Guide to Referral Marketing strategy for Nutrition Business Owners
As old as marketing is, word-of-mouth has been one of the most efficient and effective ways of increasing the client base of any business. It originally brings in interested clients and establishes a reputation in the market.
One of the most effective ways and modernized versions of word-of-mouth’ marketing is a referral campaign. A referral campaign incentivizes existing clients to introduce your practice to their peers, friends, and family members to convert them into new clients.
Creating a referral campaign is one of the best and most effective marketing tools, which helps you to generate the most organic leads and allows you to effectively expand your nutrition practice.
Why is referral marketing important
Increases your clientele
Referral marketing has proven to be an excellent tool in increasing your clientele and retaining more clients. According to research, 81% of people trust recommendations from friends and families over those from businesses.
Not only that, according to a study conducted by McKinsey & Company, referrals generate twice the number of sales in comparison to paid advertisements.
Highly organic method of marketing
The best thing about referral marketing is that each client that comes to you has organically found your business. The references generated from your customers are more organic and authentic.
They instill a positive perspective of your brand into the referred client, which invariably helps you expand your network and spreads your practice’s value amongst potential clients.
Cost-effective
What makes referral marketing such an excellent marketing technique is that it costs almost nothing. You don’t have to spend any money on it.
The very idea of referral marketing is around minimizing your interactions with the audience and letting your services speak for themselves. This organic attraction that is created requires no money to sustain and can endlessly help you to expand your nutrition business.
Improves your conversion rate
A report from Review 42 reflected that referral leads have a 30% higher conversion rate than leads from any other channel. It also accounts for approximately 65% of companies’ new deals.
Referred customers are more valuable
According to research conducted by the AMA Journal of Marketing, referred clients are more valuable in the short, as well as the long run. On average, the value of a referred client is at least 16% more than that of any other client.
This is because referred clients are more loyal and can increase your profit margins by up to 25%!
Types of Referral Campaigns
Incentive-based Referrals
Incentive-based referral campaigns refer to gift cards and vouchers that you can hand over to a client who refers your practice to someone. It is a popular referral strategy that has proven to be very effective. You can also provide coupons, like free detox treatments or a 10% discount on their next consultation, if they agree to recommend your services to their circle.
Social Media Referrals
Rather than asking your clients to approach their network individually, social media referrals allow them to instantly reach their entire audience with just one share. It can provide you with intense exposure and reach that can help boost your practice’s brand awareness and expand your business growth.
Referral Fee
A referral fee is a kind of a commission that you pay someone who brings a customer to your business. You can pay a referral fee to doctors and local physicians who might endorse you to their clients.
Tips to Run a Successful Referral Marketing Campaign
Share a Nutrition Resource
While they might seem easy for your to make, nutrition resources are actually very attractive to your target audience. They want to know more about what they are doing wrong and how they can improve their lifestyle.
You can share recipe books or special meal plans with clients in exchange for referring your business to their friends and family members.
Mention It In Your Newsletter Or Blog Page
If you have a newsletter then it would be the best place to mention your referral campaign. People spare a good amount of time browsing through a newsletter and this gives them an ample amount of time to check out your referral campaign.
Also, if you have a blog page, you should also add a banner or graphic that points to your referral campaign and allows viewers to know more about it.
Post It On Social Media
There is no better way to let thousands of people know about your referral campaign than posting it on social media. With practically no limitations, social media platforms can help you reach a wide audience in no time.
Analyze which social media platforms your target audience is spending most of their time on and target those platforms.
Send a Thank-you Note To Your Referrals
You don’t want your clients to just recommend your services once and then forget about it. You need to incentivize them to keep telling people about your services. And a thank you note can be a very effective way to do that.
While it might seem a little too underwhelming to send just a thank you note, that simple gesture can be really motivating. It lets your clients know that you appreciate their efforts and would want them to keep doing it.
You should draft a heartfelt message for the thank you note which would encourage them to keep referring your services to more interested people.
Conclusion
While the contemporary methods of marketing have become more than essential to sustain your business, traditional methods still pertain to being most effective and reliable. And a smart combination of both can substantially impact your business.
The modern-day style of referral campaigns is an excellent example of this which allows you to practice word-of-mouth marketing through a digital medium. It helps you generate a more organic and loyal client base which can be a great boon for your nutrition practice.
With this comprehensive guide to referral marketing, you will be able to understand and practice this method more efficiently and effectively. Just follow our simple tips and you can construct a rewarding referral campaign.
