Referrals: Let's work this together!

[Susan Gittlen MCPF]

A month or so ago, I sold an unframed print to somebody who had just moved across the country to San Diego. It was a Phillies print, so of course I wanted to make sure that it would look amazing. Knowing that Rob Markoff was in San Diego, I included Rob's name and contact info. The very day the customer got the print, he was off to Rob's shop. :thumb: I was happy to give Rob a new customer that I could not service from the other side of the country.

Yesterday I got a new customer from a referral from Alan Abeyta in the Phoenix area. This one referral paid for my PPFA membership! :smile-new: How cool is that? Thanks, Alan!

Many of us send out unframed prints from selling online through our websites, Ebay.... Are we going the extra mile to give a referral along with every print? With unframed items that I ship out, I will try to give a recommendation of a framer. When I hear of a customer moving, I will try to steer them in the right direction for a PPFA framer. www.findapictureframer.com is a handy tool that we can use for our customers to give that referral. Perhaps we should print out the page from a search and include it with the package.

If we all started to do this with every out of area sale, maybe we could give our members some LOVE?

 

[Gregory K. Norris CPF]

Gosh, Susan, if I start counting the referrals I get then I am way ahead before I count discounts or anything else. I had one job two years ago from GA that made enough pure profit to pay my dues for 5 years....at full price, which is nearly twice the number some folks have been throwing around lately.

I don't sell prints, but because I am in a university town some of my best customers are mobile, so I do make referrals to customers who are moving away. I start with framers I know personally, then if no one is near use Find A Framer to find members. I will admit that if I have any doubts I look for MCPF's and CPF's.

And I have a customer who moved to a major city but sends me things 2-3 times a year because she can't find a CPF or a PPFA member near where she lives.

Maybe we should formalize this. I'm going to add it to the membership committee's list of things to explore this year.

 

[Harry Gaston MCPF]

This is definitely a underutilized opportunity for all of us. I know I have been on the receiving end of some great opportunities and have sent more than one customer to a fellow PPFA member. The largest single order I have had ever came as a result of a referral from a fellow PPFA member. I think I sent the lovely Meg McMillan someone one time. I think it was Meg. Because I offer printing I am occasionally printing things that get shipped elsewhere. I always suggest they find a PPFA framer when they or whoever they are sending it to are ready to do something with it. I really should identify a particular person or shop. I do when I know someone, but it would only take a minute to find them someone specific.

Maybe we need a referral system that we could all use. A card or sheet of paper we could print a quick copy of and write the referred member's info down on and include in "the tube".

Would be a great service to offer our customers and we could help each other out in the process. All the while increasing awareness of the PPFA!

Sounds like a no brainer.

In fact, I am going to work on this.

Stay tuned....

 

[Gregory K. Norris CPF]

I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I think once the Coulter folks work on the database, it will be a simple matter to search an area and produce a list of framers. I visualize being able to click something and print out a referral with some descriptions of PPFA and maybe directions to the member shop. Then it would be a matter of including it with your print or handing it to your customer...emailing or USPSing if it is happening over the phone.

We have the technology.....wonder what a 6 million dollar man costs these days?

 

[Ormond Williams MCPF]

This should be promoted as another benefit of membership!

 

[Harry Gaston MCPF]

I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I think once the Coulter folks work on the database, it will be a simple matter to search an area and produce a list of framers. I visualize being able to click something and print out a referral with some descriptions of PPFA and maybe directions to the member shop. Then it would be a matter of including it with your print or handing it to your customer...emailing or USPSing if it is happening over the phone.

Dare to dream!

 

[Harry Gaston MCPF]

This should be promoted as another benefit of membership!

Another one of those quiet benefits that is hard to measure and in and of itself may not make you rich, but it should be easy enough to do.

 

[Mira Bishop]

I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I think once the Coulter folks work on the database, it will be a simple matter to search an area and produce a list of framers. I visualize being able to click something and print out a referral with some descriptions of PPFA and maybe directions to the member shop. Then it would be a matter of including it with your print or handing it to your customer...emailing or USPSing if it is happening over the phone.

Our British friends have very nice and useful search:
http://fineart.co.uk/directory/CategoryAndPostcode.aspx

 

[Susan Gittlen MCPF]

Yes, Mira, the Fine Art Trade Guild has some amazing stuff. I compare their website to ours and wow, they look amazing! Also their publication rocks. Maybe we can learn a few things from them?

