success without repeat customers?

I have been playing around with the idea of starting a referal network from past clients.

My thoughts are to offer a price or percentage discount on their next service with every referal that leads to a job. Or, possibly a restaurant gift card.

My residential customers are a year or so apart from services. The commercial customers are usually alot closer, so no referal network for them.

Any input on the idea is appreciated.

Hi Powerwash,

You are on the right track. Everyone likes something for nothing. A loyalty system works because of that fact. People will refer you if they think they are getting a good deal. Not many like to tout for business for you, so you could make it easy for them by providing a small quantity of consecutively numbered discount cards that they can give to friends and relatives. The recipients will be pleased, but you can also reward your loyal customer by noting the card number of all referrals who come for service, and credit the customer with a pound or two every time. This comes off their next bill.
Regards,
Experience

Sounds like a good idea. May be there's mileage in teaming up with different business types, who have a similar customer lifecycle. If you're residential customers are a year a part, then maybe so are other trades? Decorating/painting, tree felling, gardening, mobile mechanics?

Could you do a joint marketing promotion, so you recommend different businesses, maybe from a flyer or business card, and they do likewise. Or after they have used you, they get a discount off their gardeneing, etc, and likewise the other trades offer a discount for your services?

Be like an independent co-operative?

Now that is starting to sound great!!

Maybe a refrigerator magnet with all of the "independent co-operative" companies listed so the homeowner can have them in one place. Kind of an all in one place residential services contact list (but not handled by a marketing company, strictly if you advertise kind of thing). Cost of printing could be payed for by all the advertising companies, and we all hand them out. Networking is an amazing tool.

My only concern would be associating myself with reputable companies.

Please...keep the ideas going

This is indeed a very good thought, especially for someone in a field where the services might not be required again. But again we need to remember that when we do a good job, they might just refer us to someone else.
If i did the interiors of a house, im sure they might not want to do it again. But there are chances that they might refer me to their friends and if in case they plan to do their holiday home/office im sure they will call me.