What Can My Referrals Tell Me About My Brand Positioning?

Your referrals can show you how clearly people understand what your business is known for, among other things.

If the referrals you’re getting closely match the clients whom you most want to attract, then your brand positioning is likely coming through clearly.

But if people refer clients to you for work you’ve moved away from, refer clients who aren’t a good fit, or describe your business in ways that no longer reflect where you’re headed, that can signal a positioning disconnect.

In any case, the language clients use also shows what they remember and value most about working with you, while the referral itself reflects how confident they are that others will receive the same level of expertise and care.

Key Takeaways:

• Clear brand positioning makes it easier for clients to know when to refer.
• Your website and marketing should reinforce the expectations created by a referral.
• Business referrals can reveal how people actually understand and remember your brand.
• The way clients describe you offers useful insight into what they value most about working with you.
• The quality of your referrals can show whether your positioning reflects where your business is headed.

If you’ve been in business for a while, there’s a good chance that referrals already play an important role in how new clients find you.

Most business owners see that as a good sign, and of course, it is.

A referral usually means someone had a positive enough experience with your business that they were willing to recommend you to someone else.

But there’s another side to referrals that I think gets overlooked.

Your business referrals can tell you a lot about how people actually understand your brand.

They can reveal what clients remember about working with you, what they believe you’re especially good at, what kind of problems they associate with your name, and whether you’re actually occupying the position you want to own in the marketplace.

And that makes referrals more than just a source of new business, as they can also become a useful form of feedback about your brand positioning.

Why a Referral Carries So Much Weight

Think about what happens when someone refers your business to a friend, colleague, client, or family member.

They’re doing more than just passing along your contact information.

They’re actually putting a little bit of their own reputation behind that recommendation.

For me, if I tell someone, “You should talk to this person. I think they can help you,” I’m taking some responsibility for that introduction, and I’m trusting that the experience will be good enough that the person I referred will not come back wondering why I sent them there.

That confidence has to come from somewhere.

And it usually grows from the experience someone had with your business over time.

Did you do what you said you would do? Were you responsive? Did they feel heard? Did the quality of your work match what they expected? And did the experience feel consistent with how you presented yourself before they became a client?

These things are incredibly important because trust is built through many small moments.

You can have strong messaging and a polished website, but if the experience you provide to clients doesn’t support the expectations you created, then referrals become much harder to earn.

Clear Brand Positioning Makes You Easier to Refer

Despite what you might think, a happy client isn’t automatically an effective referral source.

Someone may think very highly of you but still have trouble explaining what you’re best known for.

And this is where brand positioning becomes increasingly important.

Clear positioning gives people a stronger mental picture of where you fit, and it helps them understand whom you’re best suited to help, what kind of problem should make them think of you, and why your approach is worth recommending.

For example, there’s a big difference between someone saying, “I know a marketing person you can call,” and saying, “I know someone who helps businesses clarify their brand positioning, so their marketing works better.”

The second introduction gives the person much more context and credibility.

And it also gives the person making the referral a clearer reason to think of you in the first place.

In any case, if your positioning is broad or vague, clients may remember that you “do a lot of things” without being able to connect you to a specific need.

But clear positioning makes it easier for them to make that connection and refer someone to you.

The Type of Business Referrals You Receive Reveals How People See You

One of the most useful things you can do is stop looking only at how many referrals you receive and start paying attention to what those referrals are actually for. Ask yourself:

• Are people referring the kinds of clients whom I most want to work with?
• Are they referring me for the work I want to become better known for?
• Are they introducing me to provide a service I hardly offer anymore?

I see this often with established businesses that have evolved over time.

The owner has become more experienced, their services have changed, their pricing may have increased, and their ideal client has become more specific.

So, they may now be doing more strategic work than they did several years ago.

But people still describe the business based on what it used to be known for.

That doesn’t necessarily mean those referrals are bad. What it means is that there’s probably a positioning issue somewhere.

But when your business referrals begin to reflect the expertise, approach, and type of client you want to be known for, that’s a strong sign that your positioning is becoming clearer.

Listen to How Clients Describe You

You should pay attention to the wording people use when they introduce you, as this is one of the easiest ways to hear your positioning reflected back to you.

