Referral marketing has become an increasingly popular strategy for businesses to acquire new customers and boost sales. This tactic involves leveraging existing customers to refer their friends, family, and colleagues to a business. In today’s competitive market, referral marketing is a powerful tool that can help companies cut through the noise and stand out from the crowd.
In this article we’re going to give you a complete 101 overview of referral marketing, so that you can understand why the trend is growing, what tools you can use to levearge word of mouth, what the benefits are, how to create referral links for your customers, how it can fit into your business, and what to mistakes to avoid when implementing your own referral program.
Let’s jump right in.
Why is referral marketing growing at 642% a year?
Referral marketing is gaining momentum as more businesses are opting to launch referral programs. According to a survey conducted by Referral Factory, referred leads are converting at twice the rate of leads acquired through paid marketing channels. Quite simply, this means you can generate and convert more leads with the same budget.
That explains the industry growth doesn’t it!
When a customer refers someone to a business, it’s a sign of trust and loyalty to the brand. The referred customer is more likely to make a purchase or take action than someone who came across the brand through a traditional advertising method.
Additionally, referral marketing is a cost-effective way to acquire new customers. Referral programs can offer incentives to customers who refer their friends, family, or colleagues, which is often a fraction of what businesses would spend on paid advertising (PPC).
Moreover, referral marketing has a snowball effect. As more and more customers refer their acquaintances to a business, the number of referrals generated increases exponentially.
Now that you understand the power of referral marketing, we’ll move on to the important part – how you leverage it to grow.
To start, you’ll need to build and launch a referral program. Think if it like a mini, branded, website for your referral program.
What is a referral program?
A referral program is a strategy that incentivizes existing customers to refer their friends, family, and colleagues to your business. The program typically offers rewards or benefits to customers who successfully refer new customers, such as discounts, free products or services, or cash rewards.
To build a successful referral program, you’ll need to have a clear understanding of your target audience, their needs and preferences, and what motivates them to refer others to your business. You’ll also need to determine what rewards and incentives will be most appealing to your customers, and how you will track and measure the success of your program.
There are tools on the market that can help you do all of the above, you can find a full guide here.
Implementing a referral program can be a game-changer for businesses of all sizes and industries. By harnessing the power of word-of-mouth marketing, you can increase brand awareness, acquire new customers, and build a loyal customer base that will continue to spread the word about your business.
What strategies can be used to promote your referral program?
Once your referral program is launched, you’ll need to start thinking about how to encourage your loyal customers to refer their family and friends. This allows your business to tap into a new audience who may be more likely to trust the recommendation of someone they know.
Here are some strategies that can be used to promote your referral program so you can get people telling their friends about your amazing products or services!
1. Make it easy for customers to refer:
Provide customers with a clear and easy way to refer their friends and family. The most simple way to do this is to issue each of your customers with a unique referral link, or send them to a page where they can register to refer. Once they have their referral links, they should be able to share them easily on social media or direct messaging plans.
2. Put your referral program on your website:
Make sure your referral program is visible on your website, either as a widget or embed into your pages. You could also trigger a pop-up when your users click a ‘Refer Friends’ button.
3. Send personalized emails asking for referrals:
Improve the referral experience by sending personalized messages to each customer encouraging them to refer their friends and family. The personal touch can go a long way when asking for a favour, so if you have the time and resources available we’d suggest
4. Promote your referral program on social media:
Use social media to promote your referral marketing program. Pin your referral program to the top of all your social media channels, and actively tweet / instagram / tik tok reminders to your audience that they can join your referral program and start sharing their experiences with their followers.
5. Partner with complementary businesses:
Partner with other businesses that complement your product or service. This will allow you to tap into their customer base and increase the chances of successful referrals. Think of this like an exchange – your audience can join their referral program, and their audience can join yours.
6. Generate referral links for your CRM contacts:
make sure you generate referral links for all your CRM contacts, and push their links back into your CRM. This means every time you talk to a customer, you’ll have their referral link handy and be able to ask them for a referral while your business is top of mind. You can also include their referral links in all their customer notifications and communication.
