Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools that a small business can utilize. We have all heard a friend or relative share details about the excellent price they received on one of their favorite products at a local store. Sharing experiences is a natural fact of life, and you can transform your customers into your best sales force by capitalizing on those experiences.

Here are some exciting methods you can use to encourage your customers to share their enthusiasm about your organization with others.

Referral Programs

One of the best rewards you can give your customers is a free gift, service, or special savings. Give your customers an opportunity to earn such rewards by developing a referral program. Your referral program might have a variety of levels, such as a reward for three referrals, seven referrals, and 10 or more referrals.

A customer should receive a gift or service of increasing value for each tier they achieve. Any person who walks into your store is an eligible candidate for a referral program. It is an all-inclusive and creative way to expand your consumer base.

Customer Appreciation Sales

If your customers know that you appreciate them, they will return to you time and again to meet their needs. Host special events exclusively for those customers who have helped your business succeed. These events might include special savings during certain business hours, buy-one-get-one-free specials, and discounts on purchases exceeding a certain dollar amount. Your customers will gladly share their special savings with friends and family, generating an increased interest in your small business.

Family and Friends Events

If you truly want to access your customers’ connections to reach a broader audience, then host a special friends and family event. Distribute coupons or buy-one-get-one-free promotions to your customers and employees that they can pass along to family members and friends.

The best way to circulate coupons for friends and family events is right at the cash register after a sale has been made. This will generate a host of new traffic for your business with the potential for building lifelong relationships.

People enjoy sharing their stories and experiences, and they are very likely to tell it to five or more of their personal acquaintances, especially if they have an incentive. Customers are a valuable marketing tool that can help your business through word of mouth.

Everywhere you look, there is a new eco-friendly product or initiative. Green recycling containers are popping up on every street corner, and some city busses are now powered by electricity. There are even eco-friendly soaps and organic t-shirts.

The responsible thing to do is to join the green trend and start looking for ways to turn your office into an eco-friendly environment. Here are three eco-friendly ideas that will get you and your staff moving toward a cleaner, greener workplace.

Eco-Friendly Suppliers

If you want your organization to be more eco-friendly, start by making partnerships with eco-friendly suppliers. This means using eco-friendly paper products, office supplies, and even switching to eco-friendly organic fabrics for employee uniforms. These products are easy to find today, and they are priced affordably so that you can transform your office into a more eco-friendly environment.

Go Paperless

Many organizations have found ways to eliminate paper processing with online billing and other types of electronic forms. These are relatively easy to develop with the help of an IT professional. Microsoft Word also provides a variety of templates that may be useful for your small business. There are even copy machines that can create a .pdf file and email documents to a designated address.

With the word paperless, we mean no Post-It Notes, memos, or “while you were out” messages. Email is a great tool, and you should encourage your employees to use it. Rather than leaving a note on someone’s desk, send an email.

Telecommuting

Do you have staff members who are dedicated, driven, and require little to no supervision? These high-performing employees may be prime candidate for telecommuting. Allowing employees to work from home on certain days of the week will cut down on the expenditure of fuel. Research also shows that employees are 30% more productive when they work at home. There are fewer distractions and less interruptions at home than in the office. You can reward your high-performing staff with work at home privileges while simultaneously helping to reduce the carbon footprint of your staff.

These are just a few of many simple steps that you can take to make your working environment more eco-friendly. Going green isn’t just a fad or a trend; it is the responsible thing to do.

Business referrals are a small business owner’s lifeblood. So much has been written and read about referrals, but for a small business owner with a lot of tasks on hand, cultivating client referrals can seem like an endless task.

How do you get referral business opportunities? When you do good work for a client, thank them for choosing you, and let them know that client referrals are welcome and appreciated.

The following is a list of five other great ways to get client referrals:

• Do great work.

  By far the best way to get great business referrals is to do great work. People are proud of themselves when they find businesses that provide them with above-average service and products, and they want to tell others of their good fortune (and their good business sense).

  Do great work, and your clients and customers will be the best marketing tools you could ever ask for.

• Build a mailing list.

  A mailing list of all your client referrals can be a powerful tool in your promotional efforts. Because they are already pre-sold on you and your business, your referrals will generally welcome hearing from you on an ongoing basis.

  Your clients can also opt into and out of your mailing list easily and with the barest minimum of muss or fuss.

• Keep your mailing list informed.

  Many small business owners have discovered the value of keeping their business referrals up-to-date with the latest news about their products and services.

  Not only do past and present clients enjoy reading such stories, but they also really enjoy reading about themselves. Make a point of playing up customer success stories as much as possible.

• Always send a thank-you note.

  People appreciate it when you take the time to thank them for sending you a referral for business. Whenever a new customer is referred to you, make a point of immediately sending a handwritten thank you note to the referrer.

  It’s far better to take the time to personalize your thank-you note than to just dash off a quick e-mail. Depending on the nature of your business, you can also send a small gift or a certificate good for a discount on your client’s next purchase.

• Make referrals yourself.

  As your business grows, you’ll soon find that people come to you seeking referrals. Pick out several high-quality and trusted companies to use for referrals, and be sure to let their owners know when you have sent a client their way.

  Not only will your clients be thankful for the business referral, but the companies to which you make referrals will also be more likely to make client referrals to you.