How Can Partnership Referrals Help Expand Your VoIP Business?

You know you want to grow your VoIP business, but how do you expand in a heavily saturated market? There are already too many vendors who offer the same product or service, and you’re looking for ways to stand out. You could go the way of the gimmick, trying to draw attention with something that may or may not work. If you truly want to set your business apart from others in the market, consider improving service.

It sounds like an easy thing to do – provide the kind of service your clients want. But this is easier said than done as consumers have become pickier about what makes up the right approach to customer satisfaction. If you can’t hit on it correctly the first time, you’re more likely to be struggling to get attention and your competitor may already be a step ahead. Fortunately, business VoIP provider Nextiva published a blog recently with a little sound advice.

There’s a reason why you want to deliver great service. This not only ensures your current customers stick around; it also helps you to build out your business through the growth of referrals. Therein lies the challenge – how do you ensure good quality referrals? Your customers actually have two challenges in this process – they want you to continue to be able to serve their needs and they will want to keep the secret to themselves if it provides them with a competitive advantage.

It can be flattering when a customer is so satisfied with your service that they want to keep you all to themselves. The problem is that it can stagger your growth as new clients are essential to the healthy build-out of any business. The problem with the organic referral is that they are few and far between and by nature, inconsistent. Nextiva recommends that instead of asking for referrals that you ask for a referral to your clients’ other vendors.

This process is known as flow prospecting and once you reach out to your clients’ vendors and work with them to enhance your mutual clients’ experiences even more, you’ve built a sound reputation in the eyes of your client and their vendor, while at the same time making the vendor look better to the client. At that point, you can ask the vendor for referrals to their clients, individuals who will not only hire you, but also recommend you to their client base. You then expand your network through new partnerships.

The main concept here is that you improve the service you offer through the combination of services with a partner ecosystem, making you and your partners more valuable to your clients. It’s a great way to build your business and a solid reputation as the premier provider in your space. Whether it’s business VoIP or security resources, the service you provider should greatly exceed all others to stand out from the crowd.