I trust you had a wonderful weekend.
An experience I had inspired this post..
Referral Marketing is neglected a lot and this shouldn't be the case. Why? you might ask, not to worry, I will tell you.
Study after study has proven that referral marketing is one of the best forms of marketing when it comes to sales and conversion. Naturally, we all tend to share our experiences with friends, be it good or bad. Let me say before I proceed that a good customer experience is not tantamount to a referral. That being said, it is important to not leave referral to chance, We must bear in mind that good marketing is about deliberately influencing the process. DELIBERATELY. Referral Marketing is about deliberately encouraging referrals by consumers that have experienced your product/service(s)
Referred customers are less likely to leave, what does this translate to? Stronger loyalty. Referral Marketing helps attract customers who are more loyal and profitable. The strength of referral marketing lies in the ability to target precisely, this is because people know their friends and family pretty well. This in turn helps the brand message spread more effectively than most other marketing channels.
In addition, the consumer feels safer trying a product referred by a family or friend. This is because the consumer doesn't feel he or she is being sold on something. For a family or friend to make a referral, it must have been tried and trusted.
Referral marketing includes but is not limited to family and friends. Some other forms of referral marketing are News publications, customer reviews, influencer opinions and testimonials.
Let me tell you how I got a few free and comfortable taxi rides. A friend of mine called me one evening and sounded really excited. "Joko, please, I will send a link to you on whatsapp, please download it. Its a taxi app, when you download it, I will get a free 2k ride, and so will you on your first ride" I had no reason to object because I know how expensive it is to get a taxi in Lagos, and a 2k discount was really attractive.
I downloaded the app, and yes, I did get a free ride, The drivers take the shortest routes, and even give you a bottle of water, plus, the rates are cheaper than the regular rickety Lagos taxis. I have referred 5 friends and I have gotten 5 free rides. No commercial, No billboard, No press ad. Just 1 referral.
Now I am referring you too. Go to www.uber.com/invite/jokoo2ue.
What are your thoughts? Have you ever had a good experience with any brand and referred them? Kindly drop your comments and share.
Regards,
Joko.
Joko, nice piece. Word of mouth referral is very important and employers often forget this. Customers alone dont do referrals even employees can and should under normal circumstances. It has a really long impact on the next individual or customer because you have first hand info from a trusted person assuring you of quality, There is also a personal touch to it.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely. I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteNice one Joko..Referral could be word to word (mouth to mouth communication) i have several referrals and as an individual i have to try product out as a typical Nigerian. One that happened lately is on seasonings, my friend asked me to try Onga seasoning out which i did and since then i have been using it.
ReplyDeleteReferral is vital in every businesses..very important it spreads faster than any ATL & BTL
I couldn't have agreed less, referral kinda make you trust a product you have never tried.good write up
ReplyDeleteHummmn, nice, making me consider uber
ReplyDeletei don't agree less with you Joko. They say a good product sells itself. One can only refer a product when it is tested and trusted.The believe is i tried it and it worked , it can work for you too(so try it!).There is this level of assurance backing it up already even before the purchase. A product that it's quality represents what it preaches will sure make referral marketing move like a wild fire.
ReplyDeleteNice Piece! I think Referral is a very good thing. It goes a long way to be honest. Personally I don't use anything until I get a referral from a trusted person. So I completely agree with this piece. And oh yes! I'm definitely trying this uber taxi thing.
ReplyDeleteEven from an HR point of view (cos that's what i do), referrals constitute about 90% of contemporary employments (especially Experience Hires). Most advert you see are just for formality sake and audit purpose...and from the point of an hardened student and trainer of Customer Service, the principle remains, 1 satisfied customer = 10 potential customer and 1 unsatisfied customer = (-) 10 current customers. In conclusion, today's businesses can only survive by quality service delivery which will definitely lead to REFERRALS.......
ReplyDeleteTotally agree! WOM is the fastest and most assured means to promote a business. Will def download d taxi app, tanx for d referral ;)
ReplyDeleteNice one Joko dear! Referrals are certainly one of the best ways to either know or purchase a product. It is true that most products expect itself to be known to the public either by advertising or marketing but there's nothing like someone using a product, testing and getting good results before talking about his/her experience with the product and this leads them to making referrals to this product. As for me I don't go with d advertising thing alone, I still prefer getting referrals from people who have used such products I want and can actually assert to it as to its quality and it's benefits. So yea! I totally agree with you about referrals, it's certainly (my best way) to go about purchasing a product and I think it should also be a good choice or options for people as well before purchasing any product.
ReplyDeleteReferral marketing is cheaper compared to using the meats and potatoes of advertising and if done right, provides greater conversion rate that can be measured. I can see Uber all over this post. Lol nice one gal.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Joko, referrals is one of the most powerful tools for marketing.. If my friend has had a good experience with a product and refers me to it, why wouldn't I purchase the product.. it just makes sense when the referral comes directly from someone you know, it adds to the credibility of the product.... I also frequently use the UBER app here in RSA it is amazing..
ReplyDeleteGood form of Marketing. Regardless, the quality of the product is subject to the sustainability of these referrals. I'm impressed gal!
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome piece. I agree. However this type of marketing needs to be perfected across all categories of products/services regardless online or offline. Because as a very vital part of marketing, proper tracking of referral data is essential for any business sustainability.
ReplyDeletei strongly agree with you, joko.
ReplyDelete