How do you know your customers love your brand or your products? Your loyalty program is thriving. Repeat purchases are off the charts. Ratings and reviews are easy to get and are always five-star. Everyone follows you Facebook. If you have any of this going for you, then you have a huge opportunity to take this love for your brand and turn it into a new marketing channel.
Refer-a-friend is the channel for emotional marketing. A referral from someone who knows and loves your brand is a recommendation that helps acquire new customers. And those customers tend to be your best customers thanks to the underlying psychology of referrals:
Social proof – a recommendation from a friend guides our decision making. A Nielsen study shows that 84% of people view a friend’s recommendation as more trustworthy than any other form of marketing
Reciprocity – customers acquired from a referral are more likely to then refer their friends than any other customer. That’s because of reciprocity, the human instinct to do unto others. Reciprocity and sharing are the foundations of refer-a-friend and are a form of emotional marketing that can power your customer acquisition efforts.
Instant gratification – when rewards are long delayed, they lose value. A small reward delivered immediately can have a big impact. And a timely reward is an powerful thank you from the brand to your customer.
To quickly create a refer-a-friend program tied to human nature, builds on the love that customers have for your brand, and creates a powerful acquisition channel, contact Extole or check out our 2016 Referral Guide.
