How to Grow Faster With Referrals

As a B2B company, you're always looking for ways to grow your business faster. You might have tried inbound marketing, outbound marketing, or even gone through existing channels to acquire customers. While all these methods can help you grow, there's an even more powerful way to get attention and attract future customers: referral marketing.

Referral marketing is word-of-mouth marketing, and it's the one thing that marketers, salespeople, and founders don't actually programmatically pursue. However, when they do, they're able to actually grow faster. According to research, B2B SaaS companies experience a 70% higher conversion rate when they have referral programs in place. Despite this, many companies do not have a referral marketing program in place.

In this blog post, I'll walk you through the three principles you need to know on referral marketing and how you can use it as an unfair advantage to grow your SaaS business faster.

Principle #1: Why Referral Marketing is Powerful

To understand why referral marketing is so powerful, let's first review other methods of acquiring customers.

Inbound marketing includes SEO, running ads, and social media. You create content and hope that it will attract potential customers to your website. Outbound marketing includes cold emailing, calling, and even Fed-Exing. You reach out to potential customers and hope that they will be interested in your product. Going through existing channels includes marketplaces, reselling agreements, and co-marketing/co-selling. You leverage your relationships with other businesses to sell your product.

While these methods can help you acquire customers, they all have one thing in common: they require you to work hard to get noticed. Referral marketing, on the other hand, is the most powerful way to get attention and attract future customers. When someone refers your product to a friend or colleague, they are essentially endorsing your product. This endorsement is more powerful than any ad or cold email you could ever send.

Principle #2: Establishing a Referral Marketing Program

Now that you understand why referral marketing is so powerful, let's talk about how you can establish a referral marketing program. To establish a referral program, you need to make it easy for your customers to refer you, incentivize them to do so, and track their referrals.

1. Make it easy for your customers to refer you: The first step is making it easy for your customers to refer you. This can be done through creating a referral link or having a referral form on your website. The easier it is for your customers to refer you, the more likely they are to do so.
2. Incentivize your customers to refer you: The second step is incentivizing your customers to refer you. This can be done through discounts, rewards, or even a chance to win a prize. The key is to make the incentive valuable enough that it motivates your customers to take action.
3. Track your referrals: The third step is tracking your referrals. This can be done through referral software or even just a simple spreadsheet. By tracking your referrals, you can see which channels are working and adjust your program accordingly.

Principle #3: Leveraging Your Referral Marketing Program

Once you've established a referral program, you need to promote it, optimize it, and track it.

1. Promote your referral program: The first step is promoting your referral program. This can be done through social media, email marketing, or even through your website. The key is to get the word out and make sure your customers know about your referral program.
2. Optimize your referral program: The second step is optimizing your referral program. This can be done through A/B testing different incentives or referral messaging. The goal is to find the right message and incentive that motivates your customers to refer you.
3. Track your referral program: The third step is tracking your referral program. This can be done through analyzing referral data and adjusting your program accordingly. By tracking your referrals, you can see which channels are working and adjust your program accordingly.

Referral marketing is a powerful tool that can give you an unfair advantage in growing your B2B business faster. By following these three principles, you can establish a referral program and leverage it to its full potential.

In Conclusion

Referral marketing is not a new concept, but it's one that many companies overlook. More importantly, doing programmatic referrals was never possible, not until… Megaphone. 

By establishing a referral program and following the three principles outlined in this post, you can grow your B2B business faster and more effectively than ever before. So, what are you waiting for? Start your referral marketing program today and see the results for yourself using Megaphone.

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