Page 236 - Duct Tape Marketing

Ramp Up a Systematic Referral Machine

for you, you will begin to look at almost any other marketing strategy
that you may have employed in the past as a way to generate referrals.

There are many ways you can form partnerships with your clients
and referral sources that will help all parties generate lots of referrals.
The following strategies can be initiated in ways that are mutually
beneficial.

Distribute Your Marketing Materials
Create partnerships with firms that serve your target market. Ask

these firms to distribute information about your firm or products at
their store, in their invoices, or on their Web site. For instance, when
electrical contractors go out on a call, they hand clients a coupon for
$10 off their next plumbing repair call. The plumbing contractors
they have referred do the same in reverse when they make calls.

Alan Schmidt, a retail shop owner in Boonton, New Jersey, cre-
ated a “coupon special” co-op with local retail businesses by contacting
fellow retail and service businesses about working together to promote
their respective concerns. Each participant contributes their best loss-
leader coupon specially designed to entice customers to either make a
purchase or claim a free “no strings” gift just for walking in their store.
Each customer must fill out a coupon with his or her name, address,
and e-mail address to qualify for the special offer. This also creates the
mailing list for future marketing. Each coupon is coded so the origin
of sale is known, and an agreed-upon finder’s fee is paid to the origina-
tor. This offers an incentive for merchants to pass out their colleagues’
coupons.

Send an Endorsement
Asking your referral sources to send letters of endorsement to

their clients or network is another way to generate highly qualified
leads and referrals.

Imagine striking a deal with another business that has more than

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