I would love to have a form to print out from the findaframer site with recommendations. Also it would be nice to email names as well. Something pleasing to the eye with the PPFA logo would be great.

There are some of us that have online stores that ship out regularly. Not me so much, but if we could get those folks on board, it would be a big help.

 

[Russ Wood]

Susan, thanks for the reminder.

Sometimes I am remiss in suggesting framers when I send matted vintage or antique prints to other parts of the country. I will try do do a better job!

 

[Mo Elyas]

Hi, I'm a very new member to PPFA and this site. Susan's idea is great. I have customers moving all the time. In fact one stat had 22% of people who lived in my zip code moving every year.
I have the tech expertise and love to help out in this situation if needed. I want to make sure I'm not stepping on anyone's toes though.

 

[Randy Parrish CPF]

I do this all the time, I believe this benefit would be filed under networking with other like minded PROFESSIONALS.

 

[Lauren Rosenthal]

I am SO glad you mentioned this, Sue! I ship k'tubot all over the country during the wedding season (April - November) and I include a note with framing instructions, however I never thought to recommend specific framers. I LOVE this idea and I'm going to put it into action this season. I have a couple of k'tubot going out in the next few weeks...

 

[Randy Parrish CPF]

Wasn't there an experiment several years ago for putting reciprocal website links on frame shops around the country, to raise SEO factors? Was that Mike Labbe?

 

[Susan Gittlen MCPF]

Great Lauren! A referral for framing a Ketubah is important. Some newlyweds might not be familiar with custom framing, and might need some guidance. The same goes with Quaker marriage certificates. Also a Ketubah needs a bit of preparation before the ceremony, with options of foam core backing, a mat, acetate to protect or sometimes even a frame.

I wish that there was some way that PPFA could hook up with Ketubah.com so that when sending out a ketubah, they would mention PPFA or findapictureframer.com. Sad to say, Ketubah.com is out of Toronto, and PPFA is pretty scarce around there. It seems as if weddings have been on the rise and I have been framing more ketubot than in a long time. I realize that ketubah framing may be more frequent in some areas than others. To me, getting a Ketubah in to frame, is a chance to sell some really nice framing. :smile-new:

 

[Cliff Wilson MCPF]

Wasn't there an experiment several years ago for putting reciprocal website links on frame shops around the country, to raise SEO factors? Was that Mike Labbe?

I was part of that effort. It worked, but quickly became unwieldy.
People went out of business, changed URLs and other stuff that made it hard to keep up.
Plus, I believe that search engines discount that now and look for pages with too much link density and discount it.

Hard to know what to do, but something seems like a good idea?

 

[Gregory K. Norris CPF]

A fillable PDF where you could put in the contact info of the framer(s) you were referring to, the customer info, etc., with a copy emailed to the framer(s), then a statement about PPFA, Certification, & how to use FAPF and a link...and if we ever get it, link to the PPFA website consumer page. A simple way of tracking the referrals so we know how many happen and can assess whether it is effective. A little creative graphic work. Not that hard under normal circumstances....

 

[Randy Parrish CPF]

When I refer people I do a FAPF search and copy and paste the info into Word and print it for them. I might then recommend someone in particular or not.

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Parrish, Randy CPF Randy Parrish Fine Framing Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2246 Business: Picture Framer with Art Sales more info...	Dunne, Debra CPF Knollwood Art Frames Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-1304 Business: Picture Framer Retailer more info...
Park West Gallery Southfield, MI 48034-1054 Business: Picture Framer Retailer more info...	Gulf, Robert CPF Knollwood Art Frames Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-1304 Business: Picture Framer Retailer more info...
Bowe, Mary CPF Saline Picture Frame Co Saline, MI 48176-1010 Business: Picture Framer Retailer more info...	Pumo, Ken CPF Frames Unlimited Inc Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-3012 Business: Picture Framer Retailer more info...
Bowe, Peter CPF Saline Picture Frame Co Saline, MI 48176-1010 Business: Picture Framer Retailer more info...	Main Street Art Milford, MI 48381-1958 Business: Picture Framer Retailer more info...

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[Susan Gittlen MCPF]

Randy,
Would it be helpful to have an address when you do the "Finda" search? You have to click one more button to get an address. Why not try to make it as easy as possible for the one searching?
Susan