find that you need to do a lot of things to activate your freebie. They should definitely do something about this.

8 years ago

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aeon

And on this situation, the business suffers without knowing it, and they will just found out the reason when they start to read the reviews or feedback about their company.

8 years ago

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Youngshark

Exactly which is why it is important to focus on the clients and the feedback they have. They have the power to make or destroy you and if you do not read their feedback properly then you are always bound to lose them.

8 years ago

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aeon

That's the better thing to do, just focus on your loyal clients and give them the proper benefits like discounts and gift certs. I think better to forget the referral or just open the reward from referrals once in a month and with limited time only.

8 years ago

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treecko142

While the gifts for referrals are just bonuses for the customers, some people who are on the fence whether or not they want to participate in referrals are actually driven by how reliable the referral system is and how good in terms of value in time and effort are the rewards to encourage them to refer.

8 years ago

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seolads

Great post. Word of mouth is best free advertising we can get, so keeping our customers is very important and maybe asking them to recommend our services to their friends and family in exchange for extra work (aka bribe) could work very good to improve our sales

8 years ago

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fishbate

Discounts and coupons has been used by businesses for years and it never failed to boost a business. There's nothing more interesting in a product when you have savings and discounts with it. It's good for both new or regular clients.

8 years ago

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DarthHazard

A loyalty program for referrals is probably one of the best things that you can do. Not only does it help you, but it can also help your satisfied customers to get either special discounts for your products/services or to get some sort of compensation. I mean, who doesn't like an incentive. It can definitely incentivise them to help you out by referring others that they know to you.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

This gift for a referral is very common in the internet. In fact, some forums will give you a VIP membership when you have a referral for a new member. With a retailing business, I think this gift for referrals is also effective because the customers will be motivated to spread the word about your business. And it is not just he discount but real gifts in kind that the customer will appreciate.

8 years ago

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aeon

Sometimes by giving too much freebies or discounts to refer someone makes the business look likes not eligible and scam. Honestly, I hate this when customer flooding the timeline about the freebies or money back if they will just sign up and buy something on their referral.

8 years ago

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treecko142

Yeah, it definitely takes some balance in order for the business to not look like it's desperate for referrals and just appear like the freebies or discounts are given as a bonus.

8 years ago

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aeon

Sometimes, the business doesn't know about this, it's about the customers, or their loyal customers who wants to get something or earn something from them by keep referring people.

8 years ago

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treecko142

In other cases, companies give out too much freebies that they are effectively losing money just because of the rewards system compared to what they are earning. Sometimes it's not feasible to give out big rewards when you aren't earning as much.

8 years ago

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aeon

For newly open business, they need it, they need to advertise and waste money just to get customers, this is part of their marketing plan probably. This is how the advertisement for them.

8 years ago

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MiaManimbo

I totally agree with this. Good customer feedbacks really helps boost your business or establishment. In order to acheive this, you must be able to provide good quality of customer services and guest relations to your clients and potential clients too. They may help market your business through word of mouth or through social media if they have received the total satisfaction from your services.

8 years ago

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kinja90

Loyal customers are very important. They can help you to advertise your business so you should always take care of your customers. Give them bonuses, discounts, etc. Your goal is to make any customers to be your loyal customers. In the long run, it will help you a lot marketing your business and it will be known. Just don't take shortcuts and be consistent.

8 years ago

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romyter013

There's this one store where we always buy our home furniture. Because we always buy to the same store, the owner already recognised us and they always give us discounts for every purchased we do. It feels good that we get the best furniture we need and give out some freebies too. Im always excited every time they have new arrival stuff that I can choose from. Awesome store.

8 years ago

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jetselle

Adding prizes to your referral program, with the goal that you can remunerate clients who allude their companions to your business. Indeed, even clients who love your item will in any case require a little inspiration and support to acquaint your image with others. A little gratefulness and appreciation can go far. One of our clients was searching for an approach to right away reward her clients with a blessing when they acquainted others with her organization, and she expected to figure out how to make the procedure straightforward and programmed.

8 years ago

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Seoclerks

How to boost referrals from satisfied customers

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