7. Embed your referral program in all your blog posts:
if you work hard to create great content that people will find when searching Google, then it makes sense to embed your referral program into your most trafficked blog posts. When you get new readers that are already interested in your niche, that is a perfect opportunity to prompt them to refer friends too.
8. Get your employees to advertise your referral program in their email signatures:
Your employees spend all day talking to your customers, suppliers and their business network, so the perfect place to promote your referral program is right in their email signatures.
9. Find micro-influencers to join your referral program:
If you already have an active referral program you might want to broaden your reach of referrers, a simple way t do this is to approach micro influencers to start speaking about your brand. A micro influencer is any online persona with 1000 to 5000 followers. These people may be interested in promoting your product or service, and if they join your referral program you’ll be able to automatically track if they successfully drive any sales for you.
10. Make asking for referrals part of your sales and customer support process:
The best response you’ll get to asking for referrals is doing it in person, after your customer has had a positive experience with your business. Think about training your sales and support teams to actively ask for referrals, if you can get this right the results with amaze you!
By implementing these strategies to promote your referral program, you can increase your chances of getting more referrals and growing your sales pipeline.
Remember, the key to success is to make it easy for customers to share their referral link, provide rewards and incentives, actively ask for referrals, partner with complementary businesses, and even consider collaborating with micro-influencers.
In addition to these promotional strategies, it’s important to remember that referral marketing is not a one-time effort. It requires ongoing attention and effort to maintain a strong referral program. This means regularly reviewing and updating your referral program, keeping your incentives fresh and relevant, and consistently engaging with your customers to encourage them to refer.
It’s also important to ensure that your product or service is of high quality and meets the needs of your customers. Happy customers are much more likely to refer others to your business. Therefore, it’s essential to focus on delivering exceptional customer service and addressing any issues or concerns your customers may have promptly.
Happy customers = more referrals!
Promoting your referral program can be a game-changer for your business. By encouraging your satisfied customers to refer others to your business, you can increase your customer base and sales. However, with more leads comes the need to manage the referral process effectively.
This is where integrations come in. Integrations allow you to automate and streamline your referral program, making it easier for you to manage and track referrals. With integrations, you can set up a referral program that seamlessly integrates with your existing systems and tools.
For example, you can integrate your referral program with your CRM system to automatically generate referral links for your contacts, to generate new referred leads, and to track the progress of your referrals. You can also integrate your referral program with your email marketing software to send personalized emails to your referrers, or you can choose a referral software tool that has email marketing built in.
How can my referral marketing program be integrated with other marketing channels?
Integrations make it easier to manage your referral program, saving you time and resources. They also help you provide a better experience for your customers, as they can easily refer others without having to go through a complicated process.
Kirsty Sharman, founder of Referral Factory, has been quoted saying “If you want to promote your referral program to get more leads, integrations are essential. It’s the only way to scale your referral program without having to do more manual work to manage it. Integrations allow you to streamline your referral program, automate the process, and provide a better experience for your customers. So, invest in integrations today and take your referral program to the next level”.
While referral marketing is a powerful strategy that can help businesses turn their customers into marketers, many businesses still struggle to integrate referral marketing into their broader marketing strategy effectively. This is because they have not successful integrated their referral program into the workflows they already use.
Below we’ll discuss some effective ways to integrate referral marketing with your other marketing channels.
1. Social media marketing
Social media marketing is a popular way to promote products and services to a wide audience. It provides businesses with an opportunity to connect with their customers and build a loyal following. Integrating referral marketing with social media marketing can be an effective way to encourage customers to refer friends and family to your business. Businesses can create referral campaigns on social media platforms that promote their products and services to their followers and encourage them to share the campaign with their friends and family.
