You can have the best referral program with fantastic rewards, but if it’s difficult for customers to use or understand, they won’t use it. Everyone is overwhelmed enough as it is — the last thing you want is for them to have to wade through piles of information or red tape just to send someone your way. Here are some tips for keeping your program simple and user-friendly:
- Keep the rewards simple. Don’t get too complicated with different levels of rewards or different rewards for different people. Keeping it simple and streamlined will make it easy for your customers to understand…and easy for you and your employees to implement.
- Don’t give too many choices. More choice is not always a good thing. In fact, surveys show that when people are given too many choices, it actually increases their confusion and reduces their satisfaction with their final selection. Some people will end up doing nothing. If you must give choices for redeeming referral rewards, keep it simple. Ask them to choose between two types of the same thing ($20 off a future service or $20 in merchandise credit, for example, or a t-shirt in red or blue.)
- Have a variety of ways for people to submit their referrals. Asking people to go online to submit their referrals will cut down on the number of referrals you receive. Instead, take referrals in person, by phone, by mail, AND on your website. You may want to even let customers text the information to you if it’s more convenient for them. Be sure to let people know how they can send you referrals.
- Ask only for the information you really need. Everyone hates filling out forms, and the shorter your form is, the better. If you don’t need someone’s phone number, don’t ask for it. Keep it short and sweet, and remember you can always get the rest of the information when your referral becomes a customer.
- Confirm when you receive a referral. Let your customer know when you receive a referral from them. An automated reply, “Thank you for trusting us!” is perfect. You can also make a note in the computer if you have a contact management system so the next person to speak with that customer can let them know you appreciate the referral.
- Reward promptly. The only thing worse than never receiving the reward you were promised is having to wait months for the reward you were promised. Reward your customers promptly when they’ve earned something from your referral program. Positive reinforcement will increase the likelihood of a repeat performance.
Do you have any other suggestions you’d like to share?
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