Referrals: Don't Forget to Ask!

Obtaining referrals is not only simple, it’s cost effective! Plus, it can be a great addition to an ongoing marketing strategy for your relationship managers. All you have to do is ask customers, members, peers, or associates to recommend you. So why do so many bankers fail at this tactic?

Many people believe that doing a good job is all that’s necessary to generate referrals. However, business owners, professionals, customers/members, etc. have other things on their minds than rewarding your service when you are meeting with them. Simply put, you need to speak up!

Here are 4 simple tips to help increase success of your referrals:

It’s not about the size of the prize. Few people refer to get a reward. On the contrary they may like to be viewed as the person who is “connected.” Save the $20 referral reward and invest in your customer/member relationship by taking them to lunch instead.

Wait until customers/members are happy. After you go the extra mile for a client… then ask. They will be so happy with you, they will want to return the favor.

Don’t worry about rejection. – If someone doesn’t know anyone they could refer you to, they’ll tell you. But if they don’t give you a referral, that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t in the future. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Simplify the process. Whether you decided to ask for a referral using an email, mail, or in person, make it a seamless part of your marketing plan. Automate the process or putting tools in place for relationship managers to refer can help you in the long run.

And while I’m at it… if you are happy with the knowledge MarketMatch provides and you know someone who could benefit from our services, please give us a call our drop us a line.

Best,

Jamie

What's It Like To Be Our Customer?

What our customers are thinking, and what we think is on their minds are often times two different things. For your small business customers, before you have a meeting or pick up the phone, you should always review the following questions that may either uncover an opportunity or bring to light a festering issue before it becomes a major problem for the customer.

Think of your customers and ask yourself the following questions:

• Is it easy to do business with us? - Perhaps the process of opening new accounts, etc. was created in a vacuum and is onerous for customers providing an unnecessary pain point.

• How do they perceive our customer service? - Your sales and marketing departments may be doing a great job but other areas of the bank may be creating customer service issues. Most customers won't say anything until they're ready to hit the road.

• Are we taking care of their business and personal needs? - Do you have too many single-service customers? If you never ask a business customer about their personal needs they will only think two things--you aren't interested or you just don't care.

• Are we suggesting better or more innovative ways to meet their present and future needs? - Is your bank truly a trusted advisor to your business customers? That's only possible if you demonstrate a willingness to help the customer to achieve their long-term goals through advisory services. It's sometimes about sacrificing short-term sales goals. The more the customer grows their business the more opportunity the bank will have to develop deeper, more profitable relationships.

• Are we asking the right questions to uncover their concerns? - Effectively profiling business customers to gauge their long-term strategies enables the bank, and the banker, to provide valuable strategic financial advice to become a true partner in the success of the business owner.

• If concern areas are outside your scope responsibility, am I alerting the appropriate people so the problem can be addressed and corrected? - Too many times bankers fail to act on customer cues because "it is someone else's responsibility." This is one of the leading causes of customer attrition. It's the banker's responsibility to uncover concern areas, notify responsible parties, act as the conduit for problem resolution and then close the loop back to the customer.

• Are we employing all of the bank's resources for the benefit of the customer? - Has the business customer been introduced to the cash management expert or wealth management professional at the bank to advise on various business and personal issues?

It's human nature that we tend to think that customers will automatically offer their thoughts to us just because we are sitting across the desk from each other. The lesson here is that if you don't ask the right questions you'll never get the answers necessary to advance a relationship or to stop a valuable customer from leaving.

From now on, before you visit or call a customer, ask yourself these questions and see if you can effectively answer them without the input of your customers. You may find that your conversations with your customers will take on a whole different perspective.