When it comes to electronic mail marketing (or email marketing as it is often referred to), many business owners and marketers believe that the only effective and legitimate way to gain new leads and customers is with paid advertisements, such as social media marketing, paid search, or content marketing.
While these are all extremely effective and legitimate methods of gaining new business, there is also another option that can be just as effective – referrals.
What are referrals?
Simply put, when a person or business successfully persuades a potential customer to purchase a product or service, they are said to have generated a referral. The potential customer who was guided to make a purchase by this initial referral is then called a secondary or induced referral.
Depending on the type of product or service being sold, the amount of monetary value being referred to, and the time that has passed since the referral was created, the status of a referral can change. A brand new referral will be considered a cold lead while a previously qualified lead, referred by someone who is already a customer or member of the community, will be regarded as a warm lead.
Why Should You Market With Refferal?
First off, let’s discuss the obvious: referrals are free. There are no costs to create or follow up on a referral. This makes them ideal for startups and SMEs who are constantly looking for ways to save money.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is that referrals are highly effective. When a user interacts with a brand or business via email, social media, or mobile app and is led to make a purchase or signup, that business or brand has successfully swayed or influenced another individual to take some action that will benefit the business.
The fact that customers are connecting with brands and businesses from multiple channels means that marketers should be taking advantage of this multi-channel ability to gain new business, gain trust, and reduce unsubscribe rates.
How Do You Get Refferal?
Depending on the type of product or service being sold, the amount of monetary value being referred to, and the time that has passed since the referral was created, the status of a referral can change. This means that when a user interacts with a brand or business via email, social media, or mobile app and is led to make a purchase or signup, that business or brand has successfully swayed or influenced another individual to take some action that will benefit the business.
Some examples of successful referrals include:
- A retailer might successfully persuade a shopper to make a purchase by referring to a product that they have for sale. For example, a business might say something like, “Hey, John, how about that jacket you were looking at? You can buy it at a 40% discount if you’re planning on making a purchase at BlueJeans.com.”
- A travel agent might successfully persuade a traveller to make a vacation booking by referring to an all-inclusive resort that the agent has recommended. While this type of arrangement is often associated with luxury tourism, all-inclusive resorts are available at many well known destinations, including Disneyland and Disney World in Florida, as well as Disneyland Paris and others.
- A restaurant might successfully persuade a diner to make a meal reservation by referring to a fantastic eatery that they have featured in a newspaper or magazine. If you follow the link to that restaurant’s website, you’ll see that they have also promoted themselves via social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, generating further interest and establishing credibility.
- A hairdresser might successfully persuade a woman to get a hair extension by referring to the fabulous styles that they have made for celebrities like Taylor Swift and others.
- A funeral director might successfully persuade a bereaved person to preplan their own funeral by referring to the wonderful services that they provide. If you’ve been searching for a funeral home in your area, those business owners who have successfully garnered a referral will want to convince you to give them a call.
When it comes to generating referrals for your business, the first thing you should do is ask your existing customers for help. You can also ask family members, friends, and professional contacts if they know of anyone who could benefit from your products or services. Alternatively, you could create a special offer for someone who refers a friend or colleague to make an acquisition or signup. Simply put, for every person who is referred by you, you could offer them something of value, such as a discounted subscription to a digital magazine or a VIP membership to a business intelligence platform.
How Many Leads Can You Get Per Day?
This is a common question among entrepreneurs, business owners, and marketers who are just getting started or are looking for ways to scale their operations. According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, when it comes to generating referrals for your business, the average e-commerce website will typically generate anywhere from two to three leads per day, while a luxury goods website might get five to six leads per day, and a fast-fashion or digitally native brand might get as many as eight to nine leads per day.
If you are just getting started, it might not be easy to generate hundreds, or even thousands, of leads per day. That being said, with a little bit of effort and careful consideration, you can ensure that you are taking the right steps and reaching your full potential.
For example, if you are an e-commerce store, you could try out a referral marketing platform such as Hello Fresh (formerly known as Grocery Gateway) or Thrive Market to get started. Both of these platforms allow you to create short videos introducing yourself and your business, as well as generate compelling content that will be of interest to someone who is already thinking about making a purchase.
If you’re looking to generate more leads for your business, you might also want to consider trying out a sales funnel strategy, as was used by the $11 billion Dollar marketing company Unbounce. According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, when it comes to generating referrals for your business, the average e-commerce website will typically generate anywhere from two to three leads per day, while a luxury goods website might get five to six leads per day, and a fast-fashion or digitally native brand might get as many as eight to nine leads per day.
Since email marketing is one of the most effective and legitimate forms of marketing there is, entrepreneurs, business owners, and marketers who want to increase their bottom line should give it a serious thought.