Christopher Ott

As a small business owner, the last time you heard the term “bailout” you were either surfing a big wave or had a hole in your canoe. Nowadays, it feels as though the whole world is resting on the small business owner’s shoulders. As major corporations put their hands out and ask the rest of us to pick up the tab, we are reminded that we will not be afforded the same luxury. However, small business has always been able to rely on their loyal customer base to help them pick themselves up by their bootstraps. One of the advantages a small business owner will always have, is their direct interaction with their loyal clients; building loyalty that lasts through any economic climate.

Instead of dropping the fees for your services, which may cheapen the value of your brand, offer your loyal customer base an incentive to send you qualified sales leads. Given our current economic situation, customers will be more enticed by the incentive you provide, whether it’s a Starbucks gift card or dinner at a popular restaurant. Take advantage of this opportunity to generate new referrals by creating a customer promotion campaign. As was stated in a recent News.com article, “Referral business is…much more powerful than your own outbound marketing efforts, so offering incentives to current customers for recommendations is [a] way to grow.”

So create your own bailout by focusing on your most important niche; the loyal customers you already have. Small business sales leads will never come from a government mandate, but that’s okay because your loyal customers already know your good work and with a little encouragement, they will actively advocate for you.

Below is a Tutorial I Created to Show You Exactly How to Take Advantage of ReferralKey.com

Taking out a quarter page ad in your local newspaper is probably not the most cost effective way to promote your small business. This is especially true during tough economic times.

 

We all have the urge to supplement our business referrals with additional advertising efforts. Too often, small business owners mull over whether to conduct a costly ad campaign or not, but forget to leverage many free opportunities right at their fingertips.

Describing your services in a online business directory is fast, free and very effective. Consumers often search quality B2B directories when seeking a service provider. Why not leverage this traffic?

Simply find a business directory that is up-to-date and organized. Be sure to tag your business appropriately so that the right clients can find you. Potential clients are much more likely to contact you if you’re specific. For example, a personal injury attorney would be better off putting the tags; “personal injury, malpractice, compensation, legal advice” rather than trying to cover all bases with broad tags like this; “lawyer, attorney, legal”.

In our connected society, it's possible to generate greater visibility through a free business listing than paying for advertising. With a little effort and a little time, today you can list your company on a B2B Directory and promote your firm to thousands of potential clients seeking the services you provide. What do you have to lose?

 

Below is a Tutorial I Created to Show You Exactly How to Take Advantage of Our Directory

Referral Key, Inc., a leading online business networking and referral management service, today announced that it has seen a sharp increase in minority-business-owners using their service. Boston, MA (PRWEB) February 4, 2009 -- Referral Key, Inc., a leading online business referral network and referral management service, today announced a sharp increase in usage among minority members specifically minority women-entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Referral Key’s increase in minority members is in part due to their joining forces with Onyx Six, a Houston, TX based mentoring group that focuses on the development of minority women-business owners. Minority business owners turn to Onyx Six to help them develop strong professional relationships and provide a supportive referral networking community. Referral Key compliments Onyx Six by allowing their members to track, manage and increase sales leads by exchanging qualified and timely referrals with each other online. “Referral Key has been a useful tool for a wide variety of professionals and we are thrilled that many minority business owners are embracing our technology to strengthen their trusted professional relationships and drive more revenue through referrals,” said Lewis A. Weinstein, CEO of Referral Key.

"Onyx Six is committed to delivering the best resources available to our members and referrals are an essential part of any business. Referral Key is an invaluable tool for entrepreneurs and business professionals. Onyx Six is pleased to be able to offer it to our members," says co-founder and regional director Lyndsey Shaffer. About Referral Key:

Referral Key is a business networking utility that helps people manage their trusted referral relationships more effectively to increase sales, expand their professional network and differentiate themselves from their competition. Unlike other networking sites that are focused on managing a vast number of professional contacts or have an asymmetrical benefit, Referral Key is a platform that encourages referrals to drive revenue and build stronger professional relationships. Referral Key is a privately held company and is headquartered in Boston, MA. For additional information please go to www.referralkey.com

Video link: http://www.referralkey.com/tour.php

About Onyx Six: Onyx Six is committed to creating a supportive and influential community of minority business owners and professionals. Their mission is to encourage and strengthen their members’ quest to achieve financial freedom, personal wealth, and success. For more information on the services offered by Onyx Six please visit www.onyxsix.com.

Tax season is upon us and most Americans are trying to avoid procrastinating this year. At this moment, there are thousands of potential clients seeking qualified accountants for this year's tax season. Where do these potential clients find their accountants? How do you get in front of them? How about print ads? Traditional forms of advertising may occasionally be an option but remember, the results are unpredictable. This economy doesn't lend itself to costly advertising campaigns; besides, most of your clients are online anyways. What about search engines? Gone are the days of "build a website and they will come". Even a larger firm is likely to be competing with every other entity that uses "accounting" in their name or description, this will likely place your firm hundreds, if not thousands of places down in the Google search results. Considering most people never even see page two of the results, small to medium sized firms aren't likely to generate much, if any of their new business directly from a search engine placement. The Solution: A directory of qualified professionals is exactly where many people will begin their search. This is great news for your firm because unlike search engine results or paid advertising, a small business directory is unbiased to the size of your wallet or even the size of your firm. The key to attracting clients in a directory lies in describing your business in a way that fits the needs of the clients who are browsing the directory. Remember, not all directories are created equal. If the directory you are considering posting to is full of advertisements and doesn't look very organized, it's likely that potential clients will be thinking the same thing. Some directories ask you to pay in order to list your business. You may want to be skeptical of this transaction, as anyone can create a website and charge a fee to be listed on that site. The directory should look professional and have traffic. Of course, we'd suggest the Referral Key directory. Not only is it free but there are plenty of ways you can differentiate yourself from your competition right in your listing; your old referral software can't say the same. Watch this tutorial to learn how to fully take advantage of the Referral Key Business Directory:

The internet's awash with hundreds of articles written by amature bloggers which promote an ever growing list of social applications as the saving grace of the real estate world. The reason for these blogs? The blogger probably just started becoming familiar with that particular site and wanted to share their enthusiasm. There's nothing wrong with that however, just because you are a social networker and a real estate blogger, does not mean you should promote your weekend social networking exploits as the winning strategy for every struggling office out there. Blogs like Newsweek's, "Can Facebook revive the real-estate market?" really do a disservice to professionals who are unfamiliar with social applications. Social applications are great but what these articles forget to mention is that you'll probably spend hours, days or even weeks sharing photos, jokes, and links with acquaintances but no studies, professional reviews, or peers would tell you that sharing YouTube Videos, even with other professionals, on Facebook is a great use of your work day. Let's face it, real estate professionals are hungry for new business right now. Many markets have dried up, forcing professionals to consider drastic options like getting a second job or relocating. You need actual ROI to buck this economic trend and referral marketing is the way to go. Referral marketing is where the rubber meets the road and while many bloggers may use an off-handed story about how they reconnected with an old buddy on Facebook and generated a new lead, friend requests don't usually put money in the bank; qualified referrals do. Get your listings in front of potential clients seeking the service you provide by posting in logical places like an online small business directory. When you're looking to for a qualified professional, like a seasoned real estate agent to sell your home, do you go to MySpace? No, so why would anyone else! Instead of sharing dismal stories of the market with other agents on their profile page, get your head in the game and generate some referrals first.