I recently had a conversation with a client about his business, his marketing plan, and his referral system. His question was: Should we work by referral only or should we consider other aspects of marketing? My answer was simple; you shouldn’t be doing anything without a plan.

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, organizations, and events to create and maintain relationships that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.Contemporary Cable Marketing (1998) by Boone and Kurtz. Dryden Press.

How does your marketing plan relate to your business plan, mission statement, or vision statement? Your company’s business plan provides the environment in which your marketing plan must thrive. The two documents must have continuity between them according to the American Marketing Association.

Within your marketing plan, you look at all aspects of how you get your message across to prospects who might need your product or service. For example, you may have advertising as one of your marketing activities. Below advertising you may have, TV, billboards, coupons, radio, Google ads, etc. For each of them, you need a budget, a timeline to implement, a system to measure results, and a target market.

Your referral system should be part of your overall Marketing Plan. Unfortunately, most people don’t have a referral plan. They could implement a rewards system for people or clients who send them referrals and stop there.

A good referral system should have a target market, an implementation schedule, a budget, a training system for your referral partners, and a system to track your results. Your referral marketing plan should be part of your overall marketing plan.

In case it’s just for reference, that’s really a question to ask yourself. There are many business professionals who are referral only, because they know they have a lot of work, a lot of good clients, and they know that referred clients have a longer lifespan, spend more money, and are more likely to recommend them to others.

• Building your referral business takes more time than money. (remember time is money) Relationships and trust take time and cannot be rushed or bought.
• Advertising, public relations, and many other forms of marketing require more money than time.
• You both need to have a plan.
• Building your brand and your business requires a combination of both.

Companies need to stop letting referrals happen by accident and look beyond the “customer referral” to develop a plan to find, train, and reward referral partners. Having a quality referral marketing plan will increase the quality and quantity of referred prospects. An organization like the Referral Institute works with businesses across the country to develop their referral marketing plan, while the American Marketing Association supports a variety of professionals who can help a business develop its marketing plan.

Whether you are a new or established business owner, make sure you have a plan and review it often.