Generating Consistent Profits with a Formal Referral System

Everybody in the jewelry business loves referrals, Jim Ackerman writes. Strange, then, that so few jewelers have a well-conceived, formal system for generating them.

Jim Ackerman mail@ascendmarketing.com

Jim Ackerman is a renowned retail jewelry marketing expert who has spoken to jewelry retailers at the nation’s biggest marketing events, including JA New York, JCK, The Smart Jewelry Show and others.

Everybody in the jewelry business loves referrals. Strange, then, that so few jewelers have a well-conceived, formal system for generating them.

Look, there is simply no downside to having mass numbers of referrals walk through the door. When they do, here’s what you know.
-- This will be a lie-down sale.
-- You didn’t have to shell out a dime, up front, to acquire this new customer.
-- The close will be easier and faster.
-- You’ll encounter less price resistance.
-- There is less chance the customer will want to “shop around.”
-- You’ll probably get a larger sale.
-- This is likely to become another loyal customer.
-- This new customer is more likely to refer others.

See? There’s downside, except for one …

While this is a happy incident when it happens, it is almost always an incident. You can’t count on it, can’t predict the referral business you’ll do each month, which is why you must install an incentive-based referral system in your business.

The two kinds of incentive-based referral systems
Passive referral systems reward your clients for sending in their friends, relatives, neighbors and business associates. When someone comes in from this kind of referral, they’re going to buy, probably today.

But you still don’t get control of the referral’s name, so you have to wait for them to come into the store.

Pro-active referrals systems also reward your clients for sending in their friends. But in this case you do get control of the referral’s name and contact information up front so you can proactively market to them. You’ll reach them sooner, but you may have to court them for a while to get them in the door the first time.

Pieces of the puzzle
Passive referral systems consist of the following parts and pieces.

You must provide your client with an incentive to send in their friends. (This can be a store credit but that might not provide enough instant gratification to motivate them to refer consistently. Consider food or entertainment … or cash.)

You must provide an incentive to the person who’s being referred to get them to come in the first time. (A no-strings-attached, in-store gift certificate is recommended. Fifty dollars is OK; $100 is better.)

You might need to provide your staff with a short-term incentive to get the word out about the program until all of your clients know about it. Cash spiffs, candy, time off with pay,

Banner will be right here …

or other low-cost inducements can work well.

You’ll need scripts for your staff to introduce the program to your clients.

Training for your staff is also very important, and the training will need to be consistent over 30, 60 or even 90 days to establish new habits in them.

You will need several items of support materials. These will include the certificates your clients will hand out to their friends, a letter to your customer base that will introduce them to the program, and reward letters to clients who are now eligible to receive their rewards because their referrals have come in and done business with you. You may also want some in-store signage to remind clients of your referral rewards program.

Finally, you’ll need a tracking system to make sure the program is working, and to make sure your referring clients get rewarded with the right rewards in a timely fashion.

In the case of a pro-active referral system, you’ll also need some small, token reward to give clients simply because they give you contact information, even before the contact becomes a client. This could be something as simple as a free dessert certificate at a local restaurant, a RedBox movie rental or a $5 Starbucks gift card.

Making it work
The first ingredient is consistency. This is a system that will snowball. It’s not likely to generate crazy responses in a week, although we’ve seen that happen. But if you’re committed to the process, it won’t be long before you see a substantial increase in referrals and the percentage of your business coming from referrals will increase each month.

Begin by introducing your new Referral Rewards Program to customers who come into your store. Explain the program (using your script) and give them three gift certificates to hand out to their friends.

Send the introductory letter to all of your clients along with three certificates to hand out to their friends. (These letters don’t have to go out all at once. Send a couple hundred a week until you’ve worked through your entire database.)

When a new referral comes in, send the referring client the reward letter along with the actual reward along with three more certificates they can hand out to more of their friends.

Again, commitment is the key. You install these systems and, before long, you might find it’s the only marketing you have to do.

Jim Ackerman is a renowned retail jewelry marketing expert who has spoken to jewelry retailers at the nation’s biggest marketing events, including JA New York, JCK, The Smart Jewelry Show and others. He is offering National Jeweler readers a complimentary Marketing Fitness Check-up. He can be reached at 800-584-7585, ext. 3 or by email at mail-at-ascendmarketing.com. Check out his jeweler’s website at JewelersMarketingGems.com.

Jim Ackermanis a retail jewelry marketing expert who has spoken at JA New York, JCK and other jewelry trade shows.