Why Should You Nurture All Your Referrals?
Hi Everyone...
Today I want to discuss the power of nurturing/mentoring and what it can do for you short and long-term as an affiliate marketer...
The title of this post does not mention mentoring as the image above does, and that is with reason I added both.
Mentoring is a synonym for nurturing, but the word mentoring does not fully encompass the power of the process or the tool I feel.
Nurturing is a closer, more personal type of mentoring...
Some of the training found within the platform covers customer lifetime value and the customer lifecycle, and that kind of includes what I think when it comes to mentoring (or nurturing).
The thing is...
If you handle the mentoring tool right, and come up with a plan to provide a step-by-step set of points where you reach out to your referrals (this applies to any customer you may have for any product or service), you will earn a lot more long-term with each and as a business in general.
Let me go through some details for you so you can understand...
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Nurturing (Mentoring) Referrals – Why You Need to Incorporate It into Your Marketing
The idea of taking care of customers is not a new one and it is an approach to managing your relationships with your customers (in our case, referrals) that should visualize the entire experience a person has with you and your business from the very first contact.
You are promoting and getting paid commissions for each referral that upgrades to premium but the work does not stop once they have upgraded. Not if you want to make their experience a rewarding one and want to have them stick around for years, like I and many others have!
The Traditional Sales Approach vs A Customer Lifecycle/Nurturing/Mentoring Approach
This nurturing thinking and approach is quite different from a traditional sales funnel approach to sales. With the latter approach you get them while they have their wallet out and hit them again and again before finally getting them to the product or service they wanted.
This is closer to torture than mentoring!
This sales funnel type of marketing counts on masses of people looking at your offer and of those masses only a very few percentage actually take action/buy. This is effective but these days is an expensive proposition. Paid ads are not cheap and affiliates will want to get paid too for sending traffic to your offers.
Rather, what I am recommending is an approach that addresses your audience’s needs as they evolve and change. You have to connect with your customers and engage with them at each point in their buying journey.
In regards to Wealthy Affiliate membership...
Premium members here are buying every month and you earn a commission every month. Do the nurturing thing right and you will keep people here for much longer and you will earn a lot more.
Think about it. Adding just 3-4 months to an average time that a referral stays here as a premium member, and that is how many fewer new referrals you need to replace that commisson when the ones that are here leave...
Your cost per aquisition goes down and the lifetime value average goes up if you tap into nurturing/mentoring. Just a few months more of premium membership on average per referral can result in a 25%, 30%, or even more of an increase in the dollar value per referral.
Not only that, the ones that do stay will look to you for guidance for other tools and services, some of which you may also make a commission on (although we do not promote affiliate links directly to our referrals)...
You will also gain loyalty and establish a positive reputation, and these referrals will be advocates of you, your brand, and at the end of the day you will gain even more business from this social proof they provide.
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Why Customers Matter
As we mentioned, you want your referrals to stick around and become advocates, Did you know that the biggest advocates of you and your brand are also the biggest contributors to your bottom line?
It's true...
According to studies by RJ Metrics:
- l The most loyal 10% of any company’s audience spends 3 times as much as the entire lower 90%
- l Furthermore, the top 1% spends as much as 5 times more than the lower 90%.
Those numbers show that customer loyalty is worth its weight in gold to your business. You want these referrals to gain trust and loyalty to you and in this case, to Wealthy Affiliate.
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Further Benefits of Nurturing Your Referrals
Using the sales funnel approach I see many marketers launching products with these days, you end up spending a lot of effort qualifying leads in that bottom 90% and getting them to stick around long.
But using an active mentoriing or nurturing program, you are going to attract (and keep) more of your ideal customers who are in that 10% and 1% sector and you will earn more from them over time.
Also, think about it...
It costs you a whole lot less time, money, and energy to nurture relationships with existing customers than to go out and find new ones. Time is money, and you will gain time to do other things that you want to do over creating more sales funnels and gimmicks that may or may not work to hit that 90% that will make you less money long-term.
I think today, more than ever, marketing is all about establishing genuine relationships. People will always love interacting with their favorite tools, names, and brands. This nurturing approach is more in tune with what is working right now (and actually has worked since we humans started selling things, licit or illicit).
Nurturing/Mentoring allows you to build stronger relationships.
Using this approach cuts down on the need to hit large numbers of prospects to get the sales you are looking for, it avoids going after the "tire-kickers" out there and allows you to work with fewer people who are the serious ones that wlll stick around for the long haul because you are meeting their needs, every step of the way.
You need to be a stellar mentor to get your referrals singing your praises and bringing others into your orbit organically. More good leads from good leads will lead to more money for you in the long run. Everyone wins.
In the case of Kyle and Carson, they also win...They will have more people staying longer and their numbers will also improve. You work to get the referrals even a month or two longer as premium on average, and they are smiling and happy too right along with you!
