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How can referral systems be the best known ’secret’? It’s a contradiction in terms.

OK, you are right. And there are no marketing secrets - only knowledge and commonsense.
So how come, if everyone knows the power of word of mouth and referrals, not one company in 1000 has a proactive referral gathering process or system?

Make No Mistake - Word Of Mouth Rocks
Everyone should love Word of Mouth customers. They come to you predisposed to buy your product or service having been presold by their friends or acquaintances.

The result:

straightforward sales
loyal, reliable customers
low price sensitivity
people that are easy to deal with
Just the sort of customer that it is worth going that extra mile for.

And best of all, referred customers are your most profitable. You’ve paid out nothing in advertising or marketing and you have gained loyal customers.

That sounds pretty good to me.

If You Want Just One Tool To Double Your Profits in the Next Twelve Months Then It Had Better Be The Introduction of Proactive Referral Systems
It has been proven again and again. A well thought out referral system will double the profits of almost any business within 12 months.

In fact, the only exceptions are businesses that deliver poor service or products (and I don’t want to help double the profits of that sort of business), and businesses with very long sales cycles.

Referrals still work in the latter case but it can take longer than 12 months to see the results.

Word Of Mouth Does Not Equal Referrals
Word of mouth is something that happens by chance.

Referrals are something that happens as a result of a planned, managed and systematic process.

How To Set-Up Your Customer Generating Referral Programme
This is just one of those times where I can’t simply give away the family jewels. In my opinion, putting in place a robust referral programme should the the absolute priority for any business that doesn’t have one.