Nearly 85% of the families who enroll at Collegewise are referred by friends of current or former Collegewise families. When someone refers a family to us, they’re not just helping us sustain our business; they’re also putting their trust in us that we’ll take good care of their friend. That trust deserves thanks, and we try to take the time to thank every family who sends someone our way.
Thanking those who refer business to you might seem like an obvious recommendation. But my experience has been that most business don’t do it. Does your mechanic, hair stylist, dentist or accountant take the time to thank you when you send a customer their way? They should. Not with a reward like a cash referral bonus or pre-purchased gift card, but a personal, sincere expression of thanks and appreciation. It’s so easy to do and goes a long way towards keeping your happy customers talking.
Make it easy for people to tell you who referred them, and for you to track your families who talk about you the most. We ask every family who calls us how they heard about us. We ask again on our enrollment paperwork. We keep a master referral spreadsheet so we always know who’s sending business our way. This lets us check that list a couple times a year so we can go even further to thank those people who have sent us multiple families, like by giving them a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant.
Last tip: Don’t make your thanks dependent on whether or not the referred family actually enrolls. The referrer deserves thanks for trusting you even if that trust didn't ultimately led to a sale.