When Referrals Stop Coming In

Most of the companies I know, including Branch and prior entrepreneurial endeavors, have gotten off the ground based on word of mouth and referrals. Honestly, it’s the most cost-effective way to do it, and more often than not, it’s proof of providing a quality service. After all, if you bomb client engagements one after the other, no one is going to refer you out.

The problem with word of mouth and referrals is that at some point in time the well is going to run dry, and if you’re like most companies we talk to, things have been going well enough to never have to think about or invest in any semblance of marketing. Somehow – and I say this from experience – it’s normal for $10mm+ businesses to have no idea who their ideal customer profile is.

This is where many companies start to feel stuck—and where the referral plateau begins.

The Referral Plateau

To put it simply, this is just a slow down or halt in leads that were previously coming in as referrals. This kind of slowdown puts your entire growth engine and future revenue at risk. There are a number of key indicators that you’re plateauing, but I’ll highlight two:

1. Most of your business (70%+) comes from a small number of referrals
2. You don’t have a repeatable lead generation strategy in place

The Mindset Shift

You have to shift from a reactive growth mindset to one that’s proactive. The former doesn’t come from having a clear marketing or sales process, rather, your business is just growing because of what’s coming to you. With the latter, you are intentionally building a repeatable strategy that brings in leads for you. A proactive mindset gives you control, confidence, and momentum.

The Values Alignment

A lot of people that we speak to worry that marketing can come off inauthentic, potentially scaring off current customers or future prospects, but this doesn’t have to be the case if you approach marketing from a strategic place. Investing in strategic marketing helps you build a foundation for success, and one that can align closely with your values. Heck, if done correctly, aside from your lead gen pipeline, no one will even know you’re allocating budget towards marketing. Inauthentic marketing usually isn’t the result of too much strategy, it’s the result of not enough.

A Real Example

One of our biggest clients is a multi-million dollar engineering firm that has built its business solely on referrals and word of mouth. Honestly, it’s pretty wild to me what they’ve managed to do without investing a penny in marketing, however, they were proactive and saw the writing on the walls. We worked with them to develop + implement their go-to-market strategy in 2024, and in just a short-time in 2025, it has completely charged their approach to marketing. For example, they now know who their ideal customers are, and how to market to each persona.

What Happens Next

When you finally take the steps to invest in strategy, you will:

• Have a predictable pipeline of business
• Real data (not assumptions) to guide business decisions
• Rely less on “who you know” or taking chances with your business

The reality is that the best time to start was yesterday, but today is a pretty good time to start, too.

Ready to make the shift from reactive to proactive?

Our Marketing Workshops are built for companies just like yours! Ones who’ve grown through referrals but know it’s time for more. Reach out to learn more.

Written by Paul Kettelle, Co-Founder & CEO