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    • Fri Oct 13, 2006

    A Couple of Random Referral Ideas

    Today was a good day.

    I received a bunch of Starbucks gift cards as a thank you for referring some clients to one of my strategic partners, Conference Calls Unlimited. This type of acknowledgement, nothing extravagant really, is the kind of thing that keeps referral sources motivated. The Starbucks program is pretty easy to use too. You can order the card on line at Starbucks.com and then personalize the enclosure card with a thank you message.

    Random idea two:

    I also received a copy of Andy Sernovitz’s book – Word of Mouth Marketing (more on that in an upcoming podcast.) The main thing I want to point out is how the book was shipped. Andy or someone associated with his publisher shipped my a small sample gift from Dale and Thomas Popcorn company. The package contained a small bag of popcorn, a copy of the book and (here’s the kicker) a catalog of gift items from Dale and Thomas Popcorn. I’m guessing (could be wrong but it would still make sense) that Dale and Thomas paid the shipping for this mailing as a way to get in front of a targeted and chatty (remember I’m a very talkative blogger – see it worked) audience.

    A couple of things to chew on for the weekend!

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    Posted by: John Jantsch on Oct 13, 06 | 4:04 pm
    Category: Referral Marketing | Tags:

    Comments
    « Make Mine A Million | Home | Every Business Needs Both »
    • John --

      Thanks for the kind post!

      Your guess is right -- I wanted to send the book to people, like you, who are likely to tell their friends. I didn't want to pay for postage (or spend a weekend packing boxes). So I called my friend Paul Goodman at Dale & Thomas and offered a trade -- he mails the books (at his expense), reaching my friends. My friends get some really amazing popcorn (and tell their friends). We all win. Best of all, it's a great example of simple word of mouth marketing in action.

      Cheers,

      Andy
    • Hmm...good idea.
    • Love your Starbucks and popcorn company referral ideas.

      A little thing I've started doing is calling my customers, at random, to simply thank them for doing business with me.

      The response is usually the same. Because my business is all Internet marketing, most people almost fall off their chairs when I call.

      Sometimes they'll can ask, "Is it OK if I ask you a quick questions about publicity?" And of course I say yes.

      I want to do more of this in the months ahead and also look for ways to reward my most loyal customers.
    • Referrals clients I have found have always been a pleasure to deal with. Clients which are pre-sold is definitely a plus to any businesses bottom line.
    • It's the small things that matter. This week a client wanted to promote a special event using direct mail invitation. They really wanted the mail to standout to certain key decision makers and network hub type folks. So, they sent the direct mail to their standard list (existing customers who already "get it") then sent a small stack of cards packaged beautifully in a box with a related gift and handwritten "share these with your friends" note. It has been a wildly successful campaign for garnering referrals.
    • <pingback>...formula employed by some great comanies.

      Andy's a great practicioner as well - see this recent post about Andy's book launch.





      Posted by: John Jantsch

      on Jan 15, 07 | 5:32 pm | Profile



      [0] comments (0 ...</pingback>
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