Use Referrals and Feedback to Grow During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Posted April 8, 2020

As a small business, you are always looking for ways to grow your brand and boost sales. It rings true even now during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It is a lot harder at this time to boost sales and grow, but not impossible.

So how do you guarantee more sales and growth during a pandemic? Well, one of the simplest yet most effective ways is to ask for referrals after a successful transaction or from current customers. They understand the economic downturn now and will want to support your great brand. Also ask for feedback on what can be improved so that you may serve your customers better.

Customer Referrals are GOLD!

You want more and more referrals to your business. After all, this is a positive sign that existing customers are happy to recommend your services. If you are getting many referrals, that means you are doing something right, and should keep it up.

On the other hand, if you aren’t getting any referrals, it may be because you are not asking for them. Just email your customers and tell it like it is and ask for referrals. Customers want to support businesses that they like during hard times.

Remember, it is a great business tactic to seek referrals from happy customers.

Customer Feedback

If customers are not giving you referrals or are not spreading the word about your business, you could be wrong somewhere. Work very hard on changing that. Get feedback from your customers on what is going on. Start getting customer testimonials, ratings, and reviews and make them lead to big wins for your business.
Encourage customers to rate your products and/or service on ratings and review sites and leave feedback. It could help to encourage them at different customer touch points, including posting online store or social networks, sending by an email campaign, or at checkout in your website.

Consumers use customer reviews and ratings when evaluating options before going ahead with a purchase. So, if you have good ratings and reviews on your products, you will get more customers. Ask for feedback and most customers would be willing to spare a few moments to give you feedback!

Related: Shipping and Reverse Logistics

Incentivize and Thank Your Customers

Offering discounts or freebies for reviews is a bad practice and discouraged by most eCommerce marketplaces, but is fine for referrals. Incentives could be in the form of a special deal or discount on their next purchase. Some businesses implement a graduated referral program for customers recommending their products or services. Under such programs, you could offer more perks for such customers for bringing referrals to you.

Do not forget to thank customers for leaving you feedback, irrespective of the kind of compliments you get. There is a tendency for some brands to undervalue or ignore negative feedback. Of course, who does not want to hear good words for their hard work, but negative feedback does offer an opportunity for improvement.

By turning around negative feedback, you get a chance to win back customers. Meeting or exceeding customer expectations can bring back some customers that had left you negative feedback, only if they are willing to give you a second chance. More often than not, such customers often prove to be more loyal than others as they have seen you do your best to win them back.

Bottom Line

A referrals and feedback system is easy to implement and more often than not, will not incur any additional costs. In order to boost your sales and directly affect your bottom line, make feedback and referrals an integral part of your business process.

Click here to Read about the Steps We Are Taking to ensure Business Continuity for Our Customers and Our Team.

Elite OPS has been a leader in Shipping and Logistics for over 25 years. Contact Us to find out how we can help you Save Time and Money on Procurement as a Service, eCommerce Order Fulfillment, and Kitting and Assembly.