2. Email marketing
Email marketing is an excellent way to keep customers engaged with your brand and promote new products and services. Referral marketing can be effectively integrated with email marketing by including referral links in email campaigns. Businesses can send out special offers and discounts to customers who refer friends and family to their business.
3. Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a popular way for businesses to promote their products and services to a large audience. By partnering with influencers, businesses can tap into their followers’ trust and credibility to promote their products and services. Integrating referral marketing with influencer marketing can be an effective way to encourage influencers’ followers to refer friends and family to your business.
4. Content marketing
Content marketing is an effective way to attract and engage potential customers with valuable content. By integrating referral marketing with content marketing, businesses can encourage readers to refer friends and family to their website or social media pages. This can be done by including referral links or calls to action in blog posts, videos, and other content. Additionally, businesses can create referral programs that reward customers for sharing their content or referring friends and family to their website.
5. Most importantly… your CRM
Integrating your referral program with your CRM is essential because it allows you to track the progress of your referral marketing campaigns from start to finish. By using a CRM, businesses can track leads generated by their referral program and follow up with them when they convert. This helps businesses to identify which referral sources are the most effective and focus their efforts on those sources. Additionally, integrating your referral program with your CRM can help you to automate the referral process and make it easier for customers to refer friends and family to your business. It also allows you to generate referral links for all your CRM contacts.
By integrating referral marketing with other marketing channels, businesses can maximize the impact of their referral marketing efforts and reach a wider audience.
Calculate how many referrals you could get by launching a referral program
Based on the number of people you have to ask for referrals (these people could be customers, fans, or employees), you can calculate how many referrals you can get by launching a referral program.
What to look for in referral program software
Referral programs have proven to be an effective way to grow. And with the help of referral program software, managing your referral program becomes easier and more efficient. However, not all referral software is created equal.
If you want to explore tools you can use to build a referral program, then you need to know what features to look out for in the referral program software you choose.
Here are some of the key features to look for when choosing referral program software:
1. Ease of use
The referral software you choose should be easy to use and navigate. This means that both you and your customers should be able to understand how to use the software without any difficulty. Look for software that offers an intuitive user interface and straightforward setup process.
Pro tip: if you can find a software that offers many templates of pre-built referral programs you’re likely to get up and running faster, and with less hassle.
2. Customization options
Your referral program should be tailored to your business’s needs and branding. Look for referral program software that allows you to customize the look and feel of your program, including the program’s landing page, emails, and referral forms. It’s important that your customers recognise your referral program as part of your own website, so look for referral software with an advanced page builder that you can fully customise to look and feel 100% on brand.
3. Automated tracking and reporting
To effectively manage your referral program, it’s important to have accurate data on the all the referrals you generate, which of those referrals qualify, and who needs a rewards for successfully referring friends. Look for referral program software that offers automated tracking and reporting out of the box, and if this data can be showcased to you in an analytics dashboard that will save you even more time as you won’t be left trying to turn your own data into graphs. Solid referral tracking is important because it helps you make data-driven decisions on how to optimize your referral program in future.
4. Easy reward management
Your referral program software should make it easy (and automated) to manage rewards. This includes setting up reward criteria, issuing rewards, and tracking reward history. The software should also be able to handle different types of rewards, such as vouchers, cash cards, discounts or free products. Make sure that the software you choose offers a build in way for your referrers to offer their friends and networks incentives too – this is best achieved when the software you choose created dedicated landing pages for every person referring, so the links they share with their friends can say things like ‘Kirsty Is Offering You A Free Course’. Offers like these will incentivize the people invited to take action now as they might not get such an offer in the future.
5. Integration with other tools
Integration with other tools such as your CRM, payment gateway, or email marketing software can help streamline your referral program and make it more effective. Look for referral program software that offers integration with other tools you use, allowing you to seamlessly manage your program alongside your other business operations.
With one-click integrations you should be able to : generate referral links for your contacts, send all your new referred users into the workflows you already use, and automatically qualify the referred users that convert based on an action they take in your CRM or payment gateway.
