How To Create Referrals: Making The Client Journey Unforgettable & Creating Repeat Business

Feature   |   Posted: 09/15/2021
Posted by: Motorhead Digital

When you get a new client through the door, you have the opportunity to provide them with a one-of-a-kind experience and create a repeat referral-giver.

The more impressive, incredible, and unforgettable their customer journey is, the more likely they’ll recommend you to their family, friends, and even their colleagues.

So the questions you’re probably asking are:

• How do you make sure that your current clients get the perfect experience with you?
• How do you encourage them to refer your company to their friends?
• How do you ensure they love every minute of working with you?

You want your clients to be satisfied with your work because if they’re not, they won’t refer people, and you’ll lose out on that valuable word of mouth.

There are two main things you can do to help secure referrals:

1. Make sure your current clients are satisfied enough to refer their friends
2. Make sure those referrals are converting into new clients

There isn’t any point in encouraging clients to make referrals if those referrals aren’t interested in working with you.

The good news is that you can take some simple steps to ensure that your clients have an unforgettable time with your company and that their referrals are flowing directly into your sales funnel.

1. Provide great customer service

As a dedicated shop owner, you most likely already treat your clients with the utmost respect and help them with all their restoration and performance needs. Having this high level of customer service is the first key to encouraging clients to make a referral because, without it, they won’t feel like your business deserves the referral.

83% of customers are willing to refer a friend or colleague after having a positive service or shopping experience. So make sure you provide every single one of your clients with a unique and friendly experience.

If they know that your company is a good company with friendly, talented staff, quality products and show-stopping services, why wouldn’t they refer you?

You’ll not only get referrals, but you’ll get high-quality referrals who are eager to start doing work with you.

2. Ask for referrals (at the appropriate time)

Your customers, without any prompting, might refer everybody they know to your shop… or they might not even think about it.

Even if you blow your client away with your fantastic customer care and stunning restoration and performance services, you can’t guarantee they’ll go ahead and refer their friends and family.

But you could always ask them to.

When asking your clients to refer your shop, be sure to ask at the right time during their customer journey. For example, there’s no point in asking them to refer their friends at the start of the journey because they haven’t had the chance to see how great your company is.

Instead, try to engage with your client at the moment they’ve decided that the services you’ve provided are spectacular. Only ask for a referral when they’ve become familiar with your brand and when they’ve built an unquestionable loyalty to your company.

The best way you can figure out if your customer is happy with a service is to simply ask them for a review when you’ve completed their project. If they give a positive review, you’ll know they’re happy with your work, and you can ask them for a referral.

3. Offer the right incentives

So, you’ve given your clients fantastic customer service, delivered the perfect restoration or performance enhancement for their project, and you’ve even asked them if they’ll refer your company.

You should have gotten that referral by now, right?

Unfortunately, doing all these steps doesn’t necessarily mean that your client will refer your business. Even if you ask them really nicely, some clients just don’t want to refer companies to friends or family.

Whether they’re worried about offering their opinion or simply don’t want to bother, they just won’t do it without a bit of incentive.

One thing that will encourage your clients to refer you to a friend is offering them a reward.

Over 50% of people tend to give a referral if they’re offered a direct incentive. Think loyalty programs or discounts in return for a referral. Plus, 64% of consumers say that the reward will impact how much they spend with your company, and 69% say they’re more likely to work with you if rewards are on the table…

Please head on over to the Motorhead Digital Blog for the rest of this article.

Barry is the founder of Motorhead Digital, providing signature Marketing Maximizer™ programs specifically developed for auto restoration, performance and restyling shops. These programs are geared towards customer acquisition and conversion to keep those project bookings coming. With over 23 years of experience in digital marketing and web development, Barry’s goal is to help clients market and grow their shops through strategic marketing practices. You can reach him at (585) 766-9785, [email protected] or online at MotorheadDigital.com