How to create a referral programme for your business
Let's say you created one of the most amazing products or you have a great service. But has anyone heard of it? If not, then it’s probably because people aren’t sharing your business with their peers.
We run to our friends and family for advice. There’s already a solid trust and relationship so we take their word for *almost* anything.
Word of mouth is a powerful and trusted tool in marketing. If you're going to self-promote too much, it may sound narcissistic which can hurt your business. Satisfied and happy customers are your key to advocating your business. Use incentives and encourage them to refer friends and to you through a referral programme.
What is a referral programme?
A referral programme is a way to generate leads. But not just any leads - they’re highly-qualified and specific leads with a higher chance of resulting in sales.
The programme rewards existing customers for sharing your business to other people (usually through word of mouth), and incentivise new customers for trying the product or services. A customer gained through referral are often more loyal and valuable than other customers.
Why are referral programmes important?
Make your referral programme accessible to your customers because they are one of the most important growth drivers of your business. You have to let the customers know what's in it for them to entice them more.
Here are the benefits of referral programmes to your business:
Leads you acquire will trust you more
Customers gained through referrals have a higher chance of buying from you
Referrals are more likely to become loyal to your brand
You’ll get an idea of who your loyal customers are
Increased marketing reach, brand awareness, and reputation
How to start a referral programme
We need to make sure that our referral programme fits our brand. Here are the ways you can start your programme:
Identify your goal - Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve with your referral programme.
Create a list of your possible referral sources or advocates - This can include past or present customers, industry leaders, your employees, and anyone who has been connected to your business.
Reach out to your customers - Narrow your advocate list by segmenting them to people who know what value your business has and would refer you with and without incentives then ensure that the timing is right when you reach out to them.
Know your possible incentives - There are incentive and non-incentive program. Also, remember to give the advocate something in return. Some incentives are discounts, cash, credit, items and gift cards.
Use resources to send to your customers/alerting customers - Use the programs you think will work well in alerting your customers and start promoting.
Track the results - Things you can track for the referral programme are:
Who was referred and who the advocate was
When they were referred
Whether or not they converted
How you're going to nurture them
You can use CRM (customer relationship management) like Dubsado to track these people. This contributes to your customer success so it's best not to neglect it.
Lastly, don’t forget to thank the advocate for the help (you can also give the incentive here) and the person referred for accepting.
Tools for your referral programme
Various online software can help you start your referral programme without a fuss. Here are some easy online options you can use:
Ambassador - This is an all-in-one referral software which makes enrolling, tracking and rewarding manageable with a single, simple dashboard. It also shows intuitive analytics which is helpful to identify your most successful programme and where you need to improve.
Referral Rock - This software gives you, your advocates, and referrals a seamless experience. You can customise the look and feel of your programme by controlling the design, copy, message, and more. It also helps you track and manage referrals.
Referral Candy - This tool lets any business create, run, optimise and manage a referral marketing program. Customise your reward options from cash rewards, store discounts, or custom gifts to match your brand. Plus, you can see analytics and insights to monitor your programme.
Friendbuy - Launch your referral program quickly with Friendbuy. It also has a mobile-friendly template which allows you to activate referrals everywhere.
Dubsado - This platform is an all-in-one tool for managing your workflow and even as a client portal! I personally use this for referral page. It just makes the process easier and more organised when you can view everything you need in one tool.
Get my discount code to receive 20% off your first month or year: DUBIT
Use the code HERE
What can you offer in your referral programme?
Put yourself in your customers' shoes. What are you looking for or what do you need from a brand? That way, deciding the incentives and offers will be easier to narrow down. Make sure that you choose the right referral program incentives.
Check out this list for some ideas!
1. Cash
Cash is practical because it can be used by anyone anywhere. It doesn't have to be much. $5 or $10 will do. You can try to use a referral program software like the ones mentioned above to automate cash instead of doing everything manually.
2. Discount coupons
Discount coupons/codes are great because you are encouraging buyers to purchase more from your brand while also getting new customers. It is especially useful when your product/service is something you know the customer is going to need to purchase again.
This can be good for subscriptions, clothing, accessories, pet food, cosmetics, and even if you have an extensive collection in your brand.
3. Vouchers and gift cards
Don't feel like giving money? You can opt for vouchers, gift cards, or e-gift cards as an incentive like Amazon or Prezzy cards. It's easy to send and shows your appreciation in a simple way. Offer different types of gift cards/vouchers so your customers can choose what's best for them.
4. Freebies
Do you have custom products? Use them as a referral incentive! Free shirts, mugs, bags, caps, and other merchandise works great because it also works as an advertisement when a client uses them.
Make sure that the products you'll give away look great. For example, a cap with your brand's logo won't really excite most customers so you need to prepare something better and unique that people would want to wear or use.
5. Donations
Want a feel-good incentive? When a customer refers a friend, you can donate in their name to a chosen charity. You can choose monetary or non monetary items for your donations. Donating on the customer’s behalf makes them feel great since most people would love to give back.
Where can you mention your referral programme?
You don't want to appear hungry for leads when asking requesting for a referral to your customers. You might scare them away. Make sure they're happy with your brand's services first.
These are some of the places where you can mention your referral programme:
Email body and images
Email signature
Newsletter
Invoices
Side menus or website footer (or ad space on your website)
Blogs
On that note, we have a NEW REFERRAL PROGRAMME!
Access the link anytime in the footer of our website or any of the places above. We practice what we preach!
We value each and everyone of our clients. You make this dream job into a reality and working with you on building your business is a great opportunity for us.
And we’re here to share bits of our love for your projects by creating a referral programme! This is my way of saying thank you for volunteering my name to your friends and loved ones.
Interested in participating? It's as easy as 1 2 3:
Refer a friend below.
For every new friend that you refer who becomes a client and purchases a package over $1000 we will give you a 10% referral fee (up to a maximum of $500)
When the client completes their project, I will get in touch with you prior to sending the payment.
Be an advocate
Referral programmes are important to businesses because it has so many benefits like gaining more loyal customers and increasing brand awareness.
Our new referral programme is our way to thank people for helping us and staying with us until now. Start referring your friends and loved ones! We can’t wait to work with them.
T & C's: please note you need to have a PayPal account for us to send you the referral fee. If you don't have one, Paypal will help you set one up for free. There are no limits to how many people you can refer. For the referral fee to be paid, booked jobs need to be $1,000 and over.
Let’s work together
Got an amazing business idea you need help bringing to life? Time to refresh your existing brand? Ready to get serious and connect with your customers with a stunning Squarespace site?