A referral marketing program when done correctly, can multiply your ROI and generate quality leads.
With a well-designed referral program, you can easily gain your prospects’ trust and establish a quality relationship that leads to increased sales.
But what is a B2B referral program and how can you create a successful B2B referral strategy for your business?
What is a B2B Referral Program?
A B2B referral program is a marketing strategy that motivates satisfied clients to promote your brand to decision-makers at other companies.
B2B referral programs usually include a simple referral page where customers can quickly recommend others to your company by entering their contact information.
The referrals your clients make are automatically tracked by these systems and they are given rewards anytime a sale results from one of their recommendations.
A B2B referral program is one of the important marketing concepts because it automates the recommendation process, keeps track of all referrals and compensates a business automatically for promoting your product or service to others.
Following a good transaction, 83% of customers are willing to recommend a business. Most organizations receive viable customer leads from 78% of B2B referrals.
Checklist Before Starting a B2B Referral Program
1. Create a Fantastic Product Worth Promoting
Only if customers have had a favorable experience with your business will they recommend your product or service to others. It all starts with the quality of your services.
2. A Solid Customer Base
The best brand ambassadors are your devoted consumers. Commit to developing solid relationships with them. This is particularly important in the B2B environment because your relationships with your customers are long-term.
3. A Well-equipped Customer Service Team
Analyze your company’s capacity to accommodate more clients before launching a B2B referral program.
Before starting your B2B referral program, make sure that your customer care team can provide the same high standards of service to your new clients.
Your referral program can end up hurting your organization if none of your new consumers are happy with the customer service you provide. Customers won’t refer you to others anymore or worse, they’ll stop using you and switch to a competitor.
How Do You Create a Successful B2B Referral Program?
When you’re prepared to launch a referral program, you must develop a strategy that will produce the best outcomes.
You can create a business-to-business referral program that speeds up your growth by applying these 10 best strategies.
1. Make it Simple to Share
Keeping the sharing process straightforward is one of the most important elements of a successful B2B referral marketing program. You will miss out on important chances to win over new clients if your procedure involves too many steps or is difficult for the user to understand.
Make it simple for your clients to recommend others to your company by streamlining your referral procedure.
2. Use a Link or Referral Code
Your customers can easily share by copying and pasting referral codes and links into any message.
These links and codes also serve to connect the client with their referrals, ensuring that the right clients are paid for their efforts.
3. Add an Interesting Call to Action (CTA)
On the page, your call to action should be huge and catchy. The next step in your referral program should be made clear in your call to action, which can be a headline or a button.
For instance, “Refer your friends, and get a chance to win a free trip to Dubai.”
Be very careful with the promises you make. Ensure it is within an acceptable range and can be implemented.
4. Make the Referral’s Experience Unique
B2B companies want unique experiences, therefore your methods of reaching out to potential clients should have a personal touch as well.
Usually, the referral’s first interaction with your business determines a lot. Every touchpoint from when a referral link or code is clicked are very important. Optimize them as much as possible.
5. Provide a FAQ with Important Information
Your consumers can learn more about what to anticipate from your referral program by visiting your FAQ page.
You can describe your program in greater detail, including its terms and conditions, using the brief, simple approach.
Additionally, it will assist in resolving any issues and lessen the workload placed on your customer support staff.
6. Analyze and Evaluate New Referrals
It’s helpful to have a reliable process in place to evaluate and qualify incoming leads and referrals as soon as they begin to arrive.
As consumer interactions in business-to-business (B2B) tend to be more intimate and lasting, this is especially beneficial. This can be accomplished by getting detailed information about your referral’s business, position in the business and products. Then, you can introduce your company and explain how you can meet their needs.
You risk losing the sale and possibly losing clients who might have recommended you if your marketing team fails to correctly transfer a B2B sales lead to your sales team and sales doesn’t follow up effectively.
7. Select B2B Referral Bonuses that Inspire Your Clients
If your business provides software as a service, think about rewarding referrals with enhanced features. A free month of your application, greater storage space or premium features, for instance, are all desirable B2B referral incentives.
You can provide free tickets in exchange for a successful referral if your business hosts seminars, conferences or webinars.
You can also design your referral program as a partner program, in which other companies offer your goods as authorized resellers in return for a commission.
8. Add Some Additional Perks to Encourage Productivity
Think about providing double-sided incentives. You might provide incentives to the referred lead to encourage them to purchase in addition to recognizing your clients for their referrals.
A good example is to host a competition in which the client who makes the most profitable referrals in a given month receives a bonus.
9. Promote Your B2B Referral Programs to Increase Visibility
After spending a lot of time creating your B2B referral program, you also need to promote it.
You could, for instance, send each customer a unique email and invite them to sign up for your referral program.
Once your referral program is up and running, you can remind clients about it by using standard promotion strategies. Share it on your website, blog and your social media pages.
10. Track Your Referral Marketing Strategy
Setting specific targets and putting tracking methods in place will help you determine whether your referral program is successful by letting you know if you’re on the right track to achieving your objectives.
The following are some beneficial B2B referral program KPIs to monitor:
- Customer Participation Rate: the proportion of customers that recommend your business to others.
- Referral Conversion Rate: The proportion of referred leads that go on to purchase as compared to all referred leads.
Conclusion
We hope that this guide will assist you in smoothly launching a B2B referral program.
Without a doubt, referral marketing is the most effective strategy for expanding your company. Always remember to focus on your customers’ needs. If you successfully do that, you’ll make it simple for them to recommend you to others.