I came across an article (Amp Up Referral Business) on the “Lowe’s for Pros” site that is an appropriate follow-up to my previous post about referrals.

The money quote (emphasis is mine):

Judy Guido, president of Guido & Associates, a consulting firm that helps green-industry businesses, sees a significant boost in revenues when referral programs are implemented. “Only 2 percent in our industry have any formal way to build revenue through referrals,” Guido says. “Those that do [have a program] generate 16 to 22 percent of their revenues through referrals.”

The article lays out a very simple principle: Set up a system to ask for and track referrals .

Sounds like a pretty simple method to gain significant competitive advantage.