Referral Marketing is a power-packed marketing strategy that not only enhances profitability but also provides fruitful results. Referral marketing allows you to get maximum traffic and in turn higher conversions. Please read this blog to know more about it.
The primary goal of any business is to attain profitability and sustainability in the long run. E-commerce websites help to accomplish this requirement by increasing publicity and traffic of any particular business.
An E-commerce referral program is one such way to encourage a rewarding facility for current customers who refer your brand to their acquaintances. In case, a new customer purchases from your business, you have to provide a discount or credit or gift to the referrer under the e-commerce referral program.
WHAT IS REFERRAL MARKETING?
It is one of the powerful strategies which ensure sales and conversions via networks of existing customers. This marketing strategy depends on recommendations and word of mouth. Therefore, it is also known as word of mouth marketing. Initially, it can happen through several channels such as email, social network, Whatsapp and mobile text message.
Your existing customers’ base becomes your target to increase the volume of sales. Referral marketing works as a stimulus. Also, you can pay out influencers to promote your brand on social media through sponsored posts.
What are the most common referral channels?
The referral is a trusted form of advertising because mostly the brand recommendation comes from customers’ acquainted circle. The most common referral channels are –
- Friends and Family
- Customers’ reviews and opinion
- News publications
- Online posts
- Influencer’s opinion (blogs, social media)
- References
Why is Referral Marketing Beneficial?
It is considered as one of the powerful tools of a marketing strategy because of the following reasons –
1. Target
We usually talk about our favorite brands in our known circle and it is very common in human nature. As a marketer, you also want to reach more customers who have similar tastes and interests like your existing customer base.
It works effectively because the recommendation comes from a well-known side. By the application of referral marketing tactics, you successfully invoke brand awareness among your target audience.
2. Trust
Trust is an important factor to solidify relationships between business and customers. To sell your products, you have to represent yourself as a trusted brand.
Sometimes we don’t like to follow a salesperson’s words because we have doubts against his or her communication or the authenticity of products due to lack of trust. In referral marketing, the sales pitch comes from your acknowledged circle, therefore it works magically.
Even research has proved that people always trust other people’s opinions over common ads.
3. Influence
Just two decades ago, marketers could reach typical customers in a very limited number. Also, people influenced any brand mostly through phone or face to face conversation. But after the advent of the social networking era, the work becomes simple.
The average person’s audience is large because of the presence of social media and review websites. Now you can reach thousands of your friends, followers, and acquaintances via a single post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The audiences have the power to make or break a brand image of a company just by clicking a single post in the social network. Because of those critical reasons the referral marketing gradually becomes powerful and a popular marketing strategic tool.
What types of companies choose referral marketing?
Referral marketing is a common factor where your customers and influencers talk about your brand. The following e-commerce stores like to implement referral marketing in their business strategy.
- Fashion e-store
- B2B businesses.
- Household items such as TV, Refrigerator, AC and so on.
Those e-commerce stores offer large referral incentives to both parties which are profitable to both parties.
How do you launch referral marketing for your website?
To launch a successful referral marketing campaign for your website you have to consider employee referral programs. Take a look at some of the interesting points under this referral program :
1. Offer lucrative incentives :
Many customers like to share their product experience and even they influence others to buy the product to get similar experience out of the product. In return, the brand must give them attractive incentives to acknowledge their efforts.
Incentives may be of different types such as discounts, cash incentives, store credits, and gifts, etc. It is essential that your incentives must be worthwhile to attract the attention of customers. As per a survey, companies that adopt referral marketing strategic tools can experience 86% more profit as compared to other tools.
2. Spread the referral programs among customers :
You can promote your e-commerce referral programs and spread it among customers through email, social media and paid posts.
3. The referral program must be easily recognized :
You can launch your referral program as you launch a new product. Thus, the program has to be as simple as possible so that it serves all types of customers.
CONCLUSION
To make your referral program successfully increase conversion rates your team members must be well-versed about referral strategy, launching time and its effects.
