1. You signed up…now what?

Simple: Follow the step by step instructions to set up your system. Live support from a human is available to help if you get stuck – just click on the chat button and let us know what support you need, and we’ll be happy to help.

Keep in mind:

There are five key behaviors to getting referral business. We have designed ReferMe IQ™ to take care of all of them for you:

  • Relationships must be asked for referrals
  • You must incent your relationships to refer
  • You must get your relationships to introduce you and share your compelling value proposition
  • You must get the referral interested in your business
  • You must create an easy path for the referral to request contact with you

With ReferMe IQ™, all five of these steps will be in place.

Here are the top three drivers that stack the odds in your favor for successful use:

  • Have the right expectations up front – commit to setting the system up properly and using it continuously. It takes time for your relationships to get in the habit of referring people to you.
  • Integrate it with your marketing plan and calendar – schedule time to use it and maintain it. It’s mostly “set and forget”, but you’ll want to keep an eye on it.
  • Don’t get discouraged if you get stuck – we are here to help! Use the website resources, and contact us for any assistance you need

2. How does this system differ from a basic email platform or CRM? 

It differs in two major ways. First, unlike other systems, our system implements the 5 key behaviors through a series of fully automated steps that creates the path to both referral generation and conversion.

Second, our systems focuses 100% on relationships, using what we know about human behavior to drive and track desired outcomes through highly personal and authentic emails and text/SMS communications. This leads to higher open rates, click through rates, engagement, and results.

3. I’m new in my business.  Is this just for an established business?

No, the personal network system helps get you off to a fast start with those you know and then the referral system runs from there. Imagine the number of people your network knows that you don’t know. If you have 300 contacts in your personal network, and each of them has 300 people in their network, that’s a 90,000 potential clients only an introduction away. ReferMe IQ’s automated referral technology system helps convert this opportunity to your customer base–automatically.

4. Where do I start?

The system will walk you through the steps to get everything set up. Initially you’ll set up your Profile and Email Configuration, then you’ll customize your content for each mailing list. Then you’ll be taken to the email message templates so you can adjust the language as you see fit, and set the schedule for how frequently you want to send your emails. Finally, you’ll import your contacts, and then you’re ready to turn it on and start sending. As always, click on the chat button to ask any questions as you go.

5. How much time will it take me to set up and maintain the system?

It generally takes about an hour for you to set up the system initially. It is designed to “set and forget” so the only time you will need to do anything else is when you want to add/subtract contacts, change settings, or modify campaigns. You may also want to make adjustments based on your conversion metrics. Once you have set up the system, we encourage you to add a sample client, referral, and personal network contact to the system, using your email address, so you can test it out and make sure everything is working smoothly. Check it out on your computer and on your phone, so you can be sure all your messages look the way you want them to.

6. My email campaigns are underway…what’s next?

Behind the scenes, your customer base and personal network have become a sales force for you — generating leads and business 24/7. Clients receive emails that motivate them to refer others. Referrals receive emails from your clients encouraging them to do business with you. Your personal network receives emails that continuously keep your business in front of them. You can also drip mail on referrals to convert them to clients. Depending on what call to action your contacts choose, you may receive phone calls, emails, or even walk in business from contacts who have interest your business.

What does it mean when my Dashboard shows that someone “Requested the referral form”?

  • When you see that someone “Requested the referral form” or “Requested the contact form”, that means they clicked on the Introduction link or Contact link, and opened up the form. If they went on to fill it out and either refer someone or request that you contact them, you’ll see a second entry telling you that. If there’s no second entry, that means they looked at the form, then closed it without doing anything else, and went on with their day. No action is required, it’s just letting you know that they were interested enough that they checked it out.

Can I send directly from my own email address?

  • If you control the domain, yes, you absolutely can. We’ll just need to send you a couple of records to add to your DNS in order to authenticate your sending. Contact us to get that information!

What happens when I add new people to the system?

  • If you’re using the “set it and forget it” sequential sending, any time a new person is added, they automatically start with the first message in the sequence and move on from there. The system keeps track of this for you, nothing you need to do to make it happen.

How do I prevent duplicate emails in the system?

