The customer who recommends you for the wrong thing entirely

4 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Introduction

Referrals arrive for work you do not do, or for jobs far outside the size you handle, or from people whose situation you cannot help with. The advocate was being generous and the result is a series of conversations that end in a polite no, plus a slightly embarrassed relationship on both sides.

This is a description problem rather than a customer problem. People pass on the version of your business they hold in their head, which was assembled from one job and whatever you happened to mention. If that version is inaccurate, every referral inherits the inaccuracy.

Correcting it is worth doing, because misdirected advocacy wastes goodwill that is difficult to replace.

1. The customer who recommends you for the wrong thing is repeating what they were told

The diagnosis.

The mismatch almost always traces to your own description rather than their carelessness. Look at what you say before addressing what they say. This is uncomfortable and usually correct. Read your own material as a stranger would.

2. Being known for one job is the commonest cause

The specific mechanism.

A customer who bought one thing assumes that is what you do, and passes that on. If you offer more, they will not mention it. If you offer less, they may over-extend it. Both errors come from the same silence.

3. Say what you do not do

The overlooked half.

Stating the boundary plainly is as useful as stating the offer, and almost nobody does it. It prevents more wasted conversations than any positive description. One sentence is enough. Say who you would send them to instead.

4. Give the size range

The scale question.

Referrals for jobs ten times larger or smaller than you handle are common and entirely preventable. Say what a typical job looks like. People will apply it accurately. A range is easier to remember than a figure.

5. Name the customer type

The qualifying detail.

Who you work with is as important as what you do, and it does most of the filtering. Include it in the sentence you give people. It improves referral quality immediately. Two or three words will do.

6. Correct it gently when it happens

The recovery.

Thank the person, explain what would fit better, and ask them to keep you in mind for that. Criticism of the referral ends the channel. The correction should be framed as information. Thank them first and correct second.

7. Refer it onward if you can

The professional response.

Passing the enquiry to somebody appropriate protects the advocate's reputation and yours. It also builds a useful relationship with the other business. Nobody loses. Ask them to do the same for you.

8. Track what wrong referrals have in common

The pattern.

If several people misdescribe you the same way, the fault is in your own material. That pattern is diagnostic. Fix the source rather than the individual case.

9. Restate periodically

The maintenance.

Descriptions decay and businesses change, so what somebody knew two years ago may no longer be right. A brief update in your annual contact handles it. Do not assume the sentence you gave them once has survived.

Be careful about correcting an advocate in a way that discourages them. The person went to some trouble on your behalf, and a response that emphasises the mismatch rather than the appreciation will reliably produce no further introductions.

Conclusion

Treat misdirected referrals as evidence that your description needs work.

Recognise that people repeat what they were told, state plainly what you do not do as well as what you do, give the typical size of job and the type of customer you serve, correct mistakes gently and as information rather than criticism, pass unsuitable enquiries on to somebody appropriate, look for patterns across several wrong referrals, and restate what you do periodically as the business changes.