Wednesday, July 25, 2012

D e b un k i ng th e C u s to m e r C o m e s F i r s t M y th
Why a referral-based business may work for you
E d m o n t o n , A B - Business owners everywhere are always told that in order to get new customers they have to hustle, source and get out onto the street cold and bold-calling. But thats not always the case. ActionCOACH Business coach Greg Kopchuk has some other suggestions for those owners that love the idea of sitting back and waiting for customers to call them. Putting together a referral-based business is easy to achieve, you just have to have a good understanding of what it really means to do that. You still have to do marketing, but you do it in a different way. And you can switch to this kind of business at any pointits never too late to introduce a referral strategy, says ML Greg Kopchuk, whose team of coaches have helped hundreds of small businesses across Canada to implement their systems. Greg says that with this type of system, You are getting your existing customers to promote your business for you, but you need to research it to see if its right for your business. You need to analyze the acquisition cost of a new customer and switch from selling to a customer to buying one. Its not an ongoing promotion its a business where you purchase a customer and sell to them over and over again. Its a very different mindset. G r e g s t i p s o n ho w to a c hi e v e a r e fe r r a l - b a s e d b u s in e s s i nc lu d e : Create a raving fan with excellent customer service; theyll do the talking for you. Be clear on who your target market is. Who is your ideal customer? Let the customers know exactly what you expect from them and what they can expect in return. Decide how much you are willing to invest to buy your customers. Provide awesome service that creates excitement instead of just satisfaction. Ask for referrals, even if someone doesnt buy from you. Make giving a referral a condition of doing business with you. Reward your customer if they give you a qualified referral with gifts, discounts, free service etc.. Test and measure how your system is working.

These steps are part of the process of putting a referral-based business together, but theyre by no means the only things you can, or should, do. Before you jump into it you should get the advice of a qualified business coach to make sure you can afford this type of method. Says Kopchuk. For more information on how to implement a referral-based business visit: www.actioncoachcanada.ca -30-

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