Your past clients are your secret sales weapon — use them!
Hi y’all,
This week, I’m handing over the mic to Reiland Brown, our Social Media Manager and the force behind our new Referral & Ambassador Programs.
She’s been working to unlock the networks of Goodshuffle Pro users, so we can turn the event pros who already know and trust us into lifelong advocates who level up their communities. Her take on referrals is about strategy, not luck, and I think you’ll love her no-BS approach to making word-of-mouth actually work for your business.
See you next Monday,
Mallory Mullen
Goodshuffle
Hey!
Your past clients are your best salespeople. But when was the last time you asked them to help grow your business?
Based on my work on Goodshuffle Pro’s Referral & Ambassador Programs, I’ve found the best marketing isn’t some fancy campaign or perfect Instagram grid. It’s your customers going out and marketing for you.
Think about it: they’re riding high after an amazing experience with you, on cloud nine, and then all too often, that moment slips away.
You have to make it ridiculously easy for people to share right when they’re riding high after an amazing experience. We took that to heart when designing our Referral & Ambassador Programs — we made it easy to share by setting up personalized referral links that live within Goodshuffle Pro and creating a content toolkit to make social media posting easy. Now, we’re capturing the energy of a great software experience instead of letting the moment pass.
What if you made it ridiculously easy for your clients to share too? Send a thoughtful follow-up email that reflects how much their event meant to you. Share photos from their event on your social media and tag them, so they’ll naturally engage with you. Make them feel like they’re part of what you’re building, not just a transaction.
The event industry thrives on that trust and connection — and your clients are all potential advocates who can help your business grow. But they need to feel valued. So share that behind-the-scenes content. Call out why you loved working with them on a specific event. Make it personal.
Make sure that authenticity transcends into your social media presence, too. Last week, I reprioritized engaging with the events community — liking our users’ posts, commenting, reposting their wins. In return I started getting more comments on our posts, plus DMs from users saying how much they appreciated the love. It’s a two-way street. You can’t expect people to shout you out if you’re not reciprocating that energy.
If you’re thinking of referrals as something that just happens, it’s time to shift your mindset. Start thinking of them as relationships you’re actively nurturing. Because when you make it so your clients feel like they’re part of your story, they’ll naturally want to spread the word about your services.
Cheers,
Reiland Brown
Goodshuffle
P.S. We put together a blog post that gives step-by-step instructions on how to get more referrals from your customers — check it out here!
