As you can probably tell, referral marketing program benchmarks are very popular these days. Companies that offer rewards for people who do business with others have become increasingly common. Most of these apps allow you to earn points by performing certain actions and then redeem those points for prizes or gift cards.
Most referrers receive a small amount of credit for the action they took in promoting the product or service through social media, word-of-mouth, or both. A few even get an incentive fee per referral sale, but most feel that this is not enough reward to influence their shopping habits.
As a seller, there’s little you can do about this beyond giving up. At least, until now.
By doing some research, however, we were able to come up with some benchmarks and tips for offering more lucrative incentives via referrals. So, what can sellers do to increase their referral bonuses? Here are our top five recommendations!
1) Track your performance
This may sound obvious, but it’s important to know how well your referral program is working. Luckily, many companies will provide you with easy to use tools to track this information. Some make you upload sales receipts or copy a piece of text before uploading a picture, but most let you add all of the details yourself.
The better you know your program, the easier it will be to determine if the changes you make are having an effect.
Diversification of products or services
A strong referral marketing program does not depend on one product or service. This diversity is important to ensure that your business has enough income to survive changes in the market and natural disasters (like when an earthquake strikes and closes down the restaurant next door).
Your referrals can be like a second revenue source who doesn’t demand high salaries, but they are still valuable to have. You will want to make sure that you don’t cut them off either, as this would hurt their reputation of bringing in money for your company.
Some ways to diversify your business include…
Having additional products or services that fit with what your current ones do. For example, if your business makes curtains, then offering window shades is another way to stay competitive.
Making the referral marketing program appealing
The second important factor in getting people to refer you is making the referral program seem interesting. People are typically not motivated by what things they can get for themselves, but rather what opportunities they can give others!
By offering them something in return, they become more inclined to spread your message and contribute to your business.
This is why most companies have reward programs where you earn points or rewards for doing certain actions such as buying a product or giving away a service.
The better your company’s products are, the harder it will be to persuade people to work for free or take no credit for their efforts. However, if you offer an incentive like a discount on your own products, that may motivate some individuals to start referring around.
You should also make sure the person who receives the incentive feels appreciated and respected. This way, they’ll feel compelled to keep saying nice things about you even when you don’t ask anything of them.
Offering a reward to boost your referral marketing program
Another way to gain new customers is through referral marketing programs. Companies offer rewards or discounts to individuals who then refer their friends for a specific service or product.
A common type of referral program is offering a discount to someone else’s business! For example, if you are looking to spend money this winter, your best bet is buying a pair of shoes. A great source for quality footwear is shopping at Amazon.
So what if I told you that you can earn $50 in amazon vouchers by referring people to buy some shoes from Amazon? You would probably try to refer as many people as possible to maximize your savings!
That is exactly how referral marketing programs work. By helping others achieve their goal, you get rewarded! The rewards are not always financial, but related to the products or services being referred for purchase.
By creating a happy experience for another individual, you help promote the brand, and hopefully create future sales.
Encourage referral marketing
A referral marketing program should not only have you offering your product or service, but also actively incentivizing others to purchase it for you.
The easiest way to do this is by creating an online form or app that people can use to tell their friends about the products and services you offer.
By adding a reward or incentive for them to refer a friend, they will feel motivated to spread the word about your company.
Rewards can be anything from credit towards your business, to merchandise, to freebies such as digital books or tools.
The rewards don’t need to be big – even something small like a coupon discount can make a difference!
But making sure that the reward isn’t just limited to one time only is key, so that people are actually given the opportunity to repeat how you’ve rewarded them before.
This creates sustainable loyalty which is what companies want to keep acquiring through advertising, word of mouth, etc.
Creating a website for your referral marketing programs
Starting your business from scratch is always an interesting way to go about it. But not every beginner feels confident in their web design skills, so they choose to use pre-existing templates or sites as inspiration for what kind of look they want to have theirs.
This can be problematic because most of these sites also include powerful referral programs that reward you for bringing new people into their site. These rewards are typically in the form of freebies or discounts on services or products!
By incorporating such apps onto your own site, you can still offer your referrals valuable rewards while adding another layer to your brand. Create your business using our tips and then start looking into ways to add some app logos to match.
Identifying your target market
The first step to successful referral marketing program benchmarks is defining your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your product or service? This could be done through direct advertisements, social media sites, community forums, etc.
By using these resources, you can gather information about your potential customer’s needs and what products they use for them. By doing this, you will know if what you have works for others or not!
You may also want to consider whether or not your services and products fit their lifestyle or not. If they do not, then it is probably better to look elsewhere for referrals.
Just because someone else has used your product does not mean that it is worth buying. You must determine if your product is necessary before investing in it.
Developing a marketing strategy
Another way to increase sales is through referral marketing program benchmarks or CRMs as they are commonly called. A software solution that allows you to create profiles for your business, personal, and affiliated accounts will help you achieve this.
By creating an account for yourself, you can then take advantage of all the features within the app free of charge! You can connect these accounts using social media, email, phone numbers, and more.
This helps you reach beyond your initial audience to attract new people who may be looking to start a business like yours or need your expertise in the field. By incorporating referrals into your advertising strategies, you’re not only helping them find what they want but also finding new ones for yourself.
Designing the referral marketing program benchmarks
When designing your referral marketing program benchmark, there are two main things to consider. The first is how you will get people to refer you. This includes creating content that encourages others to refer you, or offering reward referrals for doing so.
The second part of this is establishing what kind of referrals they can give you. Will it be through their company? Or can they take someone else’s product and make an endorsement for it?
You should also think about what types of referrals are valuable to you as a business and if those individuals would help promote your products or services. If they don’t, then why would you expect them to do so for you?
Another important thing to note is whether or not the person being referred can control the message that they share about you. For example, if someone who works at a grocery store recommends your weight loss service, they may feel pressured to use it themselves even though it may not work for them.