Referral and reputation marketing that works
Before you spend another dollar on ads, answer a few questions:
- Where do your best projects come from?
- What do your best clients say about you? What about your worst?
- What do you do between projects?
For most small businesses, the answers point to the same two places. The most effective and least expensive ways to find new work are the clients you already have and being the expert who teaches. That was true in 2009, and it matters even more now that what clients say about you is public.
Treat clients right and they'll send you more
Referral marketing isn't a program. It's what happens when you work a certain way every day.
- Talk to clients as equals. Be a partner, not a vendor. They know things you don't, too.
- Know your stuff, and say when you don't. If something is outside your wheelhouse, find them someone who knows it.
- Under-promise and over-deliver.
- Share the good news and the bad. Call before you're late, not after.
- Own your mistakes. Drop "they'll never know" from your thinking.
- Bill for value. Don't bill unless you've added value, and don't forget to bill when you have.
- Make the client the hero. Their success is your best advertising.
Turn good work into a reputation
Good work only helps you grow if people can see it.
Ask for reviews
Happy clients rarely leave reviews unless you ask. Make it easy. Send a direct link to your Google Business Profile right after a project wraps or a problem gets solved. Reply to every review, good or bad, calmly and helpfully.
Publish case studies
A short case study beats a page of claims. Cover the problem, what you did and the result. Get the client's OK, and use their name and a quote if they're willing. Put it on your site where prospects will find it.
Build referrals into the relationship
Tell clients you grow by referral. Some businesses write it into the contract, like a credit line or a link on the client's site. Others just ask at the right moment. Either way, thank the people who send you work.
Be the expert with a teaching spirit
People hire the person who helped them before they were a customer.
- Get really good at one thing. Pick a topic that's still a mystery to most people and go deep.
- Show proof. Certifications, results and what others say about you count more than what you say about yourself.
- Don't toot your own horn, and don't be dull. Let your experience come up naturally.
- Teach everywhere. On support calls and sales calls, in workshops at the chamber or community college, and on your website.
Helpful content on your site
Blog posts and help articles that answer real customer questions build trust and bring in search traffic. Any question you answer by email could be an article.
Check what prospects see
Once referrals start coming in, make sure your site doesn't lose them. Your 60-Minute Website Lead Audit walks through a quick check, and Signs Your Website Is Quietly Losing Leads shows where to look first.
Want a website that shows off your reviews and case studies? Call 678-379-9321 or email