Relying exclusively on customer referrals to do business can pose serious problems for the company, especially financial ones. It is essential to market products or services to keep the business active and profitable. Otherwise, the likelihood of having to close down much earlier than expected becomes imminent.
Although there is a belief that leads from referrals are more assertive and willing to negotiate, there are negative aspects to this practice. Think about it: is the flow of opportunities generated in this way enough to sustain the business? Or would it be interesting to have more leads to prospect for?
Manager looking for client – client referrals
Regardless of whether they are good nature on the other hand religion opportunities, you must have considered the possibility of having more leads. This way, there are greater chances of winning business, which is the great need of any company. And this can be possible if there is a subtle change in the adopted strategy, such as, for example, applying digital marketing strategies. They help to generate qualified leads that are engaged with the company.
What are the main problems in relying on customer referrals?
Many entrepreneurs believe that referrals digital marketing to increase customer lifetime value are the key does your business to a successful business, but relying solely on them is a big mistake. It’s not a bad thing, but when they need referrals to sustain themselves, it ends up limiting the company’s growth. In fact, this is one of the problems with relying on customer referrals, as you can see below:
Lack of sales predictability
When a company relies solely on customer phone database referrals, it becomes much more difficult to predict sales . This is for a simple reason: there is no way to predict how many customers will recommend your business to others. And much less how many of these referrals will actually convert into sales.
Not being able to predict how much money will come in and whether goals will be achieved makes assertive planning impossible.
Not being able to set goals
If you can’t forecast sales, how can you set realistic goals? When you can visualize a goal, it automatically serves as an impetus for good results. The sales team ends up putting in even more effort, especially if there is a reward policy for results achieved.
Furthermore, business goals are used as a parameterization of where you want and can reach. In the case of companies that only work with customer referrals , making this move becomes complex.
Since there is no clearly defined objective to be achieved, this affects productivity. There is a certain complacency and dependence on the part of the team that is just waiting for these leads to arrive.
Difficulty in growing the business
Every company depends on closing deals to be does your business successful and sustain itself profitably. This is directly related to the flow of opportunities created and how they are worked on. However, when there is no sales forecast and no set target, it becomes very difficult to think about investments that contribute to the growth and development of the corporation.
Relying solely on customer referrals leaves your financial health unstable, limiting investments in the medium and long term. Without the certainty that you will be able to cover extra expenses, it is unlikely that anyone will want to take risks.
When we think about investing
we don’t necessarily mean investing in millions. We can think about improving the structure, providing training to employees, hiring an agency specialized in B2B digital marketing and even expanding the sales team.
For those who do not have a forecast and set goals, any investment, no matter how small, can represent budgetary problems.
how can you avoid being dependent on client referrals?
It is important to clarify that receiving referrals from clients is not a bad thing. The problem is that you rely ONLY on this to maintain your business. The fact that your company is being recommended means that the work is being delivered as it should be. That is great, of course. But it should be a “complement” and not the main source of lead generation.
There are efficient ways to meet this need, such as working on active prospecting. However, this is a point that can also make the process more difficult. As you know, B2B negotiations have a different cycle and there are limitations. For example, being blocked by the telephone operator who never lets the salesperson get in touch with the decision maker.
However, it is possible to do this through inbound marketing, a very effective strategy for generating qualified leads for your company. If the methodology is applied well, it increases organic traffic, sparks interest in the target audience and creates opportunities. All this through the creation of content that is relevant to the customer profile that your company aims to reach.
Once the materials offered attract attention
The lead begins to engage with the company. In this case, the potential client comes to you without the sales rep having to beg the secretary. To share the decision-maker’s email. If there is some type of form that the lead needs to fill out in exchange. For the content, this will provide even more relevant information. This will help to understand the profile of this potential client and the professionals will be able to take a more assertive and targeted approach.
Without a doubt, investing in digital marketing is a does your business great way to avoid having to rely solely on customer referrals. Talk to one of our experts and learn more about the MKS methodology used to bring new customers to companies.
