How is your customer referral program going? Hopefully, you have a referral program in place as part of your inbound marketing strategy. Today, more than ever, people are relying on word of mouth to help them make buying decisions.
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A big reason why is trust. People are tired of being sold to, and they are much more savvy nowadays. Flashy advertisements and hard sales pitches are no longer the way to get customers. People are more likely to give their attention and their business to products and services that they have been referred to by friends and family or people with influence. This is why referral programs are so important. Here are 5 tips to help you get yours going and growing:
1. Nurture Your Supporters
Who is out there advocating for you and your brand? If you aren't sure, you should make it a priority to find out. There are many places where people talk about their favorite brands, for example:
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Review sites
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Social media, like Twitter and Facebook
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Sites like Quora and Reddit
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Blogs
Feel free to engage with those who are supporting your brand and encourage their efforts. Use available tools to find out when and where your brand is being mentioned, and who is mentioning your brand. Don't be afraid to ask for referrals from people who support you and have influence.
2. Be Goal-Oriented
Whether your referral program is new or has been around for awhile, it is important to have clear goals for it. What are you hoping to achieve? When it comes to inbound marketing, knowing your desired outcome is important. Make sure you communicate with your sales and marketing team and let them know what you expect.
It is important to know how many referrals it takes for your program to break even, so you need to know how much each referral is worth. Set realistic goals.
3. What Are Your Incentives?
While you certainly don't want to buy brand advocacy, a referral program is based on incentives. The best way to incentivize your program is to find out what your referrers want. What is a good incentive? You could use a survey to find out. Double-sided incentives that reward both the referral and the advocate work well.
4. Promoting Your Program
There are a variety of ways to promote your referral program. You can use some of your inbound marketing tools to promote, such as your blog or website. Email marketing is another good place to promote.
5. Measure Your ROI
When it comes to any inbound marketing efforts, metrics count. Measure your referral programs just as you would anything else.
You can use this data to track who is referring who, when a referral is becoming a customer and what promotional materials are working the best. You can also incorporate split-testing and other strategies to fine-tune your program.
Overall, a customer referral program can be incredibly helpful, encouraging and rewarding those who work hard to promote your business. If done right, your program can go a long way to growing your business.
