Customer Referral Program

What is it about?

It is very easy nowadays to come across such offer: “Tell a friend about us and everyone wins! They get 15% off of their first order. You get 25% of the subtotal of that same first order.”

Word-of-mouth has been essential for growing a business. Customers rely on the word of other users who have told them that going with a company is a good idea.

A referral program is simply the implementation of a system that gets previous and existing customers or clients to inform potential customers or clients that your services are worth using. There are 2 types:

One-Way Referral. This technique asks existing users to refer the product/service to their friends and acquaintances in exchange for some kind of benefit.

Two-Way Referral Technique. The two-way referral technique gives benefits to both the referrer and the referee and is usually accompanied with an incentive. An engaging experience helps both the referrer and the referee along with the business itself. Two-Way referrals are almost always more efficient.

Why to consider?

It’s simple to launch and requires little input from your end in the future. Once done right, you receive new clients through existing clients.

When your customers are small businesses, they are more prone to participate as they always seek to optimize their costs.

Customers referred by trusted sources have a 37% higher retention rate than the average buyer. In other words, users who are referred by loyal customers tend to become loyal customers.

With referral software, your business will have an additional opportunity to reward your customers. E.g., for referring five friends, you may offer one month of service to customers at no cost.

Today, some of the most popular brands use referral marketing. The key objective is to avoid unnecessary complexity and to ensure that the rewards come quickly.

Good example is here.

Checklist

• Make it clear that your referral program is easy, that everything is above board, and that your customers have a lot to gain from it;
• Figure out the best time within a client stage to ask them to make a referral;
• Other services that offer a ready solution for your referral system, ex. Referral SaaSquatch, Ambassador, ReferralCandy.
• Send a personal “thank you” message to each customer that conveys your enthusiasm and appreciation for their referral;