Are you aware of the business that B2B referrals can get you? In fact, around 50% of B2B marketers believe that referrals are the most valuable and useful lead generators. B2B referral marketing is an excellent strategy that B2B platforms can use to experience greater lead generation and conversion. If you get lucky, even a steady stream of recommendations can turn the tables for you and put you in a win-win position.
Are you planning on starting your very own client referral strategy? Here are a few useful tips to get you started.
1.Be Referable
Before you actually start making efforts to earn referrals, look in the mirror, and ask yourself, whether you are deserving or not. Do you think all your present and past clients are satisfied with your business? You should evaluate your business from a client’s perspective. Would you recommend your company to others if you were a client? Your answer will pretty much sum up what your next steps should be. If you don’t believe that your business has made the right choices, maybe it’s time you start fixing things around here.
2.Request for Referrals
If you are satisfied with your services and know that your clients will love to refer your business to others, you can make efforts to request for referrals. Many companies avoid client referral strategy without realizing the significance of asking for a referral. If your business is loved by its clients no one will mind recommending your products and services to someone else.
How you request is ultimately your choice. Whether you send them an email, make a call or ask them in person, if they like your business you’d never hear a no from them. In addition, you need to make sure that you pick the right time to request. The ideal time is right after a customer checks out.
3.Make it Easy
Your happy customers will mostly love to review your B2B marketplace or recommend it with someone else. However, they usually don’t know how to. If you can provide them with resources like online forms, then it would become more comfortable for you to understand how they feel after buying from you. Once you are done with that, identify all the happy customers and request them to review your services on specific websites or social platforms.
4.Refer Client to Them
As a B2B marketplace, it’s pretty apparent that you are in contact with many B2B buyer and suppliers. If you really want to win hearts, you can refer a client to one of your buyers so they can connect as well. By doing that, you won’t hurt your business as the relationship will improve and they will come back to you every time they need your products.
5.Remind Them
If you’ve asked for a referral from someone, that doesn’t mean your job is done. Without bugging them, you need to make sure that you remind them to refer your businesses every now and them. One great way to do that without causing any annoying distraction is by mentioning it in the newsletter that you send every week or month. In addition, you can also specify it every time the prospect makes a purchase.
6.Launch a B2B Referral Program
Once you realize how active referrals are in generating leads for your B2B marketplace, you can launch a dedicated B2B referral program. In this program, you can introduce a reward for every referral your clients make. For example, if a new client buys something from you through a reference, you can reward the referrer with an exclusive discount, offer or even a few bucks of credit which they can use next time they buy from you. Many top brands around the world are relying on referral programs, and you can also benefit from it.
The Bottom Line is…
Referrals are crucial in pushing your B2B portal ahead. With more recommendation, you also feel self-motivated and tend to work harder in making your business the best. The tips we have mentioned above aren’t something you’ll find on Wikipedia. Therefore, take note of them, share them with your close ones and follow them to experience your chart move upwards.