Nurturing Should Be A Pillar For Your Building Your Business
Much as we learn here to start with the basics and go on to learn more comples tasks, I would advocate for adding this aspect of your approach to business early on, right from the start even.
This way, as your brand concept comes together, the content you create and the nurturing you practice becomes a strong selling point to prospects. They will be guided to your products and services, and get the support they are so desparately looking for as they move from a first-time buyer to a life-long buyer...
That same attention to these people will likely carry through to all you activities and in the content and marketing that you create. You become a better business as a result. That means you will do better, make more money, and help more people make money (or get what they need and are looking for)...
It helps your brand visibility, it helps you shape the content, it helps you create marketing materials and campaigns that are focused on this, and if you truly follow through at all levels and in all areas, you will have a better business.
This nurturing/mentoring is a philosophy that is easy to envision and plan for, and it can be applied to any business. Do you see this as well?
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How Nurturing Works
Overall, nurturing or mentoring is an integral piece of the Customer Lifecycle Marketing concept.
There are three stages in this simple framework as I understand and practice it in my business.
You must:
(1) Attract, then...
(2) Motivate, then...
(3) Delight!
- In the Attract stage, you will be identifying and connecting with your target audience and building awareness of your product, service, or brand.
- With the Motivate stage, you start immediately to provide helpful content to your leads and audiences, meanwhile you encourage them to make the right buying decision.
- Lastly, in the Delight stage, you will be dazzling the referral by going the extra mile to ensure they stay around for life.
This last stage is also where you can continue to support them as their needs change. They will not be beginners forever, they will grow their business and what they look to you for will not be the same things as when they started...
You need to plan for these later stages and be there for them. THAT is how they become life-long members on this platform.
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Bottom Line:
The power of nurturing or mentoring starts with realizing that the referral's journey doesn’t end when they upgrade to premium, it should be just the beginning.
Plan for and implement an effective long-term nurturing program, and you will find that you are retaining members longer...Then the REAL power of nurturing comes into play for you (and this also benefits the recipient too, by the way, this is not a one-way transaction!)...
You will be building lifetime relationships that can help you earn more and create more happy customers that are also doing better...
That is what this business is all about (NOT just making money)...I like to think of things in terms of a pie...You are sharing a piece of your pie and as opposed to there being less pie, the pie keeps growing, and this cycle repeats itself again and again and at many levels...
What say you? Are you using a mentoring program for your referrals? Is it working? What could you use to help you develop one or improve on the one you have now?
Let me know in the comments below, please, I look forward to some good input and feedback!
Cheers!
Dave : )
Recent Comments
29
Awesome post, Dave, thank you so much for the insight into a very important aspect of building long-term stability.
I know there will always be some that join but later give up after a little time, but nurturing every contact will reduce the numbers and promote the success of so many others.
Again, thanks and I hope you have a blessed week ahead.
Ray
Hello, Ray...
Yes, it can make a huge difference. Even if they do leave, there are more opportunities to interact and offer possible solutions to the referrals.
Of course, if they leave feeling that they did not get the support they expected or needed, that can have the opposite effect as well. Not only the referrer, but also the platform could be thought of in a negative manner, and you know people like to talk...
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to add your input. I really believe in nurturing and of course, I want to get better at it here and elsewhere with my online business. All these thoughts from other members help!
I wish you a blessed weekend as well!
Cheers!
Dave
Hi Dave, this is a very helpful and informative piece.
Indeed nurturing should be taken seriously.
I do have a little bitter taste about my referrer because he is not active on this platform.
But I thank God for this community because I do get lots of help, and my questions are always answered.
When I start getting referrals, I will for sure nurture them, and answer their questions, and help them in their business as much as I can.
Besides, I will be making commission from them so its only fair I help them.
Hi, Rose...
Yes, many referrals will not be as active as you are and persevere. I have no doubt that you will handle them better than you were. I had a lot of bosses that were just the worst examples of leaders...
They may have had some good points too, so I kind of took the good and the bad and tried to emulate the positive and do better on the bad stuff...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Hello Dave,
A very comprehensive, informative and impressive piece and timely too! There have been several blogs on this subject and every one of them has identified the lack of contact in very high percentages of referers who obviously believe the duty and responsibility incumbent upon them regarding their wards ends when they have been handed their commissions as they merilly skip away to attract another. It is pertinent to also note the damage of loose cannons running around and providing for unfortunate and marred experiences for other members who suffer indignaties for lack of proper introduction or instruction to the rules and ethics governing within the WA community.
I hastily add and genuinely hope this may still be contained within the minority of referers, only based on too many first hand accounts and several personal experience incidents (another occuring just this week and I've only been here a month) I sincerly hope that your well written piece is taken on board by the majority of referers;
Rami
PS The reputation of an organisation can take a long time to cement but a very short time to destroy!
