- Trust building
- Customer Retaining
- Marketing information in your palm
- Reach extended
- Automation
- Valuable clients gained
- It’s affordable
- Referral Business cards
- Employee referral cards
- Referral postcards
- Referral newsletters
- Community referral cards
- Partner referral cards
Referral Card
Businesses can generate word-of-mouth marketing by giving out referral cards at events or outside a crowded place.
Referral cards are nothing but printed cards with attached incentives given out as fliers by a company. Referral cards are a cost-effective method of spreading the word about referral programs for modern and traditional companies.
Usually, a successful referral card can reward the users with some gift. However, another company successfully hand out their referral cards without being so costly.
Benefits
The word-of-mouth method might not seem beneficial in the world of digital marketing. But to be able to build trust, this method is worth it.
The majority of people trust their family and friends before trying any new product. In such a case, word-of-mouth methods might help you ways you cant imagine. And there’s not always social media option to spread the word about your business.
Following are some of the listed ways in which referral cards help to build up a business, with them being easy, cheap, and fast ways to spread the word:
Trust building
Other than all forms of advertising, it’s the family and friends that the majority of the people trust.
Customer retaining
Marketing information in your palm
When you give out customer referrals, you also get some information from the market that helps you to be able to personalize the offer for the new customers.
Reach extended
The best part about referral cards is that you can get your referral program reached to the masses easily as people interact face to face with their acquaintances.
Automation
In a world where time is precious for you and your business, you’re one step ahead when you let the customers do the bidding for you.
Valuable clients gained
Customers who have a referral to you without you knowing have a favorable opinion regarding you, and so they are also more likely to be there to stick around for you.
It’s affordable
It is to notice that the ROI of referral cards is much more than that of online advertising.
Types of Referral Cards
1. Referral Business Cards
If you already have a settles up business, the chances are that you have already got yourself pretty many referral cards. Following are some ways to turn contact cards into powerful marketing tools:
Business cards with Messages for referral
People are more likely to pay attention to a card, provided it has some monetary incentive value.
Not only does your card have your contact information, but it also has some little gifts attached to it.
Add a simple link so that people can look up your platform once in a while to check out your services and also willingly participate in your referral programs.
2. Employee Referral Cards
Never underestimate the network your employees might be having. Encourage or give them some incentives in return for every new referred customer/ client/employee. The method would help you with a better relationship with employees as well as better referral programming profits.
3. Referral Postcards
Postcards are affordable, attractive, and easy for personal use, so they can help you to get your message out there.
To make the postcard look more personalized and encouraging to join your program, you can ask your customers to write handwritten postcards. You can also cover the postage costs.
4. Referral Newsletters
Newspapers are the best way to get your message out to the clients you are already in touch with and the customers. Since newspapers act as mass messengers, your referral program advertisement can help in encouraging customers to make referrals. Not to mention, it’s an informative and entertaining mode of spreading the word as well.
5. Community Referral Cards
Everyone likes to give something to society in one way or the other. Help customers to refer to their friends and family for a good cause, that’ll encourage them to follow your program. It will not only benefit you in your program but also contribute to the goodwill of society.
6. Partner Referral Cards
Get the vendors and suppliers that work with you to help with the referral program. They have a great contact base for the referral program to get a large area. You can include a link about your referral program while having any such professional matter sign up.
Designing a Referral Card
After gathering some referral ideas, the next step is to make it effective with design.
Suitable Template
A suitable template is the most important thing for your referral program.
To maximize the lead value and close the sales loop, you must collect enough customer information.
A referral card must have the following three basic information:
Business Info:
This info includes the contact information of the referred person.
Referral Info:
It involves the qualified reason for referring, the referrer, and the person referred.
Referral Program Info:
The information should be as much understandable as possible to the customers.
The privacy policy, terms, and conditions need to be short and descriptive.
Miss it? Impossible.
Make sure that the design of your referral card is attractive. Something that people can’t afford to miss on. Take care of the font, display, graphics, colors, and all the points needed to consider while designing.
Right Incentive
It might be a bit tricky to choose what kind of incentive to choose.
But in the end, the choice of incentives can play a crucial role in the referral program.
Discounts
Whether clients or customers, everyone loves a discount. Give some discount offers in your referral program to boost sales.
Remember that discounts work well for items that are temporary or small seized, unlike furniture items.
Cash Bonuses
Everyone loves cash. But it will not do well for your end to hand cash to every customer who refers. Customers can earn points for each task they complete and get a discount coupon or freebie from your service.
Store Credit
Store Credit promotes such customer opportunities in their marketing schemes where customers can buy their wanted items for a discount through earning credits.
Swag, Events, and Free Subscriptions
Freebies are the easiest and also a kind of personalized way of generating referrals. You can send gifts to referred clients, send them items that’d be of use to them and would be appreciated by them as well. Branded swag can help to bring in more customers and serve as a visual reminder about your business.
One of the best ways to let people know bout your program is through referral events. If your company goes its way on a subscription basis, you could provide a free subscription referral program to attract more customers.
Referral Card Practices
Following are some of the practices that will help you when you are launching your referral card:
Being Direct
Don’t go around the bushes asking the customers to participate in referrals. They will either reject and ignore it or will willingly participate in it. But neither will happen if you are not straightforward from your side.
Acknowledgment
Show your appreciation to the referrers. After all, they are the ones who try to bring in more customers to your platform and acknowledge you. And the customer referrers will give you their loyalty and long-term customer-ship in return.
You can show your appreciation by sending them some gift hampers, discounted item coupons, or even a freebie along with the items they buy from you.
Your DNA - Making Referrals
Remember that any referral is an opportunity for you and has exponential value. Make sure that every interaction opportunity somehow becomes a referral opportunity.
Conclusion
Referral cards comprise one of the most cost-effective ways of generating your business with trust from customers.
Most importantly, start as soon as possible, it doesn’t matter if it’s simple or small.