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In marketing, an influencer is a person or organization in a position to direct prospects to a business due to expertise in a related field. These third-parties do not actually make purchasing decisions or provide payment to said business, nor do they receive any of the profits from the transaction. But because influencers interact with and are trusted by numerous prospects, establishing good relations with them can be more productive than more direct marketing.

A prominent example of this concept is the relationship between drug companies and physicians. Doctors don't actually buy medications. They don't even have the final say on what medications are purchased (a patient can always refuse a given drug). But patients rely on their expertise to suggest and prescribe drugs to cure what ails them. Correspondingly, drug companies spend millions each year courting physicians - sponsoring "educational" retreats, taking them to fancy dinners, giving away truck loads of promotional merchandise and more. Even now that drug companies are allowed to market directly to consumers, they still put a lot of effort behind wooing these important influencers, and for obvious reasons. Besides the trust in and reliance on them by the companies' customers, there exists the simple fact that any given doctor will exert a powerful, direct influence on scores of those customers every day.

The concept of the influencer is important in any market, and the key to higher sales lies first in correctly locating them. If you groom pets for a living, the influencers will be veterinarians and pet stores. For a catering company, influencers may be event planners. For seamstresses, dry cleaners are likely influencers; for carpet cleaners, apartment managers or landlords; and so on. The next step is to exert some friendly influence of your own. One way to do this is to take individual influencers out to a nice lunch. Don't act as if you're looking for a handout. Instead, tell them you want to become familiar with them and their work, since you are also in a position to send business their way. Get to know them on a personal level for maximum effect. Then start referring your customers to them whenever you can. They'll undoubtedly reciprocate.

If they do, be sure to thank them, preferably with a gift. Establish enough of these relationships and you'll never be short on customers.