6. Data privacy and security
For larger organizations with data privacy concerns, it’s important to choose referral program software that offers data encryption and other security measures. Look for software that follows industry-standard security protocols and offers the option of data encryption add-ons. This will ensure that sensitive customer data remains secure and protected. For large companies purchasing referral software, it might be simpler to look for software that stores your customer data on your own server, and encrypts your data inside the referral platform, this way you won’t have to jump through all the normal regulatory hoops to get the software vendor onboarded as they don’t actually have a copy of your customer data.
What referral tools have all (or most) of these features?
If referral marketing is an initiative you’re seriously considering, you’re going to need a software tool to create and manage your business referral program. We’ve compiled a list of the platforms that offer most, if not all, of the features mentioned above.
This no-code referral program software offers advanced an advanced page builder that is 100% customisable, deep referral analytics and easy referral tracking, integrations with most CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zapier, Intercom) as well as Zapier and webhook integrations, automated rewards and incentives, a data encryption add-on to ensure security, as well as chat and video support on all plans. Referral Factory also has over 100 referral program templates, designed by marketing professionals from around the world, you can use templates on any plan.
Description : Plug and play software to build and track your referral program. Easy to use and built for marketing and sales teams that want to get more referrals. 100+ referral program templates, designed by experts. 100% customisable. Integrates seamlessly with your CRM, or internal workflows. Advanced referral tracking and analytics. Many tools to promote your referral program. Voted the #1 referral software to host your customer referral program by Influencer Marketing Hub and Growth Marketing Pro.
Most popular features : one click sync with your CRM to generate referral links for your contacts, the ability to 100% customize your referral program, widgets to add to your website, and email tools to ask your customers for referrals. Also offers advanced referral analytics, and rewards automation (with a nifty way for you to issue your own rewards too).
Limitations : Free trial is only 15 days, doesn’t offer a Shopify integration.
Free trial without demo : Yes
Capterra Rating : 4.9
G2 Rating : 4.8
Software Advice : 5.0
Google Rating : 5.0
Pricing Range : $95 to $1400 / month
Description – Cloud-based referral marketing platform designed to help businesses increase customer acquisition and retention through referral marketing campaigns. The software enables businesses to create and launch customizable referral campaigns, track the performance of these campaigns, and incentivize customers to refer their friends and family. Referral Candy supports a range of referral reward options, including cash, discounts, and exclusive content. The platform integrates with a variety of e-commerce and marketing tools, including Shopify, WooCommerce, and Mailchimp, making it easy to set up and manage referral campaigns.
Key features : Subscription app integration with ReCharge, PayWhirl and Bold; timed prompts to ask customers for referrals for e-commerce businesses.
Limitations : Limited customization options for referral program design; limited support for non-e-commerce businesses; integrates mostly with e-commerce platforms.
Free trial without demo : Yes (30 days)
Capterra Rating : 4.5
G2 Rating : 4.4
Software Advice : 4.53
Google Rating : N/A
Pricing Range : Starting from $47 / month, plus a 3.5% commission fee on sales.
3. Ambassador
Description – Referral marketing software that provides businesses with tools for managing their referral campaigns, tracking referrals, and rewarding customers for successful referrals. The software allows businesses to create customized referral programs that align with their unique goals and needs. Additionally, Ambassador integrates with popular e-commerce platforms and marketing tools, streamlining the setup and launch of referral campaigns.
Key features – Integration with e-commerce platforms Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce; integration with popular email marketing tools such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact, making it easy to send referral program-related emails and communications to customers.
Limitations – Lack of flexibility in terms of designing and customizing referral program workflows; some users find that it takes time to get familiar with the platform and its features, especially for those with no prior experience in referral marketing; on the expensive side compared to other referral marketing solutions, especially for small businesses with limited marketing budgets.
