Small Business Marketing Ideas: Start a Referral Program.

A customer referral is highly valuable because it doesn't cost you much -- if anything -- to acquire them.

If you want to develop a larger following quickly, you might want to look into referral marketing. Referral marketing is the method of promoting products or services to new customers through existing customer referrals, usually word of mouth. Such referrals often happen spontaneously but businesses can influence this through appropriate strategies.

Referral marketing is especially critical to use since 92% of people trust personal recommendations more than all other forms of marketing. You want to get your customers excited to share the news of your business with their friends and promote it heavily.

To do this, you need to start by setting your goals.

1. List possible customer referral sources.

2. Make a plan to reach out.

3. Identify your referral incentives.

4. Create resources to alert your customers.

5. Set up tracking.

6. Say "Thank You."

Some incentive ideas include:

1. Contests or Giveaways

2. Social Gifting

3. Fundraisers

4. Customer Loyalty Tiers

5. Seasonal Campaigns

6. Exclusive Events

7. Referral Discounts

Referral marketing is a great way to build a viral interest in what you have to offer.