Increase Referrals for Your Shop with This Basic System

Jan. 31-Feb. 6

NETWORKING Build your business’s local presence. Join a country club or historical society. (You’ll reach community leaders.) Or sponsor a local Little League team. (You’ll reach families.) Now’s the time.

SEO The notion of creating a sea of content in the form of a company blog that Google can’t ignore may seem daunting, but it’s actually not so hard. Start with the 100 questions customers ask on a daily basis and turn them into 100 blog posts with those questions transformed into the titles. If you write two a week, that’s a whole year’s worth of fresh content.

Feb. 7-13

STRATEGY Increase your market intelligence: Ask every new client, “Why’d you leave your last graphics service provider?” At the same time, follow up on defections. A polite inquiry for clients who have decided to go elsewhere will help ensure they’re rare events.

REFERRAL SYSTEM Work on a referral system. Consider a $100 credit, for example, to every client who refers someone purchasing $1,000 of signage or sign services.

Feb. 14-20

MARKETING Share the love with your clients on Monday morning. Send chocolates to your top customers this Valentine’s Day. Inscribe the card, “We love working with you!”

CUSTOMER SERVICE A major complaint customers have about small businesses is a lack of follow-up. Create a system to let your clients know you’ll always be there for them. Marketing automation platforms can help ease the burden of personal follow-ups.