  • When you import a list, any emails that are already in the system will be flagged as duplicates and will not import a second time. This prevents you having multiple emails go to the same person, and you don’t have to worry about “housecleaning” before you import, makes it very easy.

7. How do I maximize my success with this system?

First, like any effective marketing system, the best results are achieved over time. Results can vary dramatically from month to month. Here are some things you can do to stack the odds:

  • Have compelling subject lines to improve open rates. Our templates incorporate best practices.
  • Wherever possible, personalize your emails. This works fine just as it is, but when it sounds like you, it works even better.
  • Use this system to leverage other marketing investments you make. Upload your leads from all sources into the system so they can be part of the process. Just make sure that your lists are existing relationships with clean email addresses – not strangers! Leveraging existing relationships in a way that makes it easier for everyone – is the power of our system.
  • Talk to clients and customers about the system. Let them know that you are growing your business, looking for terrific clients like them, and not to keep you a secret.
  • Whenever possible, add links to value added content such as newsletters, videos, relevant articles, invitation to events, etc.
  • Follow up quickly with referrals with the method they stated they prefer
  • Have an effective approach for your call and/or email.

8. What kind of results should I expect to see?

Your results will depend on how referrable you are, the number of contact relationships you have in the system, and how long you use the system. Our system has generated thousands of referrals for our clients.

In addition, this system not only brings in new customers, but it can increase existing client activity also. Your customers may often connect with you after receiving the email, because it keeps you and your business in their thoughts.

9. What kind of tracking will I get?

You know that nice looking Dashboard you saw when you started adding in your info? That’s where the high level data shows up, letting you know what’s going on with your clients, referrals, and personal network. Keep an eye on the Dashboard to track your activity and the results you’re getting.

For more details, click on Results and then you can review specific reporting for each email campaign that is sent. Click on the Date Sent to open up all the data for a campaign, you can get all the specifics there.

If your organization has a group set up, you’ll get enterprise level reporting as well. We will continually upgrade analytics for you based on user demand to provide you the visibility to customize your system to maximize results.

10. What else do I want to know about ReferMe IQ™?

Don’t forget to check out our Resources on the ReferMe IQ™ Website (Resource Center in top navigation)…that’s where you will find all sorts of useful information…blog posts, tools you can download to enhance your business, access to our video library – all kinds of things to help you grow! Look for other communications and updates on the Website and via email.

11. What if I need help or have questions, how do I reach someone?

Easy!  Use the help button in lower right, or give us a call at 888-512-3313 – we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, and get you on your way to receiving quality referrals to grow your business.

12. Are there ways to reduce my costs by helping others?

Glad you asked! If you are a fan of ReferMe IQ™, we would love for you to refer others. That is the #1 we acquire our clients! Just click on the icon above the Dashboard tab that says, “Refer us and receive free months”. Follow the instructions to receive a free month for everyone you refer who signs up!

If you are planning to refer a lot of people, as many do, contact us to discuss the best referral partnership for you. Just click on Contact Us on Website and shoot us a note letting us know you’re interested in that, and we will get back to you.

13. What are the top mistakes that users make using the system?

The top mistake is when a user purchases the system and then does not use it.  This is like any other serious marketing system. It requires commitment to set it up, and use as intended. If you do that – this will work for you.

Another mistake we see occasionally is expecting immediate results. Though we do have users who see significant results with their first mailing, this is really an exercise of reconditioning. You are instantly re-conditioning yourself to ask for referrals and implement an effective system so no big deal there. What can take a bit more time is reconditioning your relationships to refer others. Our system accelerates the process through personalization, incentives, dripping value added content – basically helps you add continuous value, and build trust while asking in a non-threatening way consumers prefer.

Lastly, every once in a while we see users going back to old habits of unproductive “stranger marketing” and uploading lists of contacts with no relationships and bad email addresses. This can dilute results, can produce unacceptably high bounce rates and risk pausing your system. In addition, conversion is usually quite low.

Please contact us if you are thinking about uploading more than 3,000 contacts to any list or if you would like to explore using our system in ways it is not intended.

We always appreciate feedback and talking with our users to learn more about your needs. It helps us continue to evolve our platform.