I'm a big fan of regularly reviewing you marketing plan. I believe that regularly reviewing your plan is just as, if not more, important as creating the plan in the first place. Marketing plan review discussions generally include metrics. Here are three of my favorite metrics related to referral marketing:
Referrals Given - I always like to start with this one. I'm sure we have all heard sayings like "give to get" and "givers gain", but do you set goals and measure results related to the referrals you give others?
Stay in touch conversations - More often than not, referrals don't come from partners right away. It takes some time to nurture those relationships. Having a system in place to regularly reach out to maintain your "top of mind" status is a key to a successful referral strategy.
Referrals Asked For - more often than not, the biggest obstacle to receiving referrals is that we don't ask for them. You don't have control over how many referrals you receive, but you certainly have control over making requests.
Do you have a favorite metric for tracking your referral marketing process? Leave a comment and share it with us.
Looking for more referral marketing tips?
John Jantsch's lastest book, The Referral Engine, is now available for pre-order.
