Entrepreneurs marketing each other, through testimonials, referrals and word of mouth, costs nothing and builds trust faster than paid advertising. The key is doing it genuinely, without treating every referral as a transaction that expects something back.
Why does entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur marketing actually work?
“It takes a community to build a business,” says Gwen Serrotti, founder of Xtraordinary Women, a business network she started in 2007 after recognising how isolating entrepreneurship can be. Serrotti argues that entrepreneurs marketing each other’s businesses through word of mouth carries a credibility that paid advertising can’t replicate, and should be a deliberate part of every entrepreneur’s marketing strategy, not an accidental side effect of networking.
How does this actually work at a networking event?
Business strategist Marang Marekimane recommends attending in small groups rather than alone: “Go as a group of three people, for example. Walk around and make multiple connections. Each of you being each other’s marketer; look out for one another.” The principle is simple: each person in the group actively talks up the others rather than only pitching themselves, multiplying the group’s combined reach at the same event, a related discipline covered in how SA entrepreneurs turn networking into real opportunities.
What are the practical steps to collaborating with other entrepreneurs?
Serrotti’s method starts with genuinely experiencing the other entrepreneur’s product or service yourself, you can’t credibly recommend something you haven’t tried. From there, offer to write a testimonial for their website, Facebook page or LinkedIn, since a first-hand account from a satisfied client is more persuasive than anything a business says about itself. Finally, actively refer business to them, and tell the person you’re referring who recommended them, so the referred entrepreneur sees direct proof that networking is generating real results, not just goodwill.
Should a referral come with an expectation of something in return?
No, according to Serrotti: “The referral must come from the heart and not from a place where you expect business in return.” Referrals made as an explicit trade tend to feel transactional to the recipient and undermine the trust the whole approach depends on. Genuine, no-strings referrals are what actually build the kind of reciprocal goodwill Serrotti describes, where being seen helping others naturally makes people more inclined to return the favour later.
Does this replace paid marketing entirely?
No. Peer marketing and referrals work best as a complement to, not a replacement for, a broader marketing strategy. What it does particularly well is build the kind of trust-based credibility that’s hard to manufacture through advertising alone, especially valuable for service-based entrepreneurs whose product is essentially their own reputation.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start collaborating with other entrepreneurs in my network?
Begin by genuinely using their product or service, then offer a testimonial and look for opportunities to refer real business to them, without expecting anything back immediately.
Is it awkward to ask a fellow entrepreneur for a testimonial?
Less so if the relationship is already built on genuine mutual referrals and support, rather than a cold, one-off ask.
What’s the risk of referring on the condition of a return favour?
It tends to feel transactional to the person you’re referring, which undermines trust and makes the referral less credible than one given without expectation.
Originally published in January 2019. Updated September 2026.
