Most businesses run on client referrals from either report customers or from other businesses. When someone refers another person to your business or service, it is a testimonial to your business value and an implicit recommendation. Returning the favor or kindness with a thank you letter solidifies the relationship and encourages the person to refer even more people in the future.
A letter of thank you for the referral is a letter addressed to an individual who has recommended your business, services, or products to someone else to express your appreciation to them for being very generous and thoughtful of you.
Addressing the referral thank you letter to them is a great way to strengthen professional relationships with clients or other businesses that recommend you.
A thank you for referral note be sent in the following circumstances:
- When your current customers refer friends or family to your business.
- If a business recommends new customers to your business or their referral leads to a new contract.
Writing a Letter to Thank You for the Referral
Genuinely showing an organization or person that you recognize and appreciate their trust for your business products or services is very important in fostering new and continued business and professional relationships. These thank-you notes can encourage more business referrals in the future and may encourage valuable partnerships between your company and others.
The following key steps will help you write a great thank you for the referral note:
Check for types
If you are sending a softcopy of the letter via email, make use of the spellcheck features to ensure that your letter is correct grammatically and that there are no typing mistakes. If you decide to send it through the traditional mail, get an objective friend to review it to catch any writing errors or misspellings.
Provide a status update
When drafting the letter or email message, make sure you give the recipient of the letter a status update on your job application or offer. In addition to that, remember to genuinely thank them for the referral whether or not you have been called for the interview.
Use a clear subject line
If you opt to send the letter via email, there is no need for you to include your return address or your contact address. Instead, use a clear subject line indicating the reason for the message, followed by your name, and list your contact information below your signature.
Address your letter appropriately
Your decision on how to address the recipient of the referral thank you letter should be based on how well you feel you know the individual.
Professionally greet the recipient
Use a professional salutation and greet the recipient of the letter using their last name. By doing so, you are showing the utmost professionalism and respect to them.
Express sincere gratitude
In the first paragraph of the letter to thank you for the referral, briefly describe the nature of the referral and how it has helped boost your business. Showing how the specific referral positively impacted your business sincerely emphasizes your gratitude.
Conclude the letter
Briefly conclude your letter and consider offering a discount on future purchases for the individual or a free complementary service offer. If the referral was from another business, inform them that you are willing to return the favor with customer referrals.
Remember to include contact information
To foster a friendly business relationship, and encourage more valuable business partnerships, add your direct phone number and email address. This is very important as it can lead to more business referrals or add to your business networks.
Free Templates
Tips to Follow
Let’s take a look at a few tips that you should consider while writing a Referral Thank You Letter:
Customize the letter and be specific
A thank-you note means more when it is individualized and personal. Therefore, it is essential that you include as much relevant information about this specific interaction as possible. This applies especially when you are writing the letter using a template. Don’t leave the reader wondering if the thank you letter is addressed to them or someone else, or let them notice you edited it using a template.
Keep the thank you note brief and simple
It is very important that the letter is brief and not too wordy or too complicated. This applies to all thank you for the referral notes and letters sent via email or through any other means. Usually, online readers have short concentration spans, and they want to read through it quickly for the gist. Just keep it short and sweet using a few paragraphs of genuine gratitude.
Conclusion
A referral thank you letter is very important in every day-to-day business activity. Sending a thank you letter is a show of gratitude to someone for recommending other clientele to your business. Fostering a customer referral program is a great way to attract new customers, retain existing customers, and generate extra revenue for your business. Additionally, addressing a letter to thank you for the referral to a person who has recommended you for a job is important in that it helps you create a lasting relationship with colleagues in your industry who can really help in getting you hired in their company or other jobs.
Writing a letter to thank you for the referral to the individuals also helps them be updated on your application’s status and may make them be on the lookout for greener pastures to refer you to.