Bonuses!

Don't forget to check out two bonuses to promote your referral programs like a pro.

There’s never enough promotion

Early promotion of a referral program is generally a good choice. People attracted at first feel exclusive and VIP clients to a certain extent. If those are influencers, you’re in a win-win situation.

The typical mistake is to stop promoting after that. The hard truth is, carrying on with promotion during the campaign pays back, too. Reminding people of the referral, encouraging them to make this one next step — these are the things to ensure the positive effect of the program.

How to deliver a good message

Standing out is not only about the quality of your services. Your brand has to integral (nope, we’re not tired of emphasizing it!). This means, whatever the promotional message is, it has to be good.

Okay, then, what’s a good message?

• It is clear;

• It is emotionally appealing;

• It fits the company tone.

As to the tone, that’s something you have to figure out your way. Your clients may like sturdy and bold or lovely and peaceful. Or something in the middle. The only way to find it out is to do your research and to try out different options.

As to the clearness, people need to understand exactly what the point is. What they get. Why your referral is good. Talk in the language they understand. Again, test some variants to find out what works.

“Refer NiceTaxi and get 10% reduced fare” — Huh? Get what? Do what?

“Tell my friends about this ride and travel $10 cheaper” — Aha! 💡

Do not hesitate to make your messages more visual: pictures, gifs, emojis, videos (preferably with subtitles) — it simply helps you to stand out in a long, long social media news feed.

Emotional appeal is complicated. Do not confuse it with manipulating — nobody likes to be tricked into something. We manipulate our clients when we say things like “Our services are better than the ones you use now” or “Don’t be lame, refer us to your friends”. Bad, nasty practices.

However, there are words and phrases people tend to concentrate on: personal forms (me, I), reasoning words (because, as), words pointing the moment (now, right away). These phrases are safe to use, provided that you integrate them into an good, clear copy.

Summary: Knowing your customers and their interests helps to promote referral campaign productively. Start with figuring out the profile of an average existing client. Find out the ways to reach this person. Think of why they may refer the services to their friends. Deliver the message that matters to your client: clear, emotional and suiting the chosen communication tone. Gain a lot of new clients! Done!