How to get referrals is one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your business. Word-of-mouth marketing gives you the opportunity to tap into your existing customer base to acquire new customers without forking over thousands of dollars each month to a digital advertising channels.
At Referral Factory, we believe it’s better to reward your existing customers and their friends, rather than pay your ad dollars the big guys like Meta or Twitter. Not only does it make more sense to use your budget to build brand relationships with your customers, but commercially it makes even more sense because referred customers are much more likely to convert, to spend more, to stay longer, and to refer other friends. Which ultimately means more revenue generated for your business, in a more sustainable way.
Here are some stats about referral marketing that will show you just how powerful asking your clients for referrals can be:
“With a data for more than 28,000 Internet respondents in 56 countries, it has been seen that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising.” – source
“Customers acquired through referrals have a 37% higher retention rate.” – source
“85% of small businesses say word-of-mouth referrals are the number one way that new prospects find out about them.” – source
“82% of upper management claim word of mouth creates the best quality leads” – source
But asking for referrals isn’t always as easy as 1, 2, 3. It requires a strategic approach and a concerted effort on your part. The key principle here is to ensure that everyone knows about your referral program, they have clear expectations about how it works, and most importantly they are motivated to engage because you’re offering a great reward to the person referring, and an even better incentive to the person invited.
PLEASE NOTE! This article assumes you have already built a referral program. If you haven’t then you should first read this step by step guide on how to create your referral program. There are eight steps to follow to get your program up and running fast, and even guidance on choosing the right referral platform to create and manage your referral process (much of which can be automated). If you’re looking for a guide in B2B referrals, then go here.
Or (this tool is still in beta), but you can use AI to create a referral program…
Now, let’s talk about how you can get your customers to give referrals to your business. The answer lies in promoting your referral campaign to as many people as possible, and leveraging the loyalty you’ve already built by running a great business in the past.
If you want to get referrals fast, these are the 15 tactics you need to implement 👇
1. Make your referral program simple to use and easy to refer.
2. Offer a double-sided incentive to encourage both the referrer and the referred.
3. Generate referral links for all your CRM contacts
4. Email your active customer
5. Promote your referral campaign in your employee email signatures
6. Implement referral reminders to keep your audience engaged
7. Add a widget of your referral campaign on your website and the most visited pages
8. Put a pop-up on your logged-in environment
9. Embed your referral campaign in your blog posts
10. Add your referral campaign link to all types of emails
11. Partner up with influencers to market your referral campaign
12. Market your referral campaign using all outdoor advertising methods
13. Add a leaderboard to create more competition and boost referrals
14. Pin your referral campaign to the top of your social feed
15. Follow up with customers who haven’t referred anyone yet
Below we’ve gone into detail about all the 15 tactics above, so you can easily implement these strategies in your own referral program.
1. Make your referral program simple to use and easy to refer
Implementing a referral program is a great way to grow your business but managing it manually can quickly become overwhelming. This is where referral program software comes in handy. If you want to streamline the referral process for yourself, and also the people participating in your referral program, we suggest using plug and play referral program software that has already thought about all the ways to keep things simple, and make it easy to refer for your users.
Some key features you should look for when choosing your referral software:
- Easy to set up and get started even if you don’t have a lot of technical expertise.
- Customization so that your referral program looks 100% on brand.
- Analytics and reporting to track the success of your referral program and identify areas that need improvement.
- The ability to automatically issue rewards and incentives to referrers and the friends they refer.
- User-Friendly Interface that makes it simple for your users to SHARE their referral links
Using referral program software that meets these criteria, you can simplify the referral process and make it easy for your customers to refer others to your business. Make sure they have the ability to share their referral links in one click – to direct messaging platforms like Whats App, Text, Telegram, Email and more. They should also be able to share their referral links to social platforms like Twitter and Facebook easily.
2. Offer a double-sided incentive to encourage both the referrer and the referred
To increase the number of referrals you receive, you (absolutely) must offer a double-sided incentive. This means offering a reward or discount not only to the person who refers a new customer but also to the new customer who signs up.
By doing this, you can create a situation where everyone benefits and it becomes more attractive for customers to take part in your referral program. For the person referring, they feel more comfortable sharing their referral links with friends because they know that their friends will get something too. And for the person invited, they feel the need to take action now because they get a special incentive for converting now instead of waiting.
Pro tip: The right type of reward and incentive can make all the difference. Offering customers and their friends something that they actually want to get will encourage both sides to refer. If your product is not something that customers use regularly then offer a tangible reward like cash or a gift card. If your product is a frequent purchase then offering a reward or discount on your product will encourage more purchases. Some companies simply tap into a pre-existing reward program here, as in this case their internal departments have already done the work researching the ideal rewards.
