With all of the attention that we give towards referral generation as practice marketing professionals, it’s easy to forgive that it’s sometimes the little things like a simple thank you that matter most. Putting aside the marketing idea of the month for a moment, let’s take a moment to discuss the role that gratitude plays in the generation of high quality referrals from the most important contacts in your professional network.Yes, it’s true that most professionals love to give referrals to the services and businesses that have gone the extra mile in meeting their goals.
However, the truth of the matter is that showing a little appreciation for the people who are actively promoting your business can go a long way to greasing the wheels of your referral engine.Even a token as simple a card or a quick phone call thanking someone for giving out a referral for your business will encourage your contacts to be on the look out for other opportunities to spread the word. Many organizations go a step further by actively encouraging their network to provide them with referrals by rewarding them thank you dinners, reciprocal referrals and other tokens of appreciation.
However you choose to show your colleagues how much their support means to you, don’t make the mistake of letting opportunities to boost your referral engine slip through the cracks due to oversight. Keep an organized record of which of your contacts are actively providing you with referrals and be sure that you are following up with them with a kind comment. These records can also be a great way of tracking opportunities for improving your referral engine, such as a very promising contact that has not generated the opportunities for growth that you may have expected.