Life. Camera. Actions.

We’ve all heard that “word of mouth is the best advertising” but how do you spark those conversations? How do you get people to want to talk about your business?  I’ve built my photography business purely on word of mouth and today I want to share some of the things I’ve learned through experience and through reading.

Why People Refer

Have you noticed that you have a handful of clients that are always referring new people to you and others that never send anyone? Even if everyone gets the same level of service, some clients are just naturally wired to send referrals. This type of person is invaluable to a business.  So why do they do it?  Referrers want to make sure their friends get the best of something and have a great experience. In return their friends appreciate the referral and think of them as a “go to referrer.” The book, The Referral Engine, talks about how this most likely goes back to our hunter-gatherer days when we were dependent on each other to find food sources. A fisherman who always knew the best spots to cast and shared that information with the tribe would be a very valuable member of society. So, it is important to recognize that most people want to give referrals because they are wired to do so. We also have to realize that people only want to give good referrals because if they didn’t, it would make them look bad. Think back to our fisherman analogy – if he were always telling people the wrong places to fish he would never be trusted and would have a lesser social status.  Sending others to the best fishing spots makes him feel important because he is important!

Lets take a look at some of the things we can do to motivate people to refer others to our businesses.

Be Remarkable

It sounds obvious, but if you want your clients to remark about you, you have to provide a remarkable service (check out Seth Godin’s The Purple Cow.) Step one of being remarkable is exceeding your client’s expectations – not just meeting them. Have you ever heard anyone just say, “I was satisfied with their services”? If someone said that to you, would you be excited to hire that person? Would them just being satisfied be enough to make you pick up the phone and call?  Definitely not!  You act on a referral when your friend passionately tells you why you should use that product or service.  To exceed our clients expectations we must first define what they are.  Photographers are lucky because most people don’t expect much more from them than just delivering good pictures. Surely you are already doing that, but to blow your clients away you need to bring a lot more to the table. Think about what you could do that would be so impressive that it makes your clients WANT to talk about you to others. Here are a few things we do and have done to blow people away. Please put your own ideas in the comments field so we can grow our list!

-send out a thank you card and brownies
-do a same day slideshow at the reception
-memorize the names of the entire wedding party and family before the wedding day and use them often
-post our favorites to Facebook when we get home from the wedding
-post a sneak peak slideshow the day after the wedding
-blog the wedding before the proofs are up
-post their proofs in a week
-send them a card and a gift card to a restaurant on their anniversary
-give them a free session when their first child is born
-do the unexpected

Ask For Referrals

If you go above and beyond your client’s expectations they will want to return the favor but sometimes they don’t know how. Believe it or not, simply asking for referrals can help “train” your clients to refer you. We let our clients know that if it weren’t for amazing people like them who send us their friends, we wouldn’t be in business. We also give them the tools they need to make referrals. For seniors we make “senior rep cards” that have a handful of their images on them and a discount code so they can give them out at school. When they book using the discount code, the friend gets 20 free wallets and the referrer gets $20. Many photographers do referral contests where the top referrers can get prizes (gas card, iPad, xbox, etc.) What is important is to implement some referral systems in your business and be sure to recognize your top referrers publicly, which brings us to the next point…

Thank Your Referrers!

Have you ever done someone a favor and then not been thanked for it? Chances are, you weren’t so quick to do that person a favor again. Photographers get referrals all the time and often take them for granted (or don’t know where they came from.) Make it a habit of asking new clients where they heard about you and then going out of your way to thank the referrer. You can even post a blog, Facebook status, or something else public about people who refer to you. Doing so reinforces that behavior and encourages them to send more people your way. It also shows your other clients that sending you business is very appreciated which will make them more inclined to do so. Not only that, but other potential clients see that your business is good enough for people to talk about, which means it is good enough for them to hire you. Soon everyone wants to talk about you and spread the word!

Have I Mentioned Being Remarkable?

Yes the very trait that gets you referrals in the first place is what keeps them coming. If someone went out of their way to refer their friend or family member to you then you have to provide amazing service. If I refer you to an accountant and he screws up your taxes, then I look like an ass and I’ll never refer anyone to that accountant again! We always have to be on top of our game providing the best possible service to each and every client we get because, after all, “word of mouth is the best advertising.”

-Brett Jarnagin