Spark an Idea that Shows Appreciation: The Recommendation “Pyramid Scheme”

Welcome to Spark an Idea Thursday.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

Most freelancers know that making clients happy is just plain good business sense. Happier clients return for more business, they don’t baulk when you tell them your prices, and they recommend you to other professionals in need of similar services.

While this idea is something many of us incorporate into our business practices on a regular basis, I was a bit overwhelmed recently by just how productive word-of-mouth and recommendations can be. It started with a single client I picked up through Guru.com, of all places. He ordered a bundle of SEO articles – pretty standard stuff done at pretty standard prices. The work exceeded his expectations, and not only did he order more articles, but he also recommended me to a friend of his in need of web content.

Here’s where the “pyramid” came in. His friend then recommended me to two more people, who, in turn, recommended me to two more of their own. Needless to say, it was a pretty busy few weeks during that time, and many of them are now regular clients. Good stuff, all around.

This type of experience is one that we find to be the most effective type of marketing there is. It costs us nothing more than our standard good work, and takes no more time than a few extra minutes on the phone call to exchange pleasantries.

That’s why, when we work with particularly good clients or merchants, Lorna and I like to return the favor. We’ve been known to plug everyone from our VA to our web designer here on the blog, and we’ve also recommended those whose work we really enjoy. In fact, we sometimes consider ourselves “experts” when it comes to choosing another freelancer for any sort of business needs; because we have so many contacts gained through our social media outreach practices and because we commonly use freelancers (especially smaller, WAHM ones), we know who’s good at what and what kind of prices they charge.

While I haven’t tracked the results of our recommendations to see if the pyramid idea holds as strong for others, I do like to think that a kind word of praise here or there results in more business for our peers. It’s the least we can do for a community that has been so integral in our own success as a freelance writing company.