Referrals for Auto Dealers

auto dealer

Last week, we highlighted how we’re seeing Mortgage Brokers successfully implement referral programs with QuickLinkt. This week, we’re showing how auto dealers are increasing customer referrals and building loyalty.

 

Car dealers are just one type business that have been quick to see the benefits of using QuickLinkt to drive referrals. Looking at the sales cycle, it’s no wonder they’re seeing success: buying a car is a big purchase decision, therefore customers seek advice from family & friends to find a trusted dealership and salesperson. Better yet, it’s a great time for dealers to take advantage of referrals since 2015 is set to have the highest car sales since 2005.

 

We’re finding most dealerships use QuickLinkt to encourage, track & reward referrals from past customers. Typically, dealers are using two-sided incentives for their programs that allow past customers to share an offer – say $200 towards a vehicle purchase – with friends and family over social media, email or text.  Then once the referred customer purchases a vehicle, the customer that shared the offer is rewarded back. The reward is usually a credit towards the dealer’s service department or a gift card. As well, dealers use QuickLinkt’s Specify Representative feature to allow customers to make a referral to a particular salesperson. This allows customers to send referrals directly to their trusted sales rep, and dealers to track performance.

 

The great thing about having past customers share offers over social media is that the reach of referral campaigns is exponential – the average adult Facebook user has 338 friends, so a few shares a day means a dealership’s offer can quickly reach thousands of potential customers. This makes it easy for referral programs to have the large scale audience of advertising without the high price tag.

 

The other great advantage of QuickLinkt for auto dealers is that it not only brings in new customers, but it also strengthens relationships with past customers. When dealers select to give a credit towards their service department, it encourages past customers to use the dealer’s service department instead of visiting a different mechanic. Better yet – since it connects customers with the dealership after the sale, they’ll be far more likely to return to the dealership when they’re ready for their next vehicle.

 

At the end of the day, businesses can use QuickLinkt to create the referral program that’s right for them. Whether using QuickLinkt to to reward customers for sharing offers with friends, rewarding past clients for referrals or tracking B2B professional referrals, QuickLinkt creates automated referral programs that are customized to the business’s needs. If you’re an auto dealer, how do you drive referrals?

 

To learn more about QuickLinkt and get your Free 30-Day Pro Plan Trial, visit www.quicklinkt.com.

 

What’s My Specialty? The Benefits of Niche Marketing for Real Estate Professionals

niche marketing

A lot of times when marketing, new Real Estate agents try to reach as many people as possible. They chase every opportunity and desperately work to turn potentials into clients.

But being everything to everyone is a tall order. It’s extremely expensive to market to multiple segments – not to mention difficult to be knowledgeable about all of their needs.

Instead, wise agents focus efforts on a particular niche – a subset of the market that has specific needs and represents a profitable demographic. While large agencies can cover many specialities, individual agents focus on specific niches – whether its condos, a specific neighborhood or revenue properties. Even if you haven’t intentionally carved out your market niche, you probably see similarities in the types of properties you sell and clients you work with.

Susan Freidmann, author of Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a Small Market supports becoming well-known as an expert in a niche because of 4 main reasons:

  • There’s less competition in niche markets
  • Efficiencies are created in research & marketing
  • You can demand premium prices because you’re seen as an expert
  • You benefit from increased visibility in your marketplace

And better yet, focusing on a niche market drives referrals. When you become known as the go-to-guy or -gal for selling historic homes or working with first time buyers, business connections know exactly the type of clients to refer to you. Better yet, because these clients are looking for what you specialize in, they’re easier to close.

Referrals from past clients also become simple. Remember the age-old saying Birds of a Feather Flock Together? Well, chances are that your past clients’ social networks are full of similar people that fit your niche – whether it’s newly married couples looking for their first home, or retirees wanting to downsize.

So, whether you choose to stick with a strongly defined niche for your entire career or have a more fluid approach where your niche changes with market trends, creating your niche is powerful for growing your business and increasing referrals.

And let’s face it, you’ll also have a killer answer when potentials ask what you specialize in.

How to Increase Referrals: Tips and Tricks for Rewards

At QuickLinkt, business owners often ask us if they should reward referrals. Obviously, there’s a balance between rewarding customers for making referrals, incentivizing referred customers to try your business and not discounting prices too much. So, we thought we’d outline some of the different reward types available, and when to use them.

 

No Rewards
Businesses can choose a traditional approach to referrals by not offering incentives or rewards. You can still use QuickLinkt for these referral programs – customers can submit referrals from their Smartphone or your website and Facebook page, and you can track program success. This structure solves the problem of how much to reward/discount, but you may not see a big increase in referrals at launch. That being said, if you work in an industry with pricing regulation and have a loyal client base, this program could be perfect.

