Incentive Ideas To Get Business Referrals - By: Kaitlyn Miller

People like being recognized. It’s a simple fact. People are often motivated to do good things just for the recognition. You can use this fact to get your business more referrals.

If you don’t want to explicitly ask for a referral from your customers, do some poster printing with your referral program printed (and even illustrated) in clear steps in your waiting room or by your cash register. Word-of-mouth marketing that nets referrals work well, but when you add a little reward or incentive to the mix, you can double the number of referrals you receive.

Here are some incentive ideas for you to try:

Gift certificates: This is a popular option for giving referrals. A gift certificate to another store, restaurant or sporting event works especially well for businesses that don’t have customers that return right away, like an eye doctor or dentist. Giving a discount on the next eye exam or teeth cleaning isn’t very motivating when the customer won’t be able to redeem it for at least six months. Gift certificates that can be used right away to restaurants or city hotspots are much more motivating.

Gift certificates are sometimes seen as worth more than cash because you are ultimately giving away an experience: a dining experience, a sports event experience or a shopping experience. It’s easier for people to imagine themselves enjoying something you’ve provided rather than the multitude of options they could use the cash for.

One tip: if you buy gift certificates in bulk, you can sometimes get a discount from the retailer. One restaurant around my city offers $25 gift certificates for $20, so your reward could be worth more than you actually paid!

Cold, hard cash: Cash talks, people listen. Cash rewards work for many businesses, but it can be difficult to hand out because you need customers to stop by your store or you have to deliver it yourself. Of course checks work almost as well as cash, but then people have to wait for their reward to come in the mail and become discouraged.

Free or discounted services at your business: Offering a free item with the customer’s next purchase or offering a big discount can bring people back to your store or Web site instead of sending them out to other retailers. I've seen some shops get into calendar printing and give them away for free to customers. This works with stores that get a lot of repeat traffic, like a boutique shop or a service shop like a gas station.

Recognition: Prominently post pictures and names of people who have given you major referrals or a high number of referrals. Make it a “hall of fame” type of wall. This will let your customers know who is helping your business and will motivate customers to get their name up on the wall. Make sure you have a large heading above the pictures stating something like “We would like to thank these people for referring at least X amount of customers this year. We appreciate your business and support.” A nice statement like this will get others to want to be recognized.

Offer a free gift: By offering something of value, you’ll encourage people to get the word out about you. A gift that is connected to an upcoming holiday (like a free Thanksgiving turkey) or a season (garden plants for summer) also works well. If your city or state has a sports team that most people support, offering a blanket, mug or other type of tchotchke can be the ultimate motivation.

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