Marketing Strategy 72: Recognition Referral Program

In the previous lesson, I told you about reward referral programs. These programs give clients money or gifts when they refer a new prospect to you.

However, not everybody wants material gifts or cash as a reward.In fact, some people feel uncomfortable telling loved ones about your service if there is money involved.

That’s why recognition reward programs are such a great idea.

What Are Recognition Reward Programs?

Recognition reward programs are programs that acknowledge people publicly when they refer clients to you.They are a great way to say thanks because many people crave recognition.

Gyms have known this for a long time,which is why ‘Member of the Month’ programs are so popular. Supermarkets and fast food chains also use ‘Employee of the Month’ recognition programs to encourage staff to give their all. You should use them too to get more referrals from clients.

TODAY’STASK: Recognition Rewards

In today’s task, the goal is to set up a recognition referral program that you will use regularly from now on. This system is designed to reward people who refer clients to you.

1. Arrange an award lunch.Once a month have a special lunch for everyone who referred clients to you. Allow people to bring guests. Make this a really big deal. You might even want to get pictures taken for the local paper.
2. At the lunch, hand out awards based on the number of referrals a person sent you.For example, you could give a plain gold pin for people who refer one client, a gold pin with a jewel for people who send more than one client. These pins shouldn’t be expensive. They just need to look nice.
3. Call each client up to the head of the table and award them their pin.Make it feel like a ceremony. Remember, people love recognition.
4. Talk about your service.Finally, after you have given out the awards, tell the attendees about one of your services and offer them the chance to try it for a discount because they are ‘premium clients’.

You will be amazed at how many more clients and referrals you get simply by acknowledging and thanking people

Downloadable Marketing Strategy 72 Form