Marketing on a Shoestring: Customer Referrals
Word of mouth has always been one of the most powerful forms of marketing. When a customer loves your product or service, their recommendations can drive new business in ways no ad campaign can. For small businesses, word of mouth can be a game-changer, building trust, credibility, and growth through personal connections.
So, how can you encourage happy customers to spread the word? A customer referral program is a great way to turn satisfied clients into ambassadors for your business. Here’s how to create an effective program:
Set Clear Incentives: Reward both the referring customer and the new one. Offer discounts, freebies, or exclusive deals that appeal to your audience.
Keep It Simple: Make it easy for customers to refer others. Use referral links, discount codes, or simple forms they can share with friends.
Promote the Program: Share your referral program through emails, social media, and in-store signage. The more visible, the better!
Track Results: Use tools or software to monitor who’s referring new customers and the effectiveness of your rewards.
Say Thanks: Personalize your appreciation by sending a thank-you note or an extra reward for loyal referrers. This strengthens relationships and encourages continued referrals.
By building a strong referral program, you tap into the natural power of word of mouth while rewarding your loyal customers for helping your business grow!
Resources for Creating Referral Links, Discount Codes & Coupons:
There are many pay-to-create programs out there that allow you to generate unique links or codes for your customers to share so you can track and thank/reward the customer took the time to refer you. Voucherify allows you to create up to 9999 codes that you can customize and export to Excel or copy to a clipboard.
Bitly offers a free plan to create up to 10 short links and QR codes each month.
A QR code linking to your website referral page can make it easy to share with customers. There are a number of "free" QR code generators but one of the best is through Canva. Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool that has professional templates to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, and more. Create your free account and then go to the menu and click on "QR Code Generator" under the Marketing dropdown. They also offer an option to create professional discount coupons! Start designing yours in just a few clicks. Get started.
HubSpot offers 45 free email and social media templates for you to utilize when asking for referrals.
