Many construction business owners that we talk to tell us their primary source of customers is from word of mouth marketing (WOM) or referrals. It makes sense right? You do good work, and your customers refer you to their friends and family. This type of business is always great, but not something you should rely on as your primary source of marketing. Luckily, there are ways you can encourage your current customers to send you referrals without coming across as too pushy or rude. In this week’s blog post, we talk about five ways you can increase the business you get from word of mouth referrals.
Implement an NPS Score
One of the first steps to taking control of your WOM marketing is to figure out who you’re most satisfied customers are. Many companies will use a Net Promoter Score (NPS) to figure out how satisfied their customers are with their service. An NPS score is simply a number ranging from 1-10, with one being the worst and ten being the best, which tells you how likely a customer is going to promote your business.
To figure out this number you could set up a simple survey that you could give to your clients at the end of each job asking them a few questions such as:
- How likely is it that would recommend (your company name) to a friend of a colleague?
- What did you really like about (your company’s name) Service?
- Are there any improvements (your company name) could make?
A simple survey like this will give you an idea of your most satisfied customers. You can then reach out to these particular clients and ask for a referral. If they gave good feedback, they are usually happy to recommend you.
Just Ask
Asking your customer for referrals is the easiest way to get more WOM business, but many business owners don’t want to come across as pushy when asking. Here are a few subtle ways you can ask your customers for referrals business and still maintain a professional image.
1. Add text to your invoice’s and paperwork
Every time you send a bill or invoice to a customer you should include some text about referrals. Even something as simple as “Satisfied with our Service? Please consider recommending us to your friends!”
2. Give people free merchandise
Make it easy for people to recommend you. Offer free hats, pencils, and other merchandise to your customers. A favorite item in the construction industry is fridge magnets. These are cheap to make and easy for the customer to put on the front of the refrigerator. Next time they need your service or want to recommend you to a friend all they have to do is look at the fridge.
3. Do a follow-up call with each customer
People appreciate an extra touch and reaching out to people with a phone call after job is completed is simple and worth it. During this simple phone call ask the same questions you would ask in the customer service survey referenced above.
Set Up a Rewards Program
People love to get rewarded for referrals. If you have recurring customers, offer them a discount for each person they refer to you that becomes a client. If you have one-time customers consider offering people gift cards as a way to incentivize them to talk about your business.
Use social media
Social media is becoming a powerhouse for word of mouth marketing. Ask your customers to share your page on their social media profiles. You could even offer them a 5% discount on your service if they share your page. Posting to social media for your customers is easy to do and most are glad to do it for a small discount. This little change can increase your WOM business substantially.
Track your Word of Mouth Business
With every type of marketing, you want to be able to track your return on investment. It’s always good to ask customers where they heard about your business. If if was from one of their friends or colleagues, make sure to track that. You can take this to the next level and reach out to the person who referred you the new business and let them know how much you appreciate it by offering them a discount on their next service.
