Episode 79: "Are Your Referral Rewards So Good They Keep The Cleaning Referrals Coming?"
So how do you know what kind of referral reward is most effective? Part of your decision on giving referral rewards is the size and quality of the referral received. If you're a residential cleaning business that received a referral for a new home to clean, you might treat your referral reward a little differently than a commercial cleaning company that received a referral for an account that grosses several thousand dollars of income each month.
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Episode 79- Video Transcription
When I speak to the quality of the referral, I'm talking about whether or not the referral is a good fit for your company. You must educate your clients and networking buddies on what exactly is a good referral for you. I once got a referral for a hair salon, which is NOT a referral I wanted to receive! We had decided a long time ago to never do another hair salon, so it was really my fault our client gave a bad referral - I didn't let her know the type of client we were looking for.
So assuming you're getting GOOD referrals, I would recommend at a minimum, a policy of sending a personalized greeting card along with a gift card to thank them for the referral; regardless of whether or not you picked up a new client. If a person goes out of their way to refer someone to your cleaning company, then you should go out of your way to say thanks. You'll be surprised at how this small gesture will build a stronger bond with your advocates. And when it comes to gift cards, many people like to give a Starbucks gift card since it's a gift most people enjoy. But I'd like to suggest that you give more than a $5 or $10 card that will buy one or two fancy coffee drinks. Instead, give a card with at least a $25 value so they can use it several times. Each time they use the card they'll be reminded of who gave it to them. This happened to me one time when I gave a referral. When my card ran out I thought to myself, "darn, now I have to start paying for my coffee again." This alone can be incentive enough for them to give you ongoing referrals! Now when it comes to larger referral rewards, try to personalize the gift as much as possible.
In fact, this is where building deeper relationships can come into play. If you have a client that you know loves golf, maybe buy him a few rounds of golf! That is going to mean so much more to this client than a gift certificate to dinner. Or if you know a client is a wine lover and loves to try out new wines, buy a visit to a winery for a tour and wine tasting.
If you really want more frequent client referrals, start putting some thought into just what type of reward will delight them so much they'll WANT to give you more referrals! Ok, so it's your turn. Please share what kind of referral rewards have worked well for your business. You can post your comments below the video at CleaningBiz.tv.
Now I'd like to hear from you! Please share your comments by posting below the video at CleaningBiz.tv
