With every new customer you get, you have the chance to give them an unforgettable experience. The more incredible their customer journey is, the more likely they’ll recommend you to their friends, family, and colleagues. 

If you want to make sure that your current clients give you the repeat and referral business you’re looking for, you’re going to have to make sure they love every moment of working with you. 

If they end up being unsatisfied with your work, they won’t refer their friends, family, and colleagues, and you’ll lose out on getting all those warm prospects. 

There are two things you have to make sure to do when it comes to creating and securing referrals:

1. Make sure your current clients are satisfied enough to refer their friends
2. Make sure those referrals are converting into new clients

There’s no point in encouraging people to make referrals if the referrals aren’t biting. This will cause you to spend a lot of time trying to convert prospects who don’t connect with your brand - and ultimately lose out on a whole lot of revenue for your agricultural business. 

The good news is that you can take steps to make sure that your clients have an unforgettable brand experience with you and those referrals are flowing directly into your sales pipeline. 

Here are four ways you can optimize your referrals and create repeat business. 

1. Provide an unbeatable customer service

As a business owner, you probably already treat all your clients with complete respect and help them get whatever it is they’re looking for as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Providing brilliant customer service is key to pushing your clients into making a referral. 83% of customers are willing to refer a friend or colleague after having a positive customer service experience. 

So if you provide all your clients with a one-of-a-kind experience, they’re going to refer you. They know you’re a good company with friendly staff and excellent products or services, so why wouldn't they refer you?

The key here is to make sure the rest of your team are providing the same level of service. 

2. Ask for referrals at the appropriate time

Your customers might go off by themselves and refer everybody they know to your agricultural business, or they might not. Even if they were blown away by the high standard of customer service, there is still a chance they won’t refer anybody to you, unless you ask. 

That being said, it’s critical that you only ask your clients for referrals at the right time during their customer journey. There’s little to no point in asking them to refer a friend at the start of their journey because they've yet to see what makes your company so great. 

Instead, you have to engage with your client at the exact moment they’re delighted with the services or products you've provided. Ask them for a referral when they’re familiar with your brand and when they've built loyalty towards your business. 

The best way to figure out if a customer is happy with the service you’ve provided is to ask them for an online review when you’re finished with their work or their order. If they give a positive review, you know they’re pleased with your company. Now is the perfect time to ask them for a referral. 

3. Offer the right incentives

You’ve provided your clients with amazing customer service, you’ve delivered the product or service they’ve been looking for, and you’ve even asked them if they’ll refer your brand. 

But this, unfortunately, doesn’t guarantee they’re going to refer your business to people. 

Even if you ask nicely, some clients simply won’t refer a business. Whether it’s because they’re scared about offering their suggestion or they simply don’t want to bother, it’s always a possibility that your clients just won’t suggest your company to somebody else. 

But one thing that will encourage them to refer a friend is the right incentive. 

Over 50% of people are more likely to give a referral if they’re offered a direct incentive like a loyalty program or discount in return. Plus, 64% of consumers say that the reward will impact how much they spend with your company, and 69% say they’re more likely to work with a brand if rewards are an option.

Not only do incentives and rewards help you get referrals, they also encourage repeat business from your current clients. 

Some common rewards used to sway customers include:

• Discounts
• Money-back offers
• Credit for their next purchase
• Merch like t-shirts, hats, and coolers 
• Gift cards
• Free add ons 

4. Encourage your referrals to become referrers 

Your referred customers have:
 

• Witnessed your excellent customer service
• Received a fantastic service or product
• Started thinking about leaving a review 

So what can you do now?

Encourage them to refer! 

Referred customers are five times more likely to take advantage of your referral program than non-referred customers. They’ve already seen that you provide awesome benefits to your clients, and they know you have a fantastic team offering excellent services.

There’s no risk for them when it comes to your referral program because they’ve seen it all, they know what’s going on, and they know how you work. 

So don’t forget to remind them that they discovered your amazing work through a referral, and now they have the opportunity to pass the torch on to their friends. This creates a chain of referrers, and the longer that chain is, the more comprehensive a reach your brand has. 

Now that you know how to create a cycle of referrals, you’ll be able to start getting more eager leads into your company. 

By creating a client journey that’s full of satisfaction and benefits, you’ll be able to encourage people to refer others. Plus, the more you reward these clients for their referrals, the more they’ll see you as an incredible brand to work with and come back to you whenever they need your services or products. 

If you’re not sure how to get your cycle of referrals started, then the team at Agtivation is here to help. 

Our team knows precisely what you can do to make your company stand out online to attract high-quality clients. Once you get more customers into your business, you can start encouraging them to refer friends and families, and in no time, you’ll have a wide selection of business opportunities. 

Get the help you need today from the team at Agtivation.