John Jantsch - Why You Should Ask For Referrals

4 min read
Vlad Kovalskiy
March 4, 2015
Last updated: March 23, 2020
John Jantsch - Why You Should Ask For Referrals
John Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker and author of Duct Tape Marketing, Duct Tape Selling, The Commitment Engine and The Referral Engine and the founder of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network.

1. What is the biggest online marketing mistake that companies make in your opinion?

The biggest online marketing mistake a company can do is to not be present. Putting up a website and leaving it is not the way to generate traffic and leads for your organization. The key to online marketing is to be present and in the moment with your customers and future customers. As a retail company, you might be changing your offers on a daily basis, or as a marketing company you might have a blog that you keep up to date. Letting your customers know what is going on with your organization is key to gaining and maintaining customers.

2. What is the single most impactful thing companies can do to attract more clients?

Ask for referrals! If your current customers are willing to recommend your services to one of their customers or colleagues, you are able to start your relationship with that potential client one step further down the road in the “Know, Like and Trust” process. Many of your current customers are happy with your products or services, but they aren’t thinking of making recommendations. It’s your job to put yourself at the top of their mind for professional conversations.

3. Marketers like to say that technology is just a tool. But technology (think AdWords or Facebook or even email before that) can significantly change marketing landscape. Are there any emerging disruptive technologies or tools that are on your radar?

With new tools emerging in the marketplace each day, it’s safe to say that I think tools in general are changing the face of marketing. It’s never been easier to find influencers in your field, manage social media, generate content, build websites, etc. The value that tools offer gives marketing masterminds the opportunity to work with more clients and offer them more capabilities.

One specific tool to note, RivalIQ is beautifully disruptive to the marketing landscape. RivalIQ gives users access to competitor information like we’ve never had before. The type of data they offer can affect marketing strategy decisions from initial planning to day-by-day updates and adjustments.

4. Social is no longer just for customers. Companies are starting to use social collaboration platforms, private social networks, work chat, social task management, etc. inside their organizations to make faster and better decisions. Which of those tools in your experience work best for marketing teams?

Collaboration is a key benefit of social. Each team takes to different management and collaboration tools differently, but we have found that something as simple as a private Facebook group is highly effective for our network to collaborate.

5. What skills should marketers concentrate on developing in order to stay relevant in the next 5-10 years?

To stay relevant, marketers and any business leader must find, polish and stay true to their core difference. The industry is constantly changing, but you can always learn new skills and utilize other people’s skills. Unless you have something that sets you apart from your competitors, you won’t stay relevant for long.

6. What resources can you recommend to those who want to stay on top of their marketing game? Books, blogs, podcasts – anything.

I definitely recommend the Moz Blog and HubSpot as great resources for marketers. I recently read “Pop!” by Sam Horn, “Fizz – Harness the Power of Word of Mouth Marketing to Drive Brand Growth” by Ted Wright, and “Zombie Loyalists – Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans.” They were some great outside of the regular marketing box books.

Thank you for the interview.
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