The main mistakes when implementing a referral program

For quite some time now, marketers have noted the considerable potential of the referral program: its reach, level of trust, and the ability to target the right target audience, thereby successfully attracting new customers.

The principle of operation of such a program is simple in its own way, but also deceptive - you reward a customer for being a fan of your brand and recommending it to friends. At the same time, this program is capable of giving much more, but on condition that you do not make gross mistakes that are typical for beginners.

Your offer does not match the needs of the consumer

You have to understand and determine for yourself what kind of reward can attract your customer. And if a customer buys goods from you once a week or once every six months, it is optimal to give him favorable discounts on subsequent purchases and purchases as a bonus. If the customer does not buy from you on a regular basis, he is not interested in such rewards. This category of customers will be interested in getting their money's worth here and now. It can be a gift card, a discount on a second product, or something else.

Therefore, your very first step is to get to know your customer better, and only then will they talk about your brand in a positive way, with a positive attitude. The main thing is that your program will be valuable to the client here and now, otherwise, it will not work.

As an example, you can consider the Strikingly platform for creating your own website - it provides instant rewards, understanding the needs of the target audience. As for their referral program, it implies a monthly, and free, subscription that is beneficial for the user for each new friend attracted and registered on the site. In addition, they additionally encourage users to fill in all the fields of the referral form by offering them a video with a cute, dancing cat immediately for filling in all its columns. And strange as it may sound, this little experience helped increase the program's conversion rate by 20%.

The program is not promoted to the world

Despite the fact that word-of-mouth marketing is slow to get the word out, a customer referral program should not be left to its own devices after its launch. Its description can be placed on the main page on the network, mentioned in trade and information newsletters, in a post, and so on.

Your form is too neat.

Marketers strike a balance between the large amount of data collected from each completed form and the conversion rate. The latter means that the more required fields, the lower the conversion rate - each additional field to fill in reduces it by 3%. The main thing is simplicity. According to Leatherology, it is important for retailers of leather products to have two fields, namely the username and email address. And already moving on to the next stage - the page they fill out, they receive a code that is suitable only for them.

In the program, set the threshold above 1

A referral program will work more efficiently if it develops organically. Thus, the condition of attracting 5, 7, or 15 friends to receive a bonus will lead to the fact that a person will not refer a single acquaintance. But there are exceptions to this rule. If the referral program provides for a fairly favorable reward and such a condition is quite justified.

If you take into account all these mistakes, your referral program will be a great success and bring a good income.