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The Importance of
Referrals - Part 2
by
Craig Bailey
In this newsletter
edition, we conclude our series on the topic The Importance of
Referrals. In the
previous newsletter issue, we covered how consumers can access and
use referrals to select the best service providers and began to address
how businesses can leverage referrals as arguably the most effective
customer-generation tool. In this edition, we will finish the discussion
of how businesses can capitalize on referrals to increase their customer
base by covering the following topics:
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Provide methods for your customers to share their
experience
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Leave something (useful) behind as a reminder
-
Partner with firms that augment your services
-
Address less than stellar performance
Provide methods for
your customers to share their experience
In order to get a testimonial, you'll obviously have had to deliver an
excellent customer experience. Assuming that you've done this, the next
step is to request a testimonial from your customer. Most will be more
than happy to provide one.
There are a number of methods to obtain a testimonial. The simplest
would be to have them send it to you via email or letter. And, be sure
to request permission for using their testimonial.
Another approach for providers of services to homeowners (for example)
would be to have customers submit a testimonial (and ranking of your
firm) to an online consumer advocacy forum such as
Angies List.
Angies List is a word-of-mouth network for homeowners to rate and review
service companies (click
here to register). If you happen to own a company that provides
services to homeowners, then your goal should be to get listed (as a
direct result of your customers receiving a great experience from you).
On the flipside, you will want to make sure that you aren't listed
because of a negative experience! We'll talk more about that later…
Once you've obtained a testimonial, you'll want to share it with others.
You can do so by placing their testimonial on your website and within
marketing collateral that you share with your prospective customers.
Taking the Angies List idea one step further…you can acknowledge your
positive Angies List ranking on your website and within your marketing
collateral. It is one thing to have a positive testimonial from a
customer (or customers). Having a third-party consumer advocacy
organization share your ranking is taking things to an entirely new
level!
Leave something (useful) behind as a reminder
While you may have delivered an excellent experience to your customer
and have their testimonial, it will also be important to stay "top of
mind" with them. This is important so that they think of you first when
they have an additional need, or when someone mentions a need to them
that you may be able to help with.
There are a number of "leave behinds" that you might consider. However,
the most important suggestion that I could make is to ensure that it is
useful, relevant and different. We have all received a mug, pen or pad
of sticky notes with a company logo on it. While there may be some level
of utility, it is just more of the same. Other examples to consider
include:
-
A consulting / services company can leave behind a
memory stick. I give these out like candy and people seem to love
them! Guess what the memory stick is preloaded with? Useful
information about my company, of course!
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A carpet cleaning company can leave behind a dust pan
and broom.
Think about how this idea applies to your business! Make it useful,
relevant and different.
Partner with firms that augment your services
Do you want to be the single firm that people think of in the "general"
area of your expertise / service offerings? Most business owners would
respond with a resounding YES! Some might respond with: "Well, I can't
be all things to all people." That is true! Some might say: "How will I
handle the volume?"
I'd suggest that if you are getting calls, that is all that matters!
The next step is to deal (effectively) with those calls. If the call is
about something that is "generally" related to your area of expertise
but not something that you currently do, or you have more work than you
can handle, you have a couple of options:
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Consider expanding your service offerings and
capabilities to cover the area being requested (assuming that you
get frequent inquiries on the topic).
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Refer the customer to a "reputable" provider of the
service being requested.
Some might say: "Are you crazy? Refer the caller to someone that might
even be my competition?" Face it. The reality is this: if you can't
serve the needs of this particular caller then they WILL find someone
else. Why not participate in the process of helping them get the
services that they need. Not only will they remember the gesture, but so
will the owner of the company that you referred the caller to. Have you
heard the saying: What comes around goes around?
An immediate next step to build on this idea would be to think about the
calls that you've gotten in the past that you couldn't handle (either
because it was outside of your area of expertise or due to workload) and
identify the firm or firms in your area that you might build a referral
relationship with. You'll obviously want to make sure that there is
mutual benefit from such a relationship and that you can count on them
to deliver quality service.
Address less than stellar performance
The reality is that we will all let a customer down, at some point. The
only exception is my business, of course ;-)
When (not if) this happens, you are encouraged to address the situation
head-on. Do so by learning EXACTLY how, when and why you let them down.
Apologize and take full responsibility for the situation. This includes
accepting full responsibility even if you (the person speaking with the
customer) had absolutely nothing to do with the mishap. If someone was
tasked with performing a service to the customer, under your good (now
bad) name, then you own it.
Commit to making it right and ensuring that it will NEVER happen again.
There are a number of things that you can do, depending on the
situation, to "make it right", including:
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A complete or partial "redo" or refund
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Their next service is free or (heavily) discounted
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A personal apology and acknowledgement of the let down
to those people who are important to the customer. This could
include the customer's customers, employees, business partners or
family.
You should know that in many, if not most, situations of this nature, if
you "make things right" you will actually turn a very dissatisfied
customer into one who will ultimately provide you a positive testimonial
and referral. Customers simply want to know that you will stand by your
word and your work!
Finally, and again building on "Angies List", if your business is
presently in the "Penalty Box" (you'll have to visit
www.angieslist.com to learn more about what that means), then you
need to take immediate measures to resolve the situation. The reason:
negative testimonials and referrals spread much more quickly than
positive ones. While I can't tell you how Angies List lets you out of
the penalty box, I can tell you that Customer Centricity can help you
improve your customer's experience.
Feel free to
contact us if you feel you aren't delivering an excellent customer
experience. Numerous firms have engaged us to perform a Customer
Experience Assessment to identify what they are doing well (and ought to
keep doing), opportunities for improvement, and a pragmatic road-map for
increasingly improving the customer experience. Finally, we also drive
your continuous improvement programs to ensure traction on your
customer-focused initiatives.
Visit our
website for additional information and resources on delivering an
excellent customer experience.
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Contents
+ The Importance of Referrals
+ Score Conference
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Score Conference
Please join Customer Centricity's President Craig Bailey at the
6th Annual SCORE Conference, taking place May 13-15, 2008, at the World
Trade Center in Boston. To learn more and register online,
visit the
SCORE website. Craig will be moderating sessions taking place on May
15, including the much anticipated panel discussion entitled Driving
Operational Change to Get the Most Out of Customer Feedback.
About Customer Centricity, Inc.
We strengthen overall company performance through
better service delivery and management.
We boost efficiencies in front-line customer service and technical support
teams, order processing, fulfillment, field service, logistics and other
key operations functions.
In short, we align the resources of your organization to exceed your
customers' expectations in the most effective and efficient manner
possible.
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