The differences between referral and conventional marketing programs are so great that the two share little overlap in terms of complete planning, marketing goals, marketing organization, and appropriate target markets and execution strategies. Conventional promotion plans seek advocates among present employees to spread word of mouth, direct advertising efforts at high life-value customers, focus on customer satisfaction, and use promotional programs that greatly rely on social media.
By comparison, referral marketing relies on motivating content/pleased customers as a referral base, seeking current customers that can supply referrals with a high lifetime value, using referral-based marketing software to augment traditional promotions, and creating a settlement system for referrals based on either direct payment or increased exposure. Major edges of referral marketing programs as compared with traditional marketing plans include greater credibility of friend/family member recommendations over paid advertisements, accessibility to new customers that conventional advertising plans may not achieve, and better matching of referred customers' needs to a great or service. This informative article presents an eight-step process to develop, execute, and assess the success of a referral plan. Furthermore, it presents examples of successful referral application strategies from--among others--Dropbox, Roku, PayPal, Digitalis, and Omaha Steaks and discusses academic research findings.
Referral marketing Harnessing the power of your customers Case Study Solution
PUBLICATION DATE: January 15, 2016 PRODUCT #: BH713-HCB-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about SALES & MARKETING
