Welcome to the next episode of The CMA Newsletter where 480 marketers get better at building Customer Marketing programs and strengthening relationships with their customers in less than 5 minutes.
See past episodes of the CMA Newsletter here. š
Hi friends and new friends,
Iāll start by saying, Iām not an expert in this areaā¦at all..no way. BUT I have a little experience with creating Cross-sell opportunities from a referral program and I think I can at least point you in the right direction.Ā
After this episode you will:
Have a good sense of what may work for you
Understand how to get started
Learn a strategy for Cross Sells
The purpose of a referral program is to attract new leads to your business. But, you're not just bringing in anyone. By asking customers to think about people who would benefit from your product or service, they'll refer leads that are a good fit for your brand. Which are the best leads.Ā I found this info:
Did you know that referral leads convert 30% better than leads generated from other marketing channels and have a 16% higher lifetime value? Customers referred by other customers have a 37% higher retention rate and are 4 times more likely to refer more customers to your brand. Ā
Okay those stats are great but there is so much work that goes into a referral program. Iām not sure if anyone has cracked the code on referrals but in my experience, ya just gotta launch it and see what happens.Ā Horrible advice I know. š¤£
Of course, you will have a strategy in place but it likely wonāt kill it quarter over quarter. You will have to switch up your tactics to keep the program top of mind.
Ok some better advice is to ask your customers directly what they need in order to refer someone:
Straight-forward referral process?
Email Templates?
Content to craft your own emails?
and what would motivate them to refer:
-eGifts?
-Platform credit?
-Month free?
Get in their heads, dig around. This is an opportunity to get creative. However, it will be a challenge.
Ok lets start with what NOT to doā¦
Donāt create a Landing page with a form that says āGive me your friends informationā.
Itās just a weird approach that will never scale.
What you want is a unique URL that they can put in an email or LinkedIn template you provide them. Making it as easy as copy/paste to a colleague OR posting on LinkedIn.
There are a few software tools out there but I use a platform called Growsurf. Itās easy to set up your campaigns, integrates with SFDC, and it gives the referrer that unique URL.Ā
**CMA RANT ALERT**
Build a program doc with your goals, audience, and timelines. This helps keep you organized and makes you look like you know what you are doing. š¤£
Most importantly, you need to be able to point to anything youāre doing and answer āWhyā to your C-Suite.
-Why are you tracking that as a KPI?
-Why did you pick that program to prioritize over the other?
-Why are you asking for that much budget?
Prove that you are in control by eliminating ārandom acts of Customer Marketingā
My Two Programs
Inside these referral platforms you can set up multiple tracks. I have two:
One for prospects to be referred inĀ
One for customers from another department to be referred.
The latter is where I shine.Ā
As far as getting referrals from customer to prospects, I make this available to my top advocates. YouĀ know, the ones that are speaking at conferences or hosting lunch & learns. They have their unique URL and an email template I give them to send to the group they just met with or a colleague. I like that it's there if any of them need it but I donāt put fuel to that fire. I am asking a lot of those advocates so I donāt bug them for leads. Thatās not what my advocacy program is about.
What I do fuel up is my Department-to-Department Referral Program. This campaign is in a nurture stream to all of my advocates about 3 months into the program.
It actually has the #1 opened email due to the subject lineā¦
āSuperSender Exclusive: Earning $300 Has Never Been So Easy!ā It has a 90+% open rate. Now it could be that I market to marketers but I suspect everyone like eGifts.
I usually throw a themed physical gift (Christmas, Halloween, etc) as a bonus to anyone who refers a department by the end of the month. Our bundles are top notch so it really motivates my customers. So back to my point, you gotta figure out what motivates your people.
Iād recommend Gold Belly Iconic Eats. I have been sending Juniors New York Cheesecake A LOT.
Upsell at Sendoso = more seats purchased and cross-sell = breaking into different departments so this is where a referral program comes in great! I offer a double sided reward here so referrer gets $50 and the referee gets $50 once the demo happens.
Email template
Here is an email template for the referrer to send to a colleague:
Subject Line: Check out Sendoso- $50 eGift
Hi [Referral],
I hope this week has been treating you well!
I wanted to reach out because I know that you [insert activity that the referral does often or is starting and they may need help with -- e.g. āare starting a surprise & delight programā), and Iāve recently been seeing a ton of success with Sendoso and have been impressed with the impact that theyāve driven for [me/our business].
Thinking Sendoso could help you:
List one project (onboarding new customers)
List another project, emphasizing its impact (Sending welcome packages to new hires)
I would highly recommend booking a demo with Sendoso using this link! (hyperlink your URL)
You will be able to see Sendoso in action as they will send you a $50 eGift after the demo!
Have fun!
Regards,
[Referrerās Name]
Spending $50 on a current customer who is willing to check out our platform, is a no brainer for us. It also motivates the referrer to do something nice for their colleague.Ā
(I have never once had someone try and scam me into giving them $50 just in case you were wondering that :)
Also, the landing page is a custom landing page that speaks to all the other use cases we offer. Once they request a demo, the alert goes to the Account Manager as opposed to an SDR. (that would be embarrassing) Everything is integrated into SFDC and I set up alerts in both Growsurf & SFDC. GrowSurf also integrates with Tango Card if you donāt have Sendoso.Ā
Next, inside that program doc, you will explain the process and create some email templates for the Account Managers that points them to who referred the making it a very personalized experience.
Once the deal closes, (you will see the update in Growsurf) the referrer gets rewarded and itās the perfect opportunity to promote their advocacy status (if you have different levels).
These deals that come in are always celebrated because Customer Marketing & Advocacy is literally creating mini sales people out of their customers.
**Lesson Learned**- I waited too long to set it up. I had been at the company 2 years before I set this up. Think of all the referrals I missed out on especially at a fast growing Series A start up. Even if you get a couple per year year, it will pay for the software and the rewards. Growsurf has this cool ROI calculator.Ā
Well thatās all I got on this topic. š¤·š»āāļø Definitely not an expert in this area but I still want to share my experience.
Oh BTW- I just asked Growsurf if they would give my subscribers a discount and they said Yes!Ā
Click the link to get a demo and 10% off!Ā
You know I will always try to get hookups for you guys š
Love,
Your CMA Soulmate, Leslie
On a personal note:
Tahoe was fun last weekend until it wasnāt. Smoke from the Northern Ca fires hit and we had to leave early. Still made memories and got some good pics:
Miles:
Sand Harbor:
The Fam: