How many times have you heard that phrase from a family or friend? We ask that question more than we realize. We depend a lot on our family and friends to point us in the right direction when it comes to finding a good contractor, restaurant, retail store, realtor, mover, etc. The psychology of why people buy often is dependent on the information they receive before they make that important purchase decision. The question of why we buy what we buy and what influences our buying decisions is the constant focus of business owners. The primary drivers are the value of the goods and services we desire, what problem are those goods and services solving and what type of experience do we anticipate having interacting with the business. So how do we acquire the information we need to make certain purchase decisions? Who do we trust and who do we dismiss as far as vetting and reviews? We know that advertising is a big influencer but certain purchases require another layer of input in order to make us feel good about buying certain goods or services.
What makes consumers engage in commerce are companies discovering and filling the needs of their target audience and providing the best customer experience possible. Keeping those customers coming back over and over and for those customers to tell their family and friends so they can have the same experience is a primary goal for any business owner. The customer experience can’t be stress enough when it comes to why people ask for referrals and regularly asking that question “Would you happen to know a good_______? If someone has a great customer experience, we want to experience that as well with that business. The awesome feeling of finding a great contractor or place to dine or shop or locating that great plumber, handyman, lawn care company, etc is what consumers want to experience. A term I like to use for the feeling I get when I recommend a great business and the referral comes back and personally thanks me and states they had an awesome experience and will use them in the future is called “Social Enrichment”. As a business owner, and the reason why we are always asking for input through surveys is we want to know, moment by moment, how our customers feel about our product or service and would they recommend it to others.
Here’s the thing, people really don’t want to do what they consider tedious research on who is the best area electrician, painter, restaurant, appraiser, etc. We would have rather someone else we trust do the vetting for us and that frees up our time to do, what are considered, more important things. The emotional connection our customers have when they use a business’ products or services can’t quantitatively be measured. Surveys can gauge the level of satisfaction and enjoyment and can be a valuable tool for a company to determine what needs to be improved. Nothing is more valuable to a business than receiving a referral from a current customer that refers their family and friends. For businesses, a referral is the most cost effective and proven way to bring in more customers. Ninety-two (92%) of consumers trust their family and friend referrals and that is a statistic that is hard to beat. Nothing is more difficult than trying to understand what our customers want and what we can do to solve their most pressing issues and pain points.
As a tech founder, I have spent the last year creating a mobile web & app-based solution that makes that all important communications connection & process between small businesses and their customers easier and rewarding when it comes to the referral process. Virely will operate as a centralized small business Social Commerce Platform that allows small business owners to receive referrals from their existing customers in exchange for referral reward discounts. Our consumer subscribers will be able to refer their favorite small businesses to their family and friends in one(1) click using their SMS, Email and Social Media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter. Virely enhances the referral experience for our customers.
89% of buyers are very willing to refer their service providers.
But only 11% of sales people ask for referrals.
– Carnegie Institute
Statistically, companies with referral campaigns saw 86% more revenue growth over two years. Referred customers, on average, were $0.45 more profitable per day than any other customers.
Study conducted by Wharton Business School
So when you think of or hear the phrase “Would you happen to know a good_______? Hopefully those folks will be using Virely to share their valuable referrals and will be receiving enticing referral reward discounts for their referrals. Virely uses proprietary referral code sharing technology incorporated with an automated referral reward messaging system (both in-app & email) to reward both the referrer and referee. What better way for a small business owner to increase their customer base, lower their customer acquisition costs, improve customer loyalty and increase customer lifetime value. Virely provides the opportunity for small business owners to realize all of the aforementioned. Virely is a win-win situation for both the small business owner and the consumers in which they serve. Check out Virely today to see how the customer referral process is working to create a new disruptive technology (meaning a new way to complete a task). Virely is expected to officially launch in Q1 of 2022!
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