Is Referral Key the Next Big Thing?

As a social media strategist, I feel compelled to investigate every new service that makes its debut. More than the draw of some fun new tool to investigate, I feel like it’s part of an unwritten social media professional oath — “To serve (and protect) my clients” —  I mean, it’s what I do for a living so I figure it’s only fair that I keep a close watch on what’s going on in the social media space.

So when, in the past few weeks, my inbox started filling up with Referral Key invites, I knew I had to dig into this new business referral tool. This “fun way to help friends, build referrals, and grow your business,” promises to provide a continual stream of leads, according to a quote from The Boston Globe.

So, I signed up. And I was greeted with this message:

“Consider setting a reward that you’d be willing to pay to people who send you new business. It’s free to set and you decide when to issue the reward.”

I bypassed that for now–not even sure how the whole shebang worked, I figured I would go back to it if the “continual stream of leads” started flowing my way. Or would they if I didn’t pay for them? Hmm…

The pay-for-referral model aside, here’s where I have a problem with the way Referral Key works: I received and email with a subject line that read “Are you taking on new clients?” Wow! That was fast! This thing was way cool! Thinking that the leads were flowing already, I clicked the email with anticipation…only to read:

Hi Gwen,

 

If you’re taking on new clients, I’d like to include you in my private referral network to send you business leads through Referral Key.

Please accept my invitation below. Thanks!

John Smith
ABC Company

Now, I understand the concept –the idea is to strengthen your existing relationships by helping each other out through referrals. And I think that is one of the greatest things about being a small business owner—connecting with others and paying it forward–I’m all for it, but where I’m a little annoyed with the spammy way in which the process seems to work. Getting dozens of emails that say “Are you accepting new clients?” — which is really “join my network” —  can be a off-putting, don’t you think? I mean, who likes to get spam?

And then there’s the fact that as a Referral Key user, the emails you’re sending out –those cookie-cutter “Are you accepting new clients?” emails– are going to look suspiciously spam-like to your friends and colleagues, who may or may not have ever heard of the service. And maybe you’re okay with that, but I’m not sure it works for me.

Maybe the email is something Referral Key can fine-tune? I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt here because it seems like they are just starting to catch on. Maybe they’ll take my advice and offer a way to personalize the email — and maybe there IS a way and I’ve just completely glazed over it?

Either way, this new service is gaining traction in the professional world by offering rewards in exchange for referrals – and it’s pretty easy to get signed up. Loads of people are doing it.

For me, the jury is still out on Referral Key, as it’s still new to me. I may be singing another tune if the new clients DO start rolling in!

Share your two cents below! (and no, I’m not sending you two cents if you post a comment…)

🙂