3. Generate referral links for all your CRM contacts
If you use a customer relationship management (CRM) system like HubSpot, Intercom, Pipedrive, Zoho, Salesforce, etc – you can generate unique referral links for each of your customers simply by syncing your referral program software with your CRM. Once each customer has a referral link, you can pass it back to your CRM so that you can include each customers referral link in all communication going forward. Your marketing and sales team also will have quick access to it when they want to ask for a Pipedrive, Zoho, Salesforce referrals.
By having the referral links in your CRM, you can utilize your current sequences or workflows to advertise your referral program to your customers in an automated way.
Pro tip: Include your customer’s referral links as personalization tokens or merge tag fields in all your sequences – then all your customers need to do is copy and share!
4. Email your active customer base
One of the easiest and most effective ways to get referrals is by announcing your referral campaign to your active customer base. Your existing customers are your biggest advocates because they already subscribe to your brand, this means that they’re also the people most likely to refer to their friends and family.
Send an email to your active customer base, letting them know about your referral program and the benefits of participating. Make sure to include a clear call-to-action and an incentive for both the person referring and the person invited. Another important note – make it easy for them to refer friends by including a link to copy, and social buttons so they can easily share their referral links with others.
Pro tip: if you have an active customer loyalty program, go find the customers that already have the highest level of loyalty to your brand – take a personal approach with these customers by individually emailing them, or even calling them, to explain how your referral program works and ask them to a refer. People aren’t used to the personal approach as everything seems automated these days, so surprise your loyal customers by asking them directly and making them feel special.
5. Promote your referral campaign in your employee email signatures
Another way to get referrals is to promote your referral campaign by including it in your employees email signatures. Every email you send out is an opportunity to spread the word about your referral program and get more referrals without being too pushy or intrusive. Add a simple call-to-action (CTA) or even design a beautiful banner to put in your staff email signatures, inviting your contacts to register for your referral program and earn rewards for doing so. Make sure to include a link to your referral page so that it’s easy for people to sign up.
Pro tip: You can even give each of your employees their own referral link to include in their email signatures and rewards the employees who make the most referrals.
6. Implement referral reminders to keep your audience engaged
Sometimes your customers or users simply need a gentle nudge to refer their friends to your business. This is where referral reminders come in handy. By sending out timely reminders to your customers, you can encourage them to refer others to your business and increase your chances of receiving more referrals.
One way to implement referral reminders is through automated email campaigns. You can set up a sequence of emails to be sent out at specific intervals, reminding customers about your referral program and the rewards they can earn by referring their friends and family to your business. Please remember that timing is everything, too many reminders in short succession will more than likely annoy your customers so make sure you send them out when it’s relevant.
Pro tip: if you use referral program software, there should be once off emails and reminder emails included in your plan. This means you can do everything easily from one platform, including setting up your reminder emails.
7. Add a widget of your referral campaign on your website and the most visited pages
Your website is another great place to promote your referral campaign and get more referrals. Why? It’s where your customers go to learn more about your business, brand, or products. People visiting your website are ideal candidates to refer to because it’s clear they are interested in your topic of niche! If you use referral program software you should get a website widget included – that you can install on your website to pop up and prompt new visitors. Make sure the widget is prominent and easy to use so that visitors are encouraged to participate in your referral program.
Pro Tip: To get more referrals from your website, add your referral program widget on your homepage and all other high-traffic pages. This will ensure that your referral campaign is visible and easily accessible to your website visitors, increasing the chances of them clicking through, joining your referral program, and referring others.
8. Put a pop-up on your logged-in environment
If you have a logged-in environment on your website, such as a customer portal or a membership site, you can use this piece of real estate to promote your referral campaign. Simply put a pop-up on your logged-in environment, encouraging your customers to refer their friends and family. This is a great way to target your most loyal customers who frequently access or view your website and incentivize them to refer others.
Pro tip: Use the Referral Factory logged-in widget that automatically shows your users their own unique referral link and includes a clear CTA to make it easy for them to spread the word and refer friends in just ONE CLICK!
9. Embed your referral campaign in your blog posts
If you have a blog, make sure to include your referral campaign link in your blog posts or go as far as actually embedding your referral program join link into your most read blog articles. This will help increase visibility and encourage more people to participate in your referral program – if someone is reading your content, there is a high chance they have friends that are interested in your business niche too.
Alternately you can include a link to your referral campaign in the footer of your blog posts, and encourage your readers to refer their friends, family and social networks. This is a great way to leverage your content and reach a wider audience of potential referrers!
Pro tip: Make sure to write a clear CTA and explain the rewards they can earn by referring new customers to your business.
10. Add your referral campaign link to all types of emails
In addition to promoting your referral program via email signatures, you can also include a link to your referral programs landing page in all your system emails such as product updates, newsletters, confirmation emails, and promos. Make sure the link is prominent and easy to click so that customers can quickly and easily register to participate in your program.
Pro tip: Carefully think about all of your customer touch points and make sure you include your referral program in the most valuable touchpoint to increase the chances of them clicking through and referring others. Make sure you avoid advertising your referral program in emails where your customers might be angry or upset – like in support and ticketing communications.
11. Partner up with influencers to market your referral campaign
If you have the budget, you can also work with influencers to promote your referral program. Influencers can be a powerful way to spread the word about your business to their followers and fans who may be interested in your product and service. To get the most value out of your influencer partnerships, choose influencers who align with your brand and target audience, and provide them with clear guidelines for promoting your referral program. This tactic can be a great way to reach a wider audience and get more referrals.
Pro tip: To get more referrals from influencers, give them an incentive that they can pass on to their followers. This incentive could be a discount on your product or a free upgrade etc.
12. Market your referral campaign using all outdoor advertising methods
In addition to the digital forms of marketing we’ve included above, you can also promote your referral program using outdoor advertising methods. This can include things like billboards, bus ads, or even flyers posted in public areas.
Pro tip: If your business involves having physical interactions with your customers such as going to their homes, delivering packaged products to their offices or homes, or participating in trade shows and events. Then generate a QR code that takes people to a landing page where they can register to refer – this makes it simple for people to sign up on the spot and quickly access their referral links. If you use software like Referral Factory, then it will generate a QR code for your referral program automatically, look for it on your the ‘promote your campaign’ tab.
13. Add a leaderboard to create more competition and boost referrals
People love to compete, so adding a leaderboard to your referral program is a simple solution to gamify your referral programs. This can create a sense of friendly competition among your customers and drive engagement to help you get more referrals.
Pro tip: You can email the participants of your referral program and include the leaderboard results showing the list of the top referrers. Include a call to action to encourage customers to refer friends to get to the top of the leaderboard. You can even offer a bonus prize to the top referees as an extra incentive.
14. Pin your referral campaign to the top of your social feed
Social media is a powerful tool for getting referrals, as it allows you to reach a large audience and promote your referral campaign in a more casual and engaging way. If you’re active on social media, make sure to promote your referral program on your social profiles. This will help increase visibility and encourage more people to participate in your referral program.
Pro tip: Pin your referral campaign to the top of your social feed so that it’s the first thing people see when they visit your profile.
15. Follow up with customers who haven’t referred anyone yet
You may have some customers who haven’t had a chance to make referrals yet. Perhaps they’re busy and haven’t read your mail announcing the referral program. Or maybe they don’t currently have a friend or family that they can refer to you.
Don’t give up on them.
Follow up every few months to remind them about your referral program and encourage them to participate. Sometimes you just have to wait for the timing to be right!
Pro tip: You can can also ask them for feedback on your referral program, to try understand what’s stopping them. This will help you optimize and improve your referral program for all customers.
If you want to generate quality referrals and make sure your businesses continues to grow on auto-pilot, then it’s important to incentivise your customers, influencers, fans, employees, and even your service providers to share their referral links often. A referral program can be a highly effective way to generate new business and build stronger relationships with your existing customers, but it will require some effort and strategy ensure you keep getting success for months and years to come.
By being proactive and taking the necessary steps and using the strategies outlined in this article, you can increase the chances that you’ll get referrals flowing into your sales pipeline on a weekly basis.
If you haven’t already started building a referral program yet, what are you waiting for?
Tools you can use to help you get more referrals today!
There are several tools available that can help you get more referrals. In the article above we spoke about referral program software that will help you implement many of the tactics above to boost your referral program and get more people referring. Here is a comparison table we’ve drawn up to help you understand what tools currently exist in the market right now.
The tools are ranked by average review scores – across multiple independent sites like Capterra, G2, etc. Referral Factory is currently the platform holding the highest review score of 4.87/5.
By using one of these referral tools, you can create a strong referral program that is also easy to manage, because of the automation provided by referral program software. You’ll also be ale to increase the number or referrals your business receives by having access to a host of promotional components!
It’s important to remember that a successful referral program requires ongoing effort and attention, so be sure that the referral program software you choose also offers detailed referral tracking and analytics – this will help you monitor and optimize your program regularly.
But remember, even the best referral software in the world can’t promote your program for you – you’ll need to do some work to get your referral program in front of your customers!
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