Referral marketing is the fastest-growing form of customer acquisition – so much so that it’s becoming increasingly hard to find a successful brand which doesn’t operate some kind of refer-a-friend scheme.
It’s also fundamentally simple: your existing fans and customers are rewarded for telling their friends about you, those friends are incentivised to shop, everyone’s happy.
The days when consumers would support brands without knowing anything about them are over. The internet has made it easier than ever to learn about the ethics and practices of companies which consumers support. Companies with track records of ethical missteps or questionable policies can’t hide those blunders anymore. Instead, they bear the brunt of bad social media buzz, which can have a very real impact on their stock prices and overall reputations.
Cosmetics companies who develop and sell their own products have never had more opportunity to bring their products to market.
The past five years have seen a rapid rise in the availability (and affordability) of selling products online through ecommerce platforms such as Big Commerce, Hybris, Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce, which has made it easier than ever to launch products to a wide audience without having to invest in costly brick and mortar stores.
We recently launched a world-class referral programme for Expedia, the world’s biggest travel company. We couldn’t be more excited to have partnered with a brand that’s been revered as an ecommerce pioneer for over 20 years. And we’re delighted to bring their millions of happy customers a refer-a-friend scheme that’s more powerful, more engaging and more effective than anything the travel industry’s ever seen.
Of course, when you think referral and travel, one brand currently springs to mind: Airbnb, who became a household name on the back of their referral programme. In fact, Airbnb (along with Dropbox and Uber) just about wrote the referral rulebook – so you’d assume their scheme would be right up there with the very best. But here’s the thing: if you take a look at Airbnb’s referral programme, it’s actually starting to look worryingly out of date.
So that’s exactly what we’ve done. Below, you’ll find our expert take on Airbnb’s refer-a-friend scheme. But, first, a little history…
As the world’s most advanced referral marketing platform, we spend all day every day digging into what makes people share invites to their favourite brands and retailers and what makes their friends shop. Over the years, we’ve acquired a vast wealth of insight… now it’s time to share it with you.
In this dispatch from our labs, you’ll learn which sharing channels, rewards and incentives work best. We’ll identify which kinds of customers refer the most, the best time to get them involved and how long their referrals can take to come in. And we’ll debunk a myth or two along the way.
When it comes to referrals, one size definitely does not fit all. What works for a supermarket won’t work for a luxury fashion brand. What works for a mobile phone network won’t work for a casual dining chain. And, if there’s one sector which is all about finding the perfect match, it’s premium beauty – where the slightest variation in shade, smell or effect can make a massive difference.