Free trial without demo – No
Capterra Rating – 4.1
G2 Rating – 4.4
Software Advice – 4.12
Google Rating – 5.0
Pricing Range – Starting at $1000 / month
Description – Extole aims to help businesses acquire new customers and increase sales through word-of-mouth marketing. The software offers a range of features such as customizable referral campaigns, A/B testing, advanced analytics, and personalized incentives. The platform integrates with various marketing tools and allows businesses to track and measure the success of their referral programs. Extole also offers comprehensive reporting and provides insights into customer behavior, engagement rates, and referral sources.
Key features – A/B testing, which allows users to test different referral program variations to identify the most effective design and incentive options; enterprise-grade security.
Limitations – Users have mentioned that the customization options require some technical knowledge, which could be a limitation for non-technical users; few integrations, especially with CRMs; limited integration options with third-party platforms and tools
Free trial without demo – No
Capterra Rating – 4.7
G2 Rating – 4.8
Software Advice – 4.73
Google Rating – 3.7
Pricing Range – Starting from $3000.00 / month
5. Refersion
Description – With Refersion, businesses can create personalized referral links for their customers to share and incentivize them with rewards for each successful referral. The platform offers robust reporting and analytics to help businesses track their referral program’s success and make data-driven decisions to optimize their campaigns. Additionally, Refersion integrates with a variety of popular e-commerce platforms and tools, making it easy to set up and manage referral programs alongside existing sales and marketing efforts. Refersion has a simple integration process that allows businesses to get started with affiliate marketing quickly. It offers integration with various platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Amazon.
Key features – The ability to create customizable affiliate portals that allow them to create unique pages for their affiliates; advanced commissioning options, such as commission tiers and rate schedules.
Limitations – Refersion’s customization options are limited compared to some of its competitors, which can make it difficult for businesses to create a unique affiliate program; some users have reported difficulty in setting up certain features, such as conversion tracking.
Free trial without demo – Yes (14 days)
Capterra Rating – 4.2
G2 Rating – 3.4
Software Advice – 4.22
Google Rating – 3.4
Pricing Range – Starting from $119 / month
6. Invite Referrals
Description – With InviteReferrals, businesses can create customizable referral campaigns that reward existing customers for referring their friends and family. The platform also provides analytics and reporting to track the success of campaigns and optimize them for better results. Additionally, InviteReferrals offers integrations with popular tools like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce to make it easy for businesses to implement referral campaigns on their e-commerce sites. The software has a user-friendly interface, making it simple for businesses of any size to set up and run successful referral campaigns.
Key features – Supports multiple languages, making it accessible to businesses operating in different regions; integrates with many popular e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and more.
Limitations – Setting up campaigns in InviteReferrals may be complex and require technical expertise; some users have reported that InviteReferrals’ campaign types may not offer enough flexibility to meet their specific needs; lower-tier plans of InviteReferrals may not offer all the features they need for their referral program.
Free trial without demo – No.
Capterra Rating – 4.9
G2 Rating – 4.5
Software Advice – 4.94
Google Rating – 4.0
Pricing Range – Starting from $99 / month
7 Upviral
Description – Cloud-based referral marketing solution designed to help businesses increase their customer base and revenue through the use of viral marketing campaigns. With UpViral, users can create custom referral campaigns that fit their unique needs and goals, and integrate them with their existing marketing tools and platforms. The software offers a range of features for managing referral campaigns, including customizable referral pages and widgets, automatic fraud detection, and built-in email notifications. UpViral also provides detailed analytics and reporting tools to help businesses track the success of their campaigns and optimize their performance.
Key features – Optimized for Facebook and Twitter; pre-designed workflows for sweepstakes and waitlists.
Limitations – Limited customization options for referral emails; based on a points system rather than number of referrals, which can be confusing for potential referrers; lack of key referral marketing strategies like double-sided rewards
Free trial without demo – Yes (14 days)
Capterra Rating – 4.9
G2 Rating – 3.0
Software Advice – 4.88
Google Rating – N/A
Pricing Range – $119 to $299
Whichever tool you choose, you should be up and running soon. And then the fun part starts…
Promoting your referral program 🎉
Once you’ve created your referral program you’ll need to think about how to launch it. How to promote your referral program to your customers and fans so that you can get people referring.
