5 Things About Referral Marketing Your Boss Wants to Know

Every new business strategy starts with a good idea. Before the preliminary budget talks, Gantt charts, and timeline-to-launch meetings, you have to convince your boss and other team members to rally around the right decision. Whether you’re the Referral Marketing Manager or an ambitious member of the marketing team, it’s probably likely that you (or your team) have a goal tied to revenue/sales.

If your brand is looking to bridge the gap between an engaged audience of customers and effective inbound marketing efforts, then it's time to consider a referral marketing strategy. With a referral marketing strategy, customers become invigorated and incentivized to refer while attracting new customers to your business. When done the right way, referral marketing is intuitive and innovative. Plus, you can become the office superstar that has leveraged organic customer behavior to meet marketing goals (and hopefully get that promotion you deserve).

We’ve done the bulk of the research to get you started, you just have to figure out what a customizable automated referral marketing platform looks like for your company. Trust us, your boss will appreciate it.

What is referral marketing?

Referral marketing happens when brands use trackable programs to reward current customers for recommending a brand’s product or service. The most effective way to track, manage, and scale referral marketing efforts is through an automated platform. Automated referral marketing software is an innovative solution for companies seeking an alternative to traditional outbound marketing efforts and a new stream of revenue. By harnessing the organic power of word-of-mouth, referral marketing transforms existing customers into brand ambassadors and invites new customers to become loyal customers.

What will our company gain from it?

In addition to a more empowered customer base, your brand will acquire rich leads or new sales that reach your brand through recommendations from trusted family members and friends within their network. This allows for a more streamlined process to engage with consumers and nurture them into becoming loyal customers and brand ambassadors. Each referral comes with their own data that is tracked through the platform and can be used to guide future strategic decisions.

What is the ROI?

Although success looks different for every company, referral marketing enables your brand to unlock revenue from existing and prospective customers. According to Forbes, a study done by Goethe University revealed that customers recommended to businesses were 18% more likely to stay with companies than other customers. A referral marketing strategy can provide an organic entryway into to your brand that attracts rich leads who are even more likely to stay with the brand as a loyal customer. Referral marketing boosts the quality of your customer experience and the quality of your customers. ROI is accessed through an increasingly valuable audience of engaged, loyal and aware customers.

Why now?

It’s time to try something new. Why not incorporate the time-tested methods of word-of-mouth communication? Brands can capture trackable and informed leads while boosting brand awareness and enhancing the customer experience in a way that traditional marketing methods cannot. Referral marketing empowers you to incorporate companywide goals into a measurable and rewarding experience for customers, all while driving revenue for your brand.

How can we implement it?

Automated referral marketing technology allows for highly customizable campaigns that maintain a brand’s look and feel while targeting specific audience segments. By providing shareable links for referrals through a customizable platform, companies can attract prospective customers and empower brand ambassadors with incentives that drive revenue.

Conclusion

Now that you understand the basics, it’s time to guide your boss to give you the green light. Download or print our Executive Summary for Referral Marketing one-pager and prepare to hear praise at your next review. Good luck!

Do you want to learn how to turn more of your customers, partners, affiliates, and fans into revenue generators? Request a custom demo from one of our referral marketing software experts today!