The referral email template you need for viral client growth

As a service business, you live for solving problems. That’s the whole reason you do what you do. Luckily, many people face the same problems and have the same questions, which means the solution you present to one person will likely also work for another.

Use this to your advantage by encouraging your happy clients to refer their friends, family members and other acquaintances to use your service. You can do with with very little effort just by sending out a referral email which encourages your current current clients to refer people to your business.

Many companies don’t even stop with clients, encouraging warm connections across the industry to refer their friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Clients are more likely to refer as they have firsthand knowledge of your work ethic and standards, but other connections can be just as powerful.

Keep reading for our top referral tips and the only client referral template you’ll ever need:

Before you start asking for referrals, check the following items to make sure you’re ready:

There’s no point asking for referrals if you don’t have the time to onboard new clients. Check your workload and make sure you’re ready for an influx of new interest.

There’s no point asking for referrals from clients who aren’t happy with your work. Before starting to actively look for referrals from clients, consider if you’re providing the best possible service. After all, you want your clients to be able to say with complete honesty that you’re world-class!

Make sure you have a smooth client onboarding process, that you’re providing the service you promised on time and on budget, and that clients have an open two-way communication channel where they feel comfortable asking questions and getting honest feedback.

It’s a good idea to first identify the clients who’ve had positive experiences with you so you can focus your referral campaign on them. These clients are much more likely to take the time to make referrals.

You can use tools like Ask Nicely or Delighted to find out which clients would make the best referrals and reach out to them. They use a system called NPS which stands for Net Promoter Score. If a client rates you a 9 or 10, they’re considered a ‘promoter’ and are likely to refer clients to your business.

Some businesses use an incentive to further encourage satisfied customers to refer to their networks. Incentives work well in the B2C space, and in B2B businesses they can be effective if they provide tangible value to the business or an interesting reward for the individual. For example, 5% off your bill for every customer you referral, or a $50 Amazon voucher.

Make sure any incentives provided are easy to understand, monitor, and implement. Keep your referral program as simple as possible, and remember that people will often do things just because you ask, so there’s no need to go overboard with fancy swag or discounts unless you’re testing if it will dramatically increase referrals.

Now you know you want more referrals, you need to write a killer email to send to the current clients you identified. We’ve created this template below to help:

This template follows the formula outlined by ReferralCandy, who are experts in the business of customer and client referrals. It:

• Incorporates a clear subject line that’s impossible to ignore. (A 2011 Aweber study found that clear subject lines are opened 541% more than one that’s “clever”).
• Speaks directly to the client as a personal email.
• Contains simple messaging that explains what you’re asking for in plain language.
• Highlights the benefits both for your client and their friend.
• Includes any additional conditions.

Business coach George Kao also recommends listing key characteristics of the clients you’re looking for, or the key problems your clients usually want help with. We’ve included these in our email template.

You’ve sent out your email, and a couple of clients have responded with referrals. You contact those referrals and start the process of transforming them into warm leads. What should you do next?

Sometimes clients simply send you a list of people to contact who might be interested, which isn’t exactly what you’re looking for. Return your client’s email or call and thank them profusely, then ask for a proper introduction. Explain that people trust referrals when they come with an introduction.

Luke Severn at Kaufer DMC has some great advice for when clients give you referrals without an introduction.

If you close a client’s referral, send your client a thank you note and gift. You can do this even if you’ve included an incentive as part of your referral program. This shows your client how much you appreciate their time and recommendation, and they’ll be much more likely to give you a referral in the future.

You’ve now got an additional responsibility on your plate – your client has staked their reputation on their referral, so you’d better prove them right by providing world-class service to your new client. It shouldn’t be hard for you, since you’re already awesome.

If you’re in a position where you’re actively seeking new clients, sending a referral request email to your top clients can be an inexpensive and quick way to close several deals. Be genuine, keep it simple, and follow the advice in this article, and you’ll see stunning results.