1. Make yourself worth “spending” social currency on<\/h2>\n
Before focusing on your referral program structure, you need to ensure you’re giving customers reasons to refer you. Provide them with a product (and customer experience) that’s so great that they’re happy to reciprocate by referring you.<\/p>\n
It’s all about that social currency \u2014 people will only share something with friends if it makes them look cool, helpful, or like an authority.<\/p>\n
They won’t share anything that they think would set their friends back. But they’ll “spend” social currency on you, and make you<\/em> look valuable too, if they think that “investment” will increase their own social capital.<\/p>\n Social proof is a psychological principle that says that people look to others when they\u2019re trying to read a situation. So, for example, when someone comes to your website, it helps to show testimonials from people who\u2019ve purchased your products and services.<\/p>\n Most of us have social proof on the front pages of our website, but why not prove customers are happy with your referral program? It\u2019s rare to see any social proof on a referral program page, or in a referral program email.<\/p>\n Having customer testimonials can help increase the conversion rate of people completing your referral process.<\/p>\n What do you and your customers have in common? Psychology says that when people see similarities between their situation and the situation that others are in, they’ll be more likely to act.<\/p>\n So, try highlighting those similarities on your referral page. Ask your current sharers why they signed up for the referral program and how they would describe it, and use that language to encourage others. It’s one of the best copywriting techniques.<\/p>\n The funny part of this proven theory is that you don\u2019t even have to have the same interests as your customers for this technique to work. For example, if you have a professional photo and you look similar to your customers and the people they know, they\u2019re more likely to\u00a0trust you.<\/p>\n Seems a bit shallow, right? It’s just human nature.<\/p>\n People are much more likely to do something if they get something in return, but many referral programs don\u2019t give anything first. Many referral programs encourage customers to refer their friends without giving any reward. Why would these customers bother making that referral?<\/p>\n Instead, ask yourself “What am I giving them?” before asking customers to make a referral. If customers don’t see any benefit for joining and spreading the word, then chances are they probably won’t.<\/p>\n It’s all about picking a reward people actually want to earn \u2014 and putting it front and center. Even though people will only refer awesome products and experiences, they won’t actually share unless they know what’s in it for them.<\/p>\n Make sure that reward is compelling. Will people actually use it? Does it reflect the value of a referral? And advertise the reward in your program headlines where they’ll see it instantly.<\/p>\n Sure, people want to know what’s in it for them. But to really drive referrals, you should also let them give a reward to their friends.<\/p>\n It’s all about how the sharer thinks. People don\u2019t want to \u201csell out\u201d their friend just to earn a reward of their own. That feels way too self-serving. So, they won\u2019t feel as motivated to share with friends if they\u2019re the only one getting something out of it.<\/p>\n Letting people reward the friend changes the conversation to feel more altruistic. Who doesn’t want to help their friend out and give them an exclusive gift? It also lets the sharer gain social capital in their friend’s eyes, because the friend is thankful to receive a reward and\u00a0<\/em>find out about something cool.<\/p>\n A headline that says \u201cGive your friend $25 (and get $25 for yourself)\u201d looks way better than one that says \u201cRefer and you get $25.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Added bonus:<\/strong> On the friend\u2019s end, your business offer will look way more compelling. Since their peer gave them a reward, they\u2019re much more likely to click on the message their peer sent, and are ultimately more likely to become your new customer.<\/p>\n People love video games because it’s satisfying to complete goals. Think of how rewarding it is to reach the next milestone or unlock another achievement.<\/p>\n A tiered referral program works the same way, because it offers higher-value rewards as people make more referrals. It gamifies the experience (makes it feel like a game), which gets\u00a0 people eager to keep sharing and earning. Gamify this even more with a progress bar that displays how many shares someone needs before the next reward.<\/p>\n If your budget is tighter and tiered rewards don’t make as much sense for you, don’t worry. There’s another rewards psychology hack you can use insted. Give a higher reward for\u00a0just the first referral.\u00a0<\/em>This drums up excitement quickly and gets more referrals in the door with a lower barrier to entry.<\/p>\n Here at Referral Rock, we’ve often asked a happy customer for a review or testimonial before asking for the referral. This is a pretty small ask, and most of our customers are willing to review us.<\/p>\n This strategy gets someone committed to a small action before asking for the bigger action of participating in our referral program. It also loops them into who we are and what we do, and encourages these customers to get more connected with our team.<\/p>\n2. Prove it with social proof<\/h2>\n
![\"Prove](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Screen-Shot-2016-05-06-at-12.56.03-PM.png\" "\\"get")
<\/p>\n3. Show similarities and commonalities<\/h2>\n
![\"use](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/goldieblox.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n4. Enlist reciprocity<\/h2>\n
![\"incentives](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Screen-Shot-2016-03-04-at-1.30.16-PM-618x434.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n5. Give the friend a reward<\/h2>\n
6. Gamify the reward experience<\/h2>\n
![\"gamification\"](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pasted-image-0-e1600233678248.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"harrys](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/harrys-progress-bar.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n7. Or, create a lower barrier to entry<\/h2>\n
8. Get a small commitment first<\/h2>\n
9. Show you\u2019re an authority<\/h2>\n
![\"show](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Screen-Shot-2016-05-06-at-1.15.37-PM.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"bybut](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/bybut-referral-bonus-double.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n