Jeweller - April 2020

BUSINESS
Marketing & PR
Simple and effective ways to boost your
word-of-mouth referrals
Building buzz around your business can be challenging, writes THOMAS YOUNG, but one of the
simplest – and best – ways to market yourself is through your customers.
The most powerful form of marketing
is word-of-mouth referrals. This is true
regardless of the size of your business
or marketing budget. When generating
referrals, your customers become your
sales force!
After all, who better to promote your
products than loyal customers? So, here
are 12 ways you can develop word-of-mouth
referrals for your jewellery store.
Ask for referrals
The easiest way to generate referrals is also
the most important. People want to help
others, especially when you are good at what
you do. Let your customers know that you
are looking for referrals by asking them!
They will be happy to oblige, and some will
go out of their way to help.
Be specific
Provide your referral sources with a few
details about your target market. If you
are not specific in your request, referral
sources will generally not be able to think
of a particular person to whom they could
recommend your store. Make your request
specific: describe your ideal customer.
Align with your customer’s vision
Get inside the head of your customers
and align with their vision – that is, what
they want to accomplish. Be a resource;
understand the needs of your customers.
Referrals will come when they realise that
you really do understand them and that your
goal is to help, not just make a sale.
Develop word-of-mouth promotions
Develop a marketing promotion plan that
encourages referral benefits for your
existing customers. Make the promotion
worth your customer’s time by offering
valuable incentives for new referrals. A good
example is a friends-and-family promotion.
Promote feedback
Ask your customers to evaluate your
products and services and provide feedback
on how you measure up. Share this
information with current customers and new
Turn your customers into your sales force by encouraging referrals.
prospects. Obviously, correct the areas in
which you are deficient and remove barriers
to customer service.
Continue self-development
Commit to constant learning as a business
owner. You must expand ‘out of the box’
and constantly increase and develop your
knowledge and abilities, or you will be left
behind by the competition. Knowledge is
powerful and shoppers will come to you for
expertise before they buy from you.
Build a customer community
Find ways to bring customers together with
other customers. This might be achieved
through your store’s Facebook page or
group, a ‘chat’ section of your website, or
through in-store customer events. This
brings a community of customers together
and stimulates word-of-mouth.
Communicate your competitive advantage
Understand why you are different from the
competition and what sets you apart in the
eyes of the customer. Communicate this
message in your promotional activities.
Be clear in delivering this message; it’s the
most important component of your direct
marketing efforts and the reason people
become loyal customers.
Listen to your customers
In jewellery retail, as in all sales processes,
it pays to become known as an excellent
listener. This communicates that you care
about others and builds an enormous
Look for other
like-minded
businesses
that currently
service your
target market
help each other
amount of trust. The fact that you are the best
listener will be passed on to others and result
in valuable referrals.
Build alliances
Determine how you can reach your target
market by developing alliances with other
businesses. This is very common on the
internet as websites, Twitter accounts and
Instagram pages link to and interact with
each other with great results.
Look for other like-minded businesses that
currently service your target market and find
ways to help each other.
Learn how to network properly
Take time to learn how to effectively network.
Establish a networking strategy and plan on
helping others, which is the key to successful
networking. Read and learn more about how
to network effectively and seek the advice of
other networking professionals to ask what
makes them successful. They will often share
their secrets.
Develop a website that people talk about
Establish a website that catches peoples’
attention. When people are browsing online
and come across a great website, they
typically tell others about it.
It is very common and easy to share links
with friends, particularly when browsing on
a mobile device. Find a way to make your site
unique by adding value to your target market,
which will make them far more likely to share
your link.
These are a few ways to build word-of-mouth
referrals for your business. Remember, there
is no quick fix in sales and marketing, and no
substitute for excellent customer service or
valuable products and services.
Take the time to strengthen your marketing
efforts, focusing on these areas, and watch
the referrals come pouring in.
THOMAS YOUNG is CEO of Intuitive
Websites. He has 25 years’ marketing and
sales experience. intuitivewebsites.com
46 | April 2020