Referral Programs

Are you looking for new customers? The best way to add them, in my opinion, is through the customers who already know & love your products . . . that's called a referral. But your current customers don't always think to pass along names to you or to give your contact information to someone who they rave about your product to.

My solution . . . come up with a referral program where you offer a benefit to both your current customer & the person they refer to you. I used vistaprint.com to print up business card coupons. You can either use a percentage off their first order or a flat dollar discount off their first order. Give these coupons to your current customers to pass out to their friends & family. And be sure to let the current customer know that when someone uses a coupon that they gave out, that you'll award them with a discount or dollar amount off of their next purchase.

By giving something to both parties (the original customer & their friend that they refer), the original customer is more likely to actually take some action. They will be happy to give a discount coupon to someone -- who doesn't like to share discounts with their friends? And they'll love the benefit of receiving a discount for themselves from you as a "thank you" for their referral.

So, start with your best customers who RAVE about your products . . . let them know about your new referral program & how they and their friends can benefit, give out your coupons (complete with your contact information, of course) and see what happens!