For small businesses looking to expand their bottom line without overworking their sales force, there may be another solution. Why not turn your satisfied customers into advocates for your business, by asking them to recruit on your behalf?

When it comes to selling for your own business, some people act shy. There is no harm in asking a satisfied customer to help you out. There is a real chance that they may have friends or associates who need your services. If you don’t ask, you will never know.

A referral rewards program may be just what your business needs to jumpstart your leads. You already have customers who are happy with the results that you have provided. If you offer them an incentive to sell for you, then you both win.

Entrepreneur Magazine recently published an interesting article on the benefits of a referral program.  Some businesses just ask their all-star clients for referrals, while others offer gift certificates, referral fees and other incentives to sweeten the deal, according to the article.

A referral program can be done by word of mouth, or it can be announced via the website. A page announcing the referral program with whatever incentive you might want to offer, combined with a form for customers to send you information, can offer the incentive that your customers will need to act on your behalf.

We have had a referral program in place at Idea Marketing Group, and it has worked well for expanding our customer base.

If you found this article helpful and need more assistance with your digital marketing strategy and execution, our small digital marketing agency in Chicago has helped hundreds of businesses with web design and full-service marketing. Get in touch and let’s talk!