Insights for your marketing plan: How to increase referrals and get more clients

Looking for an easy way to build your client list and land more jobs without spending a ton of valuable time and money on your marketing plan? Two words – client referrals.

Client referrals are a great way, if not the best way, to get more business without dedicating too many resources. Word-of-mouth marketing will help you to grow your satisfied client base, which will ultimately lead to more clients referring their friends and family to you. And with more referrals comes more sales. According to The Balance Small Business, your closing ratio for referred leads is 60% compared to the 10% closing ratio for non-qualified leads.

We’re taking a look at the best ways to get more client referrals, and what strategies are best when requesting them from your current or former clients.

Keep these three things in mind when looking to increase referrals

1) Prioritize the client experience, but don’t forget their neighbors

The number one priority you should have when looking to get client referrals is ensuring an unbeatable client experience – but don’t forget about their neighbors.

Let’s be real – listening to screeching saws, pounding hammers and nail guns for a couple months or more isn’t an ideal situation. This is exactly why forming and maintaining a good relationship with your clients’ neighbors should also be a top priority. Striving to exceed both clients and their neighbors’ expectations in every way will make you stand out from the competition. You’ll build trust, gain respect and see an increase in referrals from both because of the superior experience you provided.

2) Maintain continued engagement and get more referrals

Engage with your clients through every step of the process, even after you’ve finished their project. Use tools such as surveys to ask for feedback. Ask them how you’re doing during their project or ask what you could be doing better. When the project is complete, after thanking them for their business, follow up with them. Send them an email and include a survey to request both testimonials and referrals.

Buildertrend’s construction management platform is integrated with a client survey feature that is offered to Pro users. The Surveys feature allows you to quickly build and send client surveys with the option to ask clients for referrals and the ability to push reviews directly to the testimonial page on your website.

3) Impress current and future clients with effective communication

No one ever complains about over-communication. Your clients want to be involved in the building or renovation process in every possible way. And by including them and communicating with them regularly throughout the process, you’re increasing the odds that they will send their referrals to you.

Using Buildertrend’s Customer Portal is a great way to ensure constant communication with your clients. They can log in and see all updates on their projects with the Daily Logs, documents, photos and videos you’ve shared with them. Any information you share with them will be on the portal for the duration of the project, so your clients can access and refer to it anytime.

We should also mention that the Customer Portal is a great addition to your sales tools. Being able to show referral clients how you’ll be communicating with them throughout their project is an awesome selling feature for your marketing plan!

Implement these best practices when asking current and former clients for referrals

1) Ask for referrals verbally whenever possible

Asking for referrals in person, on a Zoom call or over the phone is the best option if it fits your business style and marketing plan. Having verbal conversations with your current or former clients will not only help with client retention, but it will greatly increase your chances of getting a referral. When using direct communication, people are much more likely to do something you ask of them than they are when using alternative methods.

2) Say “thank you” and consider offering an incentive

After completing a project, it’s best practice to send a thank you card or email to your client. This shows them that you value their business, and it’s also a great opportunity to ask them for a referral. You may also consider including some kind of incentive. Doing so will encourage clients to take the time to send back any referrals they may have.

3) Ask for referrals and testimonials at the same time

Although the best way to ask for referrals is face-to-face or over the phone, there are other options for when verbal conversations aren’t ideal or when scheduling conflicts make it difficult. These alternate sales tools include: business cards, email campaigns, shareable links, social media and surveys.

No matter which tactic you prefer, it can oftentimes be a good idea to ask for testimonials and referrals at the same time. This ensures both requests are fresh in your client’s mind and will hopefully prompt them to handle both simultaneously.

Ready to optimize your client surveys and get more client referrals?

Now is the perfect time to take another look at your marketing plan for your construction company to make sure it’s optimized for performance and growth. Give us a call today to learn more about our Survey feature and the website services we have to offer. We’re always standing by and ready to help!

If you’re considering Buildertrend and want to learn more about all of the top-notch features and services we have to offer, schedule a demo today!

About The Author

Chelsea Cole Chelsea Cole is a senior content marketing specialist at Buildertrend