With Internet technology, businesses can use email to grow referral business by stimulating and tracking word of mouth. The right tools and incentives make all the difference in turning customers into referral advocates through compelling messages that can be easily forwarded on to others.

A referral always begins with word-of-mouth and the Internet is the perfect breeding ground for word of mouth advertising, also known as viral marketing. Our communication has been monumentally affected by the convenience and universality of email, and a targeted consistent email campaign that includes an incentive of some kind, not only gives your customer advocates something of value to pass along, but it also gives them the vehicle with which to pass it.

Emails can be forwarded on and easily stored, able to be retrieved at a later date. And when a prospect receives a promotional email with a discount offer from a trusted source, they become a warm lead. A warm lead is 64% more likely to become a customer than a "cold" lead.

Your chances of getting business from a referral are far greater than placing an ad in a magazine or newspaper. With permission-based emails, your message can be seen and heard by potentially thousands of warm prospects that you could never get to any other way. And when you combine your referral marketing efforts with other synergistic businesses, the referral potential grows exponentially based not only on your warm contacts, but on the warm contacts of your reciprocating referral partners. Never before has there been a medium so powerful in breaking through ad clutter by electronically introducing your business to a warm market.

The best time to send your referral email, along with incentives, is after each sale and on a monthly or quarterly basis with an eNewsletter, to keep your business top of mind.

For a free download "31 tips for boosting referral business" go to www.ravebiz.com

About the author:

Diana D'Itri is the co-founder of Ravebiz, a leading referral marketing and technology company that specializes in boosting online referral lead generation through its innovative eReferral system software. Since co-founding the firm in May, 2002 with her partner, Brett Duncan, she has played an integral role in the development and implementation of the Ravebiz eReferral system for a number of industries, including mortgage, medical, and retail.