Hi, Rami!
Thanks for the kind words, I do hope that a few folks here and ones that may stop by after I post this on the social platforms take this to heart, hehe...
It really benefits everyone. As an example of how this can work, I am right now on a webinar for implementing a tool we are adding to our business and this is a follow support meeting.
The people that invested in the platform were not just left to fend for themselves, rather the developers are walking us through the exact process to ensure that we all get started properly...
Another example is an automation product I just purchased for social accounts...I was unable to get in due to a problem on their side, and I showed them the exact issue...
They fixed the issue and upgraded me to the highest level of access because I took the time to record a video to show them and they were able to fix the issue immediately.
That saved them a lot of headaches...I have purchased from them before and will again. It is this level of concern and action that keeps customers coming back again and again...
I do hope that members promoting the WA program think about this...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Your welcome. when I answered I was under the impression you were under the auspices of WA your kind answer leads me to believe that you are doing this under your own auspices.
I am as you gather neither a referer or do I have anything to do with promotion developmental activities at WA so unable to help you at this stage except wish you the very best in your developmental activities.
Thank you for your time taken in reply it's much appreciated. ;
Rami.
Hi, Rami...
The info applies to other areas of the business world, these are just examples...Absolutely they apply to Wealthy Affiliate as well...
With WA using the principles and practices you can add months to the average length of time a referral stays as an active member...
The point is not just making more money though (i.e. they stay longer). It also is a matter of providing real added value to a customer (which a referral is)...
Treat them right, evolve as they do in regards to the support, and they will stay with you forever (and you both will benefit!)...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Tottally in agreement with you Dave...however as always the devil is in the detail a system is only as good as the people within it and if some people have no value base than it is the value base that requires working on. Referers are abandoning their wards so in your nurturing example there is attract but no motivation let alone delight they are leaving that for the community to eventually provide.
Anyway don't want to take up any more of your valuable time.
R.
Yeah, Rami...I do agree with you on that abandonment thing...Not good for the referral and not a good reflection on the expectation they have when signing up...
It is up to the individual, and as in Rose's case (she left a comment on her experience which was not good) and I am sure there are other cases as well...
This platform alone can provide a darn good income if people who promote and bring referrals in follow up and provide the nurturing so there is certainly the incentive to provide it...
Where the tricky part comes in is that there is no real mandate as to how much or what kind of mentoring is provided. There are some ways to leverage what is here though if desired.
Posts and training can be set to who can view them, and thinking out of the box here for a sec, why not set up a series of videos for all your referrals so they can access these in addition to the training?
This starts when they sign up, and perhaps additional modules could be added for those that upgrade, with some special recorded events on a regular basis where you collect questions and answer them (and have them available for all future referrals)...
So many ways to leverage posts that you set to referrals only viewing...Regular updates, links to tools and great posts out there from some of the smart guys and gals doing internet marketing, and, and, and...
Having written all this, I will consider doing some of these things on the platform myself. I have a separate support area for all referrals with tools, training, and materials that complement what they have here...
As we grow our business, I do see the sense in keeping things that pertain directly to Wealthy Affiliate here, and it will also help referrals knowing that they have support for WA related things here, and for the other tools on our platform...
You have inspired me to come up with better solutions, thanks and this is what I love about a serious conversation about how we can do things better. It never ends, as there are always new ways and things to try!
Cheer and enjoy your weekend!
Dave : )
Loved this piece on nurturing and mentoring. I think it's critical to do these things. I've set up a mentoring system for my WA referrals. I look at it like "what would I want as a new WA member" and try to fill in those gaps with guidance and information.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Michael
Hi, Michael!
You have it nailed I think...Referrals really do need some additional attention and when you provide it, they will not forget...
Cheers!
Dave : )
See more comments
Good afternoon Dave,
You know I have no referrals as I do not really promote WA.
I follow you completely with the nurturing principle. A newcomer to WA is like a baby that needs guidance to be able to grow. I think you are doing a good job.
Perhaps the day will come where I embark on a new adventure having a website promoting WA, but that is still in the future.
Happy Valentine.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
Good evening Taetske (and Michael)!
First of all, Happy Valentines Day! I hope the sun was shining and that you two were able to enjoy the day no matter what. It sure is the case that referrals need some hand-holding.
I have some that have a lot of experience, but lacked the opportunity, while others have the will, limited knowledge of online work, and those in-between.
Each requires different sorts of support. It is hard to do something cookie-cutter style, as that will not fit for everyone...I do know I have a long way to go to get where I want to be, but thanks for the positive feedback...
It is almost 11:30 PM, so heading to get some shut-eye, I have an early morning (0300 am)...In the old days, I could do without sleep, nowadays - nope!
Cheers!
Dave : )
But Dave, 03.00 am is unhealthy and not in tune with your biorhythm.
Hasta Manana, Taetske