A referral is a powerful thing
A personal referral is a powerful thing. Before referred customers reach your homepage, download your app, or walk into your store, they already feel a connection to your brand, a level of trust. The upside to this, referred customers are better customers. They spend more. They’re more loyal. Ultimately, they’re your best customers. Referred customers are a business owner’s dream.
To get more of your best customers, get more advocates. You may be wondering how to get more advocates? This is accomplished by getting as many people to refer as possible. It’s no accident that there is a Starbucks on every street corner. New products, seasonal promotions, and loyalty programs are only as successful as they are visible. Referral programs are powered by advocates sharing. So, your program needs to be available everywhere your customers are. A modern referral platform places the power of referrals in the hands of the seller, providing them with the ability to market their referral programs across all customer touch points. Everyone who comes into contact with your brand is a potential advocate.
Sharing needs to be effortless and easy. Simple and on-brand share experiences drive more advocate shares. Let advocates shoot off email shares to friends while browsing your site, or send SMS texts with their referral link. Create personal share codes so advocates can share them with their friends over coffee. Friction means advocate dropouts. No one enjoys creating a login or digging through a site for some hidden Call-to-Action. Make sharing an enjoyable experience so advocates will not only share, but will feel good about sharing. More advocates sharing equals more friends converting.
Great referral programs keep advocates engaged and coming back to share more. Making your referral program a true part of your brand is the first step. However, if your advocates and friends aren’t instantly rewarded whenever and wherever they are, they’ll lose the motivation to keep sharing. Instant gratification and constant communication with your advocates are keys to scaling powerful referral programs throughout the entire customer journey.