Sometimes, it seems like you can’t influence whether word-of-mouth marketing happens. But, word-of-mouth recommendations and referral marketing<\/a> are closely linked, because referral programs depend on word of mouth. With referral programs<\/a>, you can encourage happy customers to spread the word about you.<\/p>\n But how can you create a referral marketing program that\u2019s highly likely to drive word-of-mouth sharing? Let\u2019s check out tips and referral marketing success stories!<\/p>\n As a brand, if you\u2019re focusing all your energy on delivering your own messages, you\u2019re fighting a losing battle. People trust recommendations from their friends more than they trust any messaging that comes directly from brands.<\/p>\n The priority and trust that people give to their peers make referral programs<\/a> effective marketing tools. \u00a0Whether they\u2019re given online or in person, referrals feel authentic and organic—so they deliver powerful results for your brand.<\/p>\n There are several compelling reasons to invest in creating referral programs, and to let customers deliver your messages for you:<\/p>\n In this digital, content-saturated world, people tune out traditional ads because they don\u2019t seem relevant.<\/p>\n But when a friend, family member, or influencer talks about a product they love, people listen. They trust that their friend is not misleading them, and that the friend shared the genuine, positive experiences with the product to help others.<\/p>\n In fact, personal experience is the source of information that people trust most.<\/p>\n And many referral programs leverage the power of social media – where people constantly share with each other.<\/p>\n (Want more proof of the power of recommendations? Check out these word-of-mouth marketing statistics<\/a>, and these referral marketing statistics<\/a>!)<\/p>\n Now that you know the power of word of mouth, it\u2019s time to design a referral program that will encourage customers to spread the word about you! For the maximum sharing impact, use these crucial tips:<\/p>\n Referral programs must give customers a reason to share your products with their friends \u2013 and referral incentives<\/a>\u00a0offer the most effective reason to share, whether they\u2019re in the form of discounts, cash, credits, free products, or other rewards.<\/p>\n ColourPop\u2019s referral program offers incentives for both the referrer and friend and cumulatively rewards referrers $5 in store credit for every new customer they refer successfully. <\/em>Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Most modern word-of-mouth marketing happens on social media.\u00a0After all, it\u2019s the easiest way to communicate with friends. Thus, it\u2019s only natural for people to share brands and products on social networks, usually with all of their online friends at once.<\/p>\n Plus, this information can quickly spread to friends of friends, if those friends decide to share further. So, give your customers an easy way to share your brand on social media with a referral program!<\/p>\n Remember, one major goal of referral programs is to make word-of-mouth marketing easy for all involved. The sooner your visitors understand what you want them to do and how, the sooner they\u2019ll spread the word to their friends!<\/p>\n Before they spread kind words about your brand, customers must already love your products enough to share! Usually, existing customers are your best referrals<\/a>\u00a0will give the best referrals as they can speak from experience.<\/p>\n But if they believe in your brand (even if your products have not launched yet), new customers can also provide valuable word-of-mouth shares.<\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s take a look at three of the most dynamic referral program success stories, which have driven word-of-mouth recommendations like masters. We\u2019ve even included two brands that got their start from referral programs, so you can see how they exploded!<\/p>\n Rideshare giant Uber<\/a> has delivered one of the best-known referral program successes. Yes, the main reason why Uber is so successful is that it provides a convenient commuter alternative to taxis, especially in cities.<\/p>\n But word-of-mouth marketing is also a major contributor to its success, thanks to its streamlined referral program for both drivers and riders. Uber started out by offering valuable amounts of credits to referring riders and their friends, with no limit to the number you could earn, and this quickly caused new customers to come rolling in.<\/p>\n Today, riders can earn $20 in Uber credits for every friend they refer who takes their first Uber ride (advertised as a \u00a0free ride, as most Uber rides cost less than $20). The friend gets $20 in credits as well: $5 off their first 4 rides. And drivers aren\u2019t left out, either.<\/p>\n When an Uber driver refers a friend by sharing their personal driver referral code<\/a>, and that friend becomes a driver, the referrer and friend both earn a reward.<\/p>\n Uber\u2019s Free Rides program for riders who refer. <\/em>Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Instead of using an expensive advertising campaign, athleisure brand Girlfriend Collective smartly decided to use a referral program to promote their products before they launched.<\/p>\n Interested customers who read their FAQ and shared a referral link on Facebook received a code for a free pair of $80 leggings, made from recycled water bottles (customers paid only the cost of shipping). The campaign was so successful that they received 10,000 orders on launch day and extended this referral promotion<\/a> even longer. Their website even crashed because the campaign was so popular!<\/p>\n Ellie Dinh, Co-founder of Girlfriend Collective, explained to Instyle\u00a0why she rejected ads and chose a referral marketing campaign: \u00a0\u201cIt costs money to acquire a new customer. So we just took the budget for traditional advertising and delegated it differently. This is, essentially, our ad.”<\/p>\n Girlfriend Collective promotes its free leggings referral program on Instagram prior to launch. <\/em>Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Razor brand Harry\u2019s also decided to be proactive by using a referral program to market before their launch. Since they planned to operate under a subscription model, they wanted to collect as many email addresses as possible before launch.<\/p>\n So, when website visitors entered their own email address into a streamlined landing page, to sign up for updates on the service, this triggered a referral page. On this page, visitors were asked to spread the word to friends who might also be interested in the service, using email, Facebook, or Twitter, with a unique referral link.<\/p>\n When a person got enough friends to successfully sign up for Harry\u2019s email updates, they were rewarded with free products—the more friends who signed up, the more products the person earned. The campaign ran for a week leading up to launch. In that week alone, Harry\u2019s secured 85,000 valid email addresses<\/a>\u00a0of interested potential customers—and today, the company is worth almost a billion dollars!<\/p>\nWhy use a referral program?<\/h2>\n
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3 referral program examples that deliver powerful word of mouth<\/h2>\n
1. Incentivize sharing!<\/h3>\n
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2. Make social sharing easy<\/h3>\n
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3. Make all<\/em>\u00a0sharing simple.<\/h3>\n
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4. Target customers who believe in your brand \u2013 the most likely to share<\/h3>\n
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3 referral program examples that have delivered powerful word of mouth<\/h2>\n
Uber<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nWhy it works<\/h4>\n
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Girlfriend Collective<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nWhy It worked<\/h4>\n
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Harry\u2019s<\/h3>\n
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