E-cigarettes were invented back in 2003. The first patent for fidget spinners was granted in the early '90s. People have been drinking almond milk since the 13th century. There's nothing new about these things but, suddenly, they're everywhere.

That's what happens when a niche phenomenon goes mainstream, and it's exactly what's happened with referral marketing in 2017. Once regarded as something only risk-taking, edgy brands like Uber and Airbnb dared to do, it's now the fastest growing form of customer acquisition.

That's why international giants such as Germany's Zalando, the biggest fashion retailer in Europe, and Expedia.de, part of the largest travel company in the world, have both recently jumped on-board and embraced referral. Like Feelunique, ASOS, Telefónica and hundreds more brands before them, they've teamed up with the leading experts here at Buyapowa to launch programmes designed to get their customers sharing and their friends shopping.

Of course, just like your local Starbucks didn't offer almond milk lattes back in Middle Ages (although I hear their mead frappucinos were divine), none of these brands prioritised referral until their customers began to demand it. According to the Ivy League data-scientists at the Wharton School of Business, 83% of customers

Neukundengewinnung ist schwer. Aber was wäre wenn Sie 20% von neuen Kunden durch die Empfehlung eines Freundes gewinnen könnten. Solche Resultate erreichen die Firmen, die Buyapowas Empfehle-einen-Freund Plattform nutzen.