Courtesy: Tonefest

I’ve written before about the power of people when they love your company and your brand. The emotional connection and the loyalty people have when that happens is immeasurable.

Have you ever thought about giving your fans something that they, in turn, can give out to their friends and colleagues?

An example of this that I recently experienced was for the local YMCA of all places. I am a regular cyclist on the local bike path. Those of you who ride or walk on community paths probably experience the same thing that I do – you see the same people regularly, and even if you don’t really know them you will nod, wave or say hello.

A man who I see regularly on the bike path recently struck up a conversation with me as we were riding. I learned that he is a member of the local YMCA and is an enthusiast there. The conversation could have ended comparing notes, but he had several one-day passes to the Y in his wallet, and gave me one so that I could check it out. This was after he learned that I lived near the Y and had never gone there. Needless to say, I have since attended a class at the Y, using the pass he gave me, and I am getting ready to become a member.

This effort did not cost the YMCA much money, and having a brand enthusiast cycling around, obviously fit, and talking about the Y is an excellent endorsement for it. You can think about doing something like this for your business, no matter what it is. Can you give some nominal gift cards to your loyal customers for them to share with friends? Can you allow your fans to have extra tickets to performances if you run a theater or movie house? What about a free dessert or drink at your restaurant?

Some companies reward the fans who bring in others also. This gets a bit more complicated, but if you can easily track the source of the new traffic into your establishment (be it real or virtual) you can offer your loyal referral customers more rewards to maintain their loyalty.

This is not for everyone, but the YMCA experience really had me thinking about the power of the referral, and making it easy to try out. What do you think? Have you tried it, and if so, what were your results? I would love to hear from you.

Here’s another article about referrals you might like: http://www.futuresimple.com/blog/3-ways-to-promote-customer-referrals/