Why is it so important to build your online marketing through social networks? According to the New York Times, 65% of new business comes from referrals. The lifetime value of a referred customer is 16% greater than a non-referred customer, writes the Wharton School of Business. “People trust friends and family more than virtually any other information source, and pay 2x more attention to recommendations that come from friends than other sources.” Also cited in that same study, “83% of satisfied customers are willing to refer products and services. But only 29% actually do.”
You have an untapped network of potetial customers just waiting to purchase your product or service, but the only way they will realize you exist is from a friend. If you consider your current customers friends, as I do, then you have a tremendous opportunity to grow your business at very little cost to you.
Yes, it takes time to keep up with blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Time passes quickly and before you know it you’ve lost touch with those very valuable sources of new business. Let me encourage you to take the time. Invest in each and every relationship you have, or have had. As the saying goes, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.”