One-Sided Rewards
It’s been found that offering a reward increases the likelihood of referrals – so with QuickLinkt you can reward customers for referrals. Rewards are only achieved when referrals result in new business (like a mortgage refinance or home sale), so customers send quality leads. This type of referral program is perfect if there aren’t switching costs for new customers (ie. they don’t have to pay out the rest of their old gym membership), and if trust is a major factor in the purchase decision  – like choosing the best financial planner based on how they helped your parents with retirement.

Two-Sided Rewards
If you really want to bring out the big guns, you can create 2-sided referral incentives. Customers share discounts or offers with friends and family, and then are rewarded once offers are redeemed. The obvious advantage of this program is that customers are encouraged to make referrals, and referred customers have an incentive to try your business. This type of referral program is also awesome because it encourages customers to share offers over social media and increase your social media exposure. And since customers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals, 2-sided rewards are perfect for growing your customer base.

 

So at the end of the day, we see successful referral programs with each reward type. It’s about choosing the best reward type for your industry, publicizing your referral program, making it simple for customers and getting the proper analytics to track success. What reward structure have you found the best for your business?

Awesome Referral Programs: Airbnb

Airbnb is a unique online marketplace that allows people to list, find and book accommodations around the globe. Anyone can list their condo, house, cabin or even castle on the site and receive bookings from travelers wanting a unique, local experience. Like any business, word-of-mouth is a powerful source of growth for Airbnb: travelers share their awesome holidays with friends and family, and people who list their space attest to the safety, ease and practicality of Airbnb.

 

Despite so much growth coming from referrals, the company’s Jason Bosinoff described Airbnb’s official referral program as outdated and underutilized. Information on the referral program was hidden on the company’s website and users couldn’t make referrals from the mobile app. The referral program needed a revamp.

So, Airbnb went to work building its program. It ended up seeing an increase in signups by 300% per day. Looking at these incredible results, there’s some clear takeaways that any business should keep in mind when designing referral programs.

 

1. Incentivize

If you want to increase the number of referrals AND the number of referrals that result in new business, it’s best to create 2-way referral incentives. With Airbnb, the incentive was simple – refer a friend and you’ll both get a $25 travel credit when they book their first trip. The 2-way incentive is perfect because it encourages both new customers to try your business, and increases loyalty from your current customer base.

2. Make it Accessible

One of the main learnings from Airbnb is that it needs to be easy for your customers to make referrals. The company made its referral program far more visible on its website and launched mobile referrals from its iOS and Android app. Allowing customers to submit referrals from their Smartphone allowed for in-the-moment referrals, and ensured that users would never miss an opportunity to invite their friends to use Airbnb. 

3. Track, Track, Track

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Before re-designing and launching its new referral program, Airbnb developed clear success metrics and then measured and improved them once the program was launched. Its metrics included:

  • Monthly Active Users Sending Invites
  • Invitees per Inviter
  • Conversion Rate to New User
  • Conversion Rate to New Guest
  • Conversion Rate to New Host

No matter how you structure your referral program, decide how you determine success and make measurement part of the process to improve success.

 

There you have it! Basic principles learned from Airbnb’s referral program. So whether you’re a realtor, freelance photographer, crossfit coach… you name it, you can start your referral program by following this advice.

 

Sources:

http://nerds.airbnb.com/making-referrals-work-for-airbnb/

https://www.airbnb.ca/about/about-us

5 Tips for Increasing Client Referrals

referralFor most businesses, referrals are the number one way to gain new clients. Referral programs are so powerful because they decrease advertising costs, deliver high-quality leads and leverage a business’ best asset – its satisfied clients. But despite the power of referrals, setting up successful referral programs isn’t always so easy. 83% of clients agree that they’re willing to refer a business, but only 29% follow through.

The simple truth is that there’s a gap between a business’ number of satisfied clients and the number of clients making referrals. So if you deliver an excellent customer experience (which I assume you are) but aren’t getting many referrals, we’ve compiled a list of ideas to help you increase the success of your referral program.  

1. Let Clients know Up Front When you sign-up a new member or have the initial client consultation, introduce your referral program. It’s a great time to let clients know that you value their loyalty.

2. Make It Visible Clients should easily know how your referral program works. Consider adding a “Refer Us” page on your website or tab on your Facebook page, and including your referral program in print advertising.

3. Use Email Communications as Reminders Make sure to mention your referral program in your electronic communication. Include a reminder in your newsletters or link to the referral program in your email signature.

4. Let Clients Make Referrals Anytime One of the difficulties of referral programs is that clients forget them at the perfect moment to make a referral – like when a colleague asks about their recent move. Allow clients to submit referrals from their Smartphone so you don’t miss these opportunities.

5. Just Ask! If you have a solid base of satisfied clients, you don’t need to be sheepish about asking for referrals. Identify the best times in the buying cycle – like after a house sale closes – and use these opportunities to to ask for referrals.  

 

The bottom line is that your clients can’t participate in a referral program if they don’t know it exists! By using some of these simple strategies and making the referral process easy, you can leverage your happy clients and increase referrals. What techniques does your business use to build loyalty and increase word of mouth?