When it comes to sales conversions, one of the best forms of marketing is referral marketing. It is incredibly powerful because people tend to rely on the opinions of others to form their own decision. Using email to prompt customers to refer friends and review your business online will help generate more sales and increase customer loyalty.
Reviews
Gathering reviews from customers can have incredible effects on sales as a post purchase campaign not only continues to develop customer relationships but gives you the opportunity to gain feedback for a small cost.
Restaurants are a great example of companies who can effectively use review campaigns. How many times have you checked the reviews when researching a dinner venue? Many people use reviews to make purchase decisions so building these up will help create more conversions.
If a customer has enjoyed a great meal on a Friday night, send them a review email the following morning while they are still familiar with their experience. Including a discount for their next visit will incentivise the favour and will create repeat business.
You could even try offering different deals for multiple review platforms. This will give your customer options and encourage them to leave several reviews. If you could get a free drink, chips and 5% off your next meal, wouldn’t you?
Just remember to keep the review process as simple as possible – you don’t want the customers to have to work for the incentive. You also need to ensure the campaigns are sent at the right time. If you are in the service industry, try sending the campaign within 24 hours. If it is a product, try up to a week later, depending on when the customer receives their purchase. This longer time frame will allow customers to have received and started utilizing the product and will be more inclined to leave a review once they have had some time with it.
Referrals
Referral campaigns are another common strategy to generate brand familiarity and word of mouth marketing. With 1 in 3 people coming to a brand through a recommendation, it’s an effective way to generate more customers and potentially sales. Customers who are referred by friends who are regular attendees to that store, restaurant or service have a 37% higher retention rate to most others customers.
Recommendations from familiar sources have a greater impact than cold introductions, so try emailing a discount voucher for the customer and their friend if they complete the referral. Your customers will be extending the brand name and if they use the voucher, you’ll also get repeat business! It’s a win-win really. Just make sure you don’t oversell the email. Although this may be a good opportunity to promote your product to new customers, this campaign should be simple and to the point to ensure the referral is completed.
Make sure you get creative with deals and offers. You are asking your customers for a favour, so make sure the incentive is enticing. If you are needing some help with brand promotion strategies, get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.