Truman TangSenior Advocate Marketer, Influitive@trumantang @influitive

New Research: How To Raise Your

Referral GameMatt HeinzPresident, Heinz Marketing Inc@heinzmarketing

HousekeepingJoin the conversation on Twitter!@heinzmarketing@trumantang @influitive#advocatemktg

Questions welcome!

The slides will be emailed to you after the webinar.

The full research report will be available in late November.

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Last slide first• Referrals are awesome

• They close faster, at a higher rate, and with more lifetime value than other leads

• Formal referral programs are key to:• Greater lead volume• Lower marketing costs• Better sales forecasts

• Marketing-driven referral programs are key• Best-in-class companies let sales sell; marketing drives

referral strategy & execution

Survey details• More than 640 respondents• B2B sales, marketing and executive leaders• Variety of industries and company sizes

Highlights• Only 30% of companies have a formalized referral

program• Companies with referral programs:

• 40% of leads come from referrals• 2X increase in referral lead volume over 12 months• 69% report faster time to close• 59% report higher lifetime value• 71% report higher conversion rates

Referral programs = greater sales/marketing effectiveness

Two keys to higher performance• Marketing manages the program

• 3X more likely to achieve 2015 revenue goals

• Formal tools are in place• 3X more likely to accelerate creation and conversion

Only 22 percent of companies have these in place!

Companies with formal referral programs come out on top:

From the front lines…• 56 percent of sales reps deem referrals “very

important”• 68 percent of reps with formal referral programs

rated their referral tools as effective or highly effective

• Vs 40 percent of those without formal programs

• 45 percent of reps with a referral program expect their closed deals to increase in the next 12 months

• 47 percent of those without a referral program expect their sales to remain flat

The impact for larger companiesAmong companies with 200+ employees:

Foundational elements1. Community2. Customer Channels3. Content4. Context5. Collaboration (between sales & marketing)6. Infrastructure

Referrals aren’t passiveBe proactive: don’t wait for referrals to come to you!1.Sales – Ask every prospect2.Marketing – Nurture customers toward referrals through smaller requests3.Both – Make it fun, easy and transparent4.Both – Connect advocates directly with prospects in their network

Fun referral contests

Going, Going, Gone! How We Auctioned Our Way to 26 Hot Customer Referrals

How We Got Our Advocates Fired Up To Send Us 20 Referrals In 1 Hour

Marketo success story coming soon!

Success stories

Last slide last• Referrals are awesome

• They close faster, at a higher rate, and with more lifetime value than other leads

• Formal referral programs are key to:• Greater lead volume• Lower marketing costs• Better sales forecasts

• Marketing-driven referral programs are key• Best-in-class companies let sales sell; marketing drives

referral strategy & execution

Your homework…1. How does YOUR company generate and manage

referrals today?2. What is your 2016 referral strategy?3. Who will own it and execute it?4. How will you manage and measure it?

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Thank you!Questions?matt@heinzmarketing.comtruman@influitive.com

The slides will be emailed to you after the webinar.

The full research report will be available in late November.

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