When this happens, you should take a moment to ask yourself a few questions, like:

• What do they remember most?
• What problem do they believe I solve?
• What do they say I’m especially good at?
• What did they tell the other person about why they should speak with me?

Clients aren’t going to repeat your formal positioning statement word for word, and they shouldn’t have to.

The real test is whether the meaning underneath your positioning is clear enough that someone else can explain it in their own language.

Sometimes that can be surprisingly revealing.

You may think clients value one part of your work most yet discover that they consistently talk about something else.

You may want to be known for strategic thinking, while clients keep describing you mainly as dependable.

You may think your strongest differentiator is your process, while clients talk most about how understood they felt.

None of this is necessarily a problem.

The important question here is whether what people remember supports the position you’re trying to build.

Because even if it doesn’t, it’ll provide useful information about what may need to be clarified when it comes to your brand positioning.

The Referral Is Only the Beginning of the Buying Decision

A referral can open the door, but it rarely closes the sale by itself.

Most people will still do some research before reaching out.

They may visit your website, look you up on LinkedIn, read your reviews, scroll through your social media, read an article, or compare you with other options.

That means the rest of your marketing still has a job to do, and ideally, it should confirm what the person has already heard.

For instance, if someone was told you specialize in a particular area, but your website makes you look like a generalist, they now have two different impressions to sort through.

And this is why I don’t see referrals as something separate from your marketing.

They’re part of the same ecosystem.

The recommendation creates an initial layer of trust and then your website, content, social presence, and other touchpoints either reinforce that trust or weaken it.

But when everything is aligned, then the person being referred feels reassured that they’ve landed in the right place.

What eVision Media’s Referrals Have Taught Me

Referrals have played a major role in eVision Media’s growth from the beginning.

For most of our history, the vast majority of our business has come through word of mouth.

But I’ve always seen that as something we need to earn.

If we tell a client we’re going to do something, we take that seriously. If someone trusts us with their business, I understand the responsibility that comes with that. And if a client introduces us to someone they know, I want that person to receive the same level of care and professionalism the original client experienced.

And when it comes to our marketing, that consistency means everything.

It gives clients a reason to feel comfortable recommending us because they have confidence in what will happen after the introduction.

What’s more, it’s also reinforced something I believe strongly about brand positioning.

What you say you stand for and what people experience need to match.

Your values cannot live only on an About page. And your brand promise cannot exist only in your marketing copy.

People need to experience those things in the way you communicate, the way you deliver your work, the way you solve problems, and the way you follow through.

That’s what makes a referral feel safe to give.

Your Referrals Offer Feedback About Your Brand

The next time someone refers a new client to you, you should pay attention to more than the introduction itself.

Listen to how they describe you, notice what kind of person they’re sending your way, look at what service or problem they associate with you, and then ask yourself whether that matches where you want your business to go.

All things considered, your business referrals give you something your marketing can’t fully provide. They show you how another person has interpreted your brand, remembered your value, and explained your relevance to someone else.

And that is extremely valuable information.

At the end of the day, if the referrals you receive consistently match the clients, expertise, and work you want to be known for, then your positioning is probably becoming easier for people to understand and repeat.

But if they don’t, then there may be something worth revisiting.

You may need to clarify your message, update how your business is presented online, or make your strongest area of expertise more visible.

And you may discover that clients are already seeing something in your business that deserves more attention than you’ve been giving it.

Either way, your referrals are telling you something.

The question is, are you listening closely enough to hear it?

Are your referrals reflecting what you want your business to be known for?

Book a free consultation and let’s look at whether your brand positioning and marketing are giving people a clear reason to understand, remember, and recommend your business.

To your business success,
Susan Friesen

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About the Author, Susan Friesen

Located in the lower mainland of B.C., Susan Friesen is a visionary brand strategist, entrepreneur, and founder of British Columbia’s premiere boutique web development and digital marketing agency, eVision Media.

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she is an expert in helping businesses establish their online presence and create a strong brand identity.

Her passion for empowering entrepreneurs and small business owners to succeed in the digital world has earned her a reputation as a leading authority in the branding and marketing industry.

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