Word of Mouth Marketing vs Referral Systems

At first glance, Word of Mouth Marketing and having a Referral System in place appears to be similar. but in truth, one is haphazard and the other is proactive and managed. 

Most small businesses rely solely on Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) to generate new business. As a result, the struggle with:

• Inconsistent deal flow (up one month, down the next)
• The "feast or famine" roller coaster of booms and depressions
• Worrying where your next deal is going to come from

By virtue of organization, referral systems allow you to:

• Build a steady, consistent, reliable flow of new business
• Predict and control your income (like turning on a faucet)
• Sleep like a baby (with peace of mind), knowing your revenue is rock solid

Doesn't that sound a whole lot better that leaving your family's livelihood and future in the hands of chance?

Referral Systems Are The Answer

By definition, a system is, " A set of detailed methods, procedures and routines created to carry out a specific activity, perform a duty, or solve a problem." - BusinessDictionary.com

These systems can be simple or complex. For any small business person, these can be a couple of actions that are carried out as a routine. These can be:

• Having customers check in on Facebook or Yelp when they visit. Give discounts or awards when they do so.
• Asking for referrals at the point of sale.
• Creating individualized content for your clients, such as Snapchat or a YouTube video that would inspire a share or referral.
• Drip feeding all your past clients with informative emails that can be shared on social media.
• Offering referrals cards which look like credit cards. There is a great company that offers these types of cards, VivaConcepts.com.

Referrals Must Be Measured 

"What gets measured, gets managed." - Peter Drucker

Having built and managed referrals systems for all of my sales and marketing career, you must measure the referral system. For without measurement, we devolve back to word of mouth marketing. Measuring assures accountability. 

I suggest you keep weekly or monthly statistics. Now must begin to document the systems, regardless how simple or easy they may seem to be. Documentation with checklists and lists of resources and "how to" ensures that the systems can be taught and replicated in the actions of others. 

Here is the sequence:

• Develop a system.
• Measure and manage it consistently.
• Document it so that others can implement these actions as a routine.
• Continue to develop and perfect it over time, and with experience.
• Repeat.

Systems are the solution to building a business with a high level of profitable customers being developed and serviced. 

Lead Generation with YouTube Video Marketing

Acquiring a new customer can cost up to thirty times more than retaining and reselling to an existing one. While the cost of acquiring new customers is high, one must take into account the lifetime value of a new customer.

A new coffee house may only generate $3.00 on the first sale of a new customer. But if he or she is delighted, that customer could spend $3.00 per day for many years to come. The lifetime value of one new customer may be worth thousands of dollars, not to mention the many referrals that can be generated over the lifespan of that customer.

The Best Type of Marketing Content

The best type of marketing content is “Evergreen Video.” Evergreen video is content that is produced once, but works for the brand 24/7. Once a great video is uploaded and optimized on YouTube, that video is working for that brand around the clock.

For example, I created this video for my Executive Coaching services. I made it almost three years ago, yet it still generates new leads and top clients for me almost every month.

By 2020, 80% of content consumed online will be video. Video marketing is the future of online marketing, and must be a part of any robust marketing program for any ambitious brand.

A Proven Lead Gen System: Premier Expert

The heart and soul of my "Premier Expert" video marketing service is to generate top-quality leads. The total cost of my program is $7,500.00 (plus travel expenses if extensive) for 12 unique YouTube videos. Each video is about 2-3 minutes long. Included in that complete video marketing package is:

1. A written video marketing strategy, based on your goals and resources. This would include how to leverage each and every video within: Email, social media, blogs, press releases, and any and all web properties.
2. A full interview with the principal(s) to understand what topics and/or questions we should be featuring in those videos. We want our topics to be the ones that are popular and the most requested by your target audience.
3. Conducting extensive keyword research so that your YouTube video topics MATCH consumer search behavior.
4. Two camera on-sight shoot for a complete pro presentation. Only Hollywood quality video and audio equipment is used.
5. Full SEO optimization of each and every video, so that they rank at the top of search within YouTube and Google.
6. Each video will come with custom and branded "intro" and "outro" sections to give your videos a distinctive look and feel that aligns with your branding.
7. Full support to pull off a complete hit with your video branding.

How Much Does This Cost?

Story boarding and keyword research begins upon payment of half of the program ($3,750.00). Then we arrange a one-day shoot where all 12 videos are then shot along our story board. Within 30 days, the videos are sent to you and uploaded to your YouTube channel, fully optimized. The second half of the payment is due on the day of the shoot, at the end of that day. Feel free if you have any other questions or needs.

You can contact me at edwindearborn@me.com