Success in business depends on people – the ones you hire, the ones you sell to, and the ones you buy from. All of them have their own circle of connections, which can lead to referrals.
And, referrals have the highest ROI of any marketing tactic.
This is often because there's no cost to bringing in already-warm leads. When a past customer mentions your business, there's no cost associated with it.
[quotes]That's marketing magic.[/quotes] But there's also the people involved in your business that make your business great. Your connections, the ones you hire, and the connections made have a circle of influence.
You shouldn't only be thinking of referrals as coming from your existing customers. You have to think about your target audience and your digital networking circle.
[quotesright]If you want a higher ROI and an understanding of where to find your connections, you need to tap into all of your circles of influence for marketing magic. [/quotesright]
Here's a guide on how to achieve that goal.
Who Is Your Target Market?
As a business, you need to know who your target market is. You need to know everything about them and why they need your product.
This is foundational for your business and for referral marketing. It's critical for your connections to know so they can spread the word and tell people what your product does and who it helps:
- If there's any confusion about your product and who it helps, it hurts your business.
One mistake that businesses make is thinking that everyone is their target market. They want to sell to everyone because they think everyone will benefit from it.
This is a mistake because it’s very rarely true. You want to serve a community of people who will benefit from your product the most. [quotesright]You want to help them overcome a problem. [/quotesright]
If you want to identify your target market, you should create a buyer persona. This gives you information about your market; where they live, their age, their problems, and more.
You need this information to help your customers and your employees. You want everyone to know who you help.
The Power of Customer Reviews
After you've identified your target market, you need to focus on giving your consumers a powerful experience with your business.
The more powerful and positive the experience, the more your customers will be satisfied with your business. This means they will be more likely to leave a positive review online.
You can also encourage consumers to leave a review online to help support your business.
[quotes]Customer reviews are powerful because they help spread awareness of your business.[/quotes] Potential consumers look at your business and what people are saying about their experience to determine if they want to shop at your business.
This is why you need to make sure you encourage positive reviews, but more importantly, you want to make sure you are giving consumers a positive experience when they engage with your business.
What Is Digital Networking?
Digital networking means utilizing your social media platforms to grow your business.
You want to show potential consumers that you exist online and help spread awareness by posting pictures and videos of your product. This also means you should be commenting on other people's pictures and photos, and even sharing some of their stuff.
For example, you should be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to post articles about your business. [quotesright]You should show your business is making a difference in the world. [/quotesright]
When people recognize the work you do, it helps spread awareness. Therefore, more people are more likely to recommend your business. It helps increase your connections if you know where people are hanging out online.
What Are Incentive Strategies?
Incentive strategies reward your consumers whenever they refer someone to your business.
It could be something as simple as a discount. When you incentivize referrals, it encourages people to take action and recommend your business. [quotesright]They want a reward when they refer someone to your business. [/quotesright]
You can have the reward be cash, a free month if it's a subscription, or something else. The goal is to know what your consumer wants (that gets back to your persona) and what would get them to refer someone to your business.
Why Your Employees Are Powerful Connections
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What Makes Great Brands Great
- Employees who know, understand or believe in what makes their organization distinctive is central to a great brand
- A great brand is sustained by a great workplace
- A consistent customer experience helps deepen trust in the brand
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Your employees are powerful connections because they make up your business. They tell a story about your business.
[quotes]Each employee has a few hundred connections.[/quotes] If you are a positive impact on your employees, you can get them to talk about your business to their connections. It creates a circular effect that helps spread the word about your business. This is why culture matters.
Boring meetings and constantly reprimanding employees does not create a positive culture. You need to figure out how to create a positive work environment that makes employees love their job.
When you create a positive work environment, your employees will share that experience. They will share that experience on social media.
This is also why you should include your employees in your social media posts. It not only makes them feel part of the business, it shows how you include your employees in your business.
[quotes]The goal is to create new conversations with new connections.[/quotes] When you have employee connections following your business, you can spark a new conversation, which can result in more sales.
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How Good is Your Story?
Does your company have a clear, understandable story about its mission, vision, and values? This isn’t something your lawyer wrote – you need a brand story your employees believe in, one your customers see acted on every day that they can support.
Need help crafting your story? Get in touch and let's set up a time to talk. Brian Tracy USA: 877.433.6225 Email Me
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What Other Connections Do You Have?
Beyond your employees, you also have your suppliers and anyone else who may be involved with your business. Think in terms of the total connections you have in your business in order for your business to benefit the most.
The experience you are creating isn't just for your consumer, it's for everyone who’s a connection to your business. This helps represent your brand.
[quotes]The more people you interact with in your business, the more you can spread your connections.[/quotes] You can create a positive, friendly culture because you are willing to embrace everyone.
Although not everyone may be your target market, you are still engaging with more people who may know someone you can help in your business.
Tell a Story
When it comes to creating more connections and you’re looking for the best strategy, use the oldest and ultimate strategy: storytelling.
Telling a story about your brand is what helps engage consumers. It helps people understand on an emotional level what you are doing in your business to help the world.
You should be telling stories on your blog and on your social media platforms. [quotesright]The story should involve your ideal customers and how you are helping them overcome a problem. [/quotesright]
When you have connections like your employees and your existing customers, they help share that story more than your blog can. This is why you have to make sure that your story is clearly told to them.
You want to make sure the experience your employees and consumers have is about your brand's story. It should resonate with them and make them want to engage and share your story with people on social media.
Why Your Connections Are Cost Effective
Your connections are cost effective because you don't need to advertise to them. You don't need Facebook ads or other forms of advertising to tell your employees a story about your business.
Your existing customers and your employees should already know what kind of business you have and what kind of experience it offers.
It's cost effective because it's word-of-mouth marketing. You don't have to pay employees or existing customers to talk about your business.
If you have a powerful experience in your business, the results should speak for themselves.
[quotes] However, realize that you must take an active role in your business, this is not passive marketing. [/quotes] You need to spark the conversation. That means engaging with people on social media.
It also means recognizing employees for their work and creating a reward program for them and your consumers. When you make all your connections feel like they are part of the team, it enhances your brand.
You don't have to pay consumers or employees to tell your story. Giving them an everlasting experience is all your business needs to do.
Now You Know How to Tap into Marketing Magic
If you want to create marketing magic, you need to tap into your connections. You have to think of your connections as going beyond your customers. You want to create an experience with everyone that interacts with your business.
This guide shows you the importance of your connections. it shows why you should think of your connections beyond your consumers. If you want your business to profit more than ever, you cast a wider net and consider everyone you know.
Want to Explore Further?
Questions? – Get in touch and let's set up a time to talk. Brian Tracy USA: 877.433.6225 Email Me