This article and video are part of our “Feature in Focus” series where we discuss our “refer-a-friend” feature.
This is another of the incredibly effective tools our clients use to build membership in their loyalty programme. Discover how our retailer customers are using our recruit-a-friend concept to engage with their app users and drive app recruitment.
The Power of Referral Campaigns:
Our research shows that members who join a loyalty programme by invitation from another member are MUCH more likely to engage when they join. And they are more likely to refer their OWN friends to join too, creating a virtuous circle, powered by friendship.
Referral campaigns are even more powerful than other channels such as in-store posters or even digital campaigns on social media, because referrals allow you to benefit from the trust and friendship between family and friends, allowing more and more people to hear about your programme and enjoy it.
For every loyalty programme that we create in Liquid Barcodes, we set up a “refer-a-friend” campaign, which suggests to members that they recommend your programme to their friends and family. This can be done on a banner ad within your app, or in a dedicated section that you create.
Most importantly, we allow you to incentivize your members to take this specific action. A free coffee or hot drink is the most popular reward.
Powered by coffee. Reward your members for supporting your programme.
You can choose to reward the referring member (the “referrer”) or the new member (known as the “referee”). Or you can choose to reward BOTH parties every time a new member signs up a friend using the recommendation feature.
Members Recruiting Members – How it Works
- The existing members click on the button to “refer a friend”.
- They select their friend’s number from their phone book on their mobile.
- Our app then opens an SMS.
- The message wording is pre-populated – as it’s created at the set-up stage.
- The member simply clicks ‘send’ and the invitation message is sent instantly to their friend
- Their “referee” receives an SMS with a URL to download the app.
- Once the new member downloads the app, the instant rewards are sent out to the referrer and/or the referee as per your programme rules.
Everyone is inspired to share when everyone benefits.
Automation and Referrals Combined
As well as creating this campaign in your app for members to access, we also recommend that you set up regular automated outbound campaigns and remind (and incentivise) your members regularly with this.
As it’s such a powerful feature, we recommend you send reminders every 30/60 days, reminding your members that they have this easy and enjoyable way to share the programme with their family and friends. Once they try it, they simply love it!
As you can see, our live loyalty platform is designed to be simple for you to use and for your members to enjoy and share.
If you are not yet using our referral feature to drive your customer loyalty, contact us now and our customer success team will be delighted to help you set it up, and automate it, so you can focus on creating compelling new campaigns.
About Us:
Liquid Barcodes is a leading global loyalty and digital marketing technology company specialising in the convenience store and foodservice industries. Our proprietary cloud-based technology platform allow retailers to create and manage their digital marketing campaigns with a proprietary process we call the “customer connection cycle’ to engage, promote and reward customers activities in real-time across digital and media channels.
How we do it:
We have developed the most advanced loyalty and digital marketing technology platform specifically for convenience store and foodservice retailers globally.
Retailers use our self-service dashboard to create and manage loyalty driven marketing campaigns that increase purchases with their existing customers, as well as effectively target and acquire new customers through partners or paid media channels.
One core component of live loyalty is gamification. We have gamified branding, loyalty and promotions. We believe this approach is essential in order to get customers’ attention and ultimately truly engage them with repeatable actions thereby winning their loyalty.
Check out some of our exciting/proven results here:
About Me:
Chief Content Officer, Liquid Barcodes and Independent Loyalty Consultant
With over twenty-five years marketing experience, I specialise in loyalty marketing consulting, managing consumer loyalty propositions, strategy and operations. In addition to working with Liquid Barcodes, my clients have included Telefonica O2 Priority, Three Mobile, Electric Ireland, Allied Irish Bank and The Entertainer Group (UAE), as well as Avios – the global points currency for some of the world’s top airlines. I am also a former judge for the Loyalty Magazine Awards and host of the “Let’s Talk Loyalty” podcast.
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