Good luck!
Are there other ways to create referral links for my customers?
Yes, you can read our guide on creating referral links here 👇
What metrics can be used to measure success in referral marketing?
Referral marketing is a powerful strategy for driving customer acquisition and increasing brand awareness. However, in order to determine the success of referral marketing campaigns, it is important to measure specific metrics that effectively track the results of these efforts.
One key metric for measuring the success of referral marketing is the number of referrals generated. This can include both the number of referrals made by existing customers and the number of new customers acquired through these referrals. By tracking these numbers over time, businesses can determine whether their referral marketing efforts are effective in driving new business.
Another important metric to measure is the conversion rate of referred customers. This involves tracking the percentage of referred customers who actually make a purchase or take another desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter, booking a demo, or paying for a product or service. By monitoring this metric, businesses can determine the quality of their referral traffic and whether they are effectively converting these leads into paying customers.
To stay on top or your referral tracking, you should have access to a leaderboard that shows you the users that have generated the most referrals, as well as the users that have generated the most converted referrals.
In addition to these metrics, it can be useful to track the lifetime value of referred customers. This involves calculating the revenue generated by referred customers over time and comparing it to the revenue generated by non-referred customers. By doing so, businesses can determine the long-term value of their referral marketing efforts and make informed decisions about future investments in this area. Wharton School of Business was quoted saying, “Referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value than non-referred customers.”
Finally, businesses can also measure the success of referral marketing campaigns by tracking the overall ROI of these efforts. This involves calculating the total cost of the campaign (including any incentives offered to referrers) and comparing it to the revenue generated as a result of the campaign. By analyzing this metric, businesses can determine the profitability of their referral marketing campaigns and adjust their overall marketing strategies accordingly.
By focusing on customer satisfaction and tracking specific metrics, businesses can effectively measure the success of their referral marketing campaigns and make informed decisions about future investments in this area. With the right strategy and attention to detail, businesses can tap into the power of referrals and reach a wider audience, ultimately driving growth and success for their brand.
What are common mistakes to avoid when implementing referral marketing?
Referral marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool for businesses looking to grow their customer base and increase sales. However, it’s important to approach this strategy with care and attention to detail in order to avoid making common mistakes. Here are a few things to keep in mind when implementing referral marketing:
1. Failing to clearly communicate the referral program: One of the most common mistakes businesses make when implementing a referral program is not clearly communicating the details to their customers. Make sure your referral program is easy to understand and clearly outlines the rewards for both the referrer and the new customer.
2. Offering unappealing rewards and incentives: Another mistake is offering rewards that are not compelling enough to motivate customers to participate in the program. Make sure your rewards are valuable and aligned with your customers’ interests and needs.
3. Ignoring the importance of timing: Timing is crucial when it comes to referral marketing. Make sure you’re asking for referrals at the right time, such as after a customer has made a purchase or had a positive experience with your brand.
4. Neglecting to track and measure results: It’s essential to track and measure the success of your referral program in order to make adjustments and improve its effectiveness over time. Make sure you have a system in place for tracking referrals and analyzing the results.
5. Forgetting to thank and reward referrers: Finally, don’t forget to thank and reward customers who refer new business to you. This will not only help build customer loyalty but also encourage them to continue referring others in the future. A simple thank-you note, discount code, or free gift can go a long way in showing your appreciation.
In summary, referral marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses, but it’s crucial to approach it carefully and avoid common mistakes. By clearly communicating the referral program, offering valuable rewards, timing the ask correctly, tracking and measuring results, and thanking and rewarding referrers, businesses can create an effective referral program that drives sales and builds brand loyalty.
We hope you found our recommendations on referral marketing valuable! If you want to get an idea on how many referrals you could generate by including referral marketing in your 2023 growth strategy.
