Five Benefits of Referral Marketing
How TripShock Uses Word Of Mouth to Sell Unsold Tours
With the lack of trust in mainstream advertising, it is becoming more and more difficult for many companies to break through the noise of brand competition. From banners and magazine spreads to television and radio commercials, many messages are deemed irrelevant by consumers. According to a trust in ad survey by Nielsen, 88% of global respondents trust recommendations from people they know more than any other channel.
To meet this consumer preference, TripShock, the online travel agency dedicated exclusively to tours and activities, is implementing a referral marketing program into their growth strategy. Similar to customer advocacy, referral marketing is the marketing tactic that leverages recommendations and word of mouth to attract more customers through the networks of its existing customers.
To leverage the power of word-of-mouth referrals, TripShock has created a refer-a-friend program for users that is tailored to skyrocket ROI, expand reach, and transform customers into loyal and engaged brand advocates.
A key component of any referral marketing program is the incentive that is presented to customers. While many referral programs are incentivized through company discounts, TripShock has partnered with Tremendous to offer retailer gift cards to participants in the refer-a-friend program.
Upon completion of a referral, users can choose a gift card from dozens of major retailers including Amazon, Target, and Uber. Additionally, users have the option to donate to a range of charitable organizations including American Cancer Society, the Clean Water Project, and the March of Dimes.
“We are building a community of happy travelers that can speak on behalf of our brand and partners, said Digital Marketing Manager,Stephanie McIntosh of TripShock. “Our referral program helps us to directly reward our customers for sharing their positive experiences.”
Established in February 2022, the refer-a-friend program is the first of its kind at TripShock and is only one of the several tactics the platform uses to sell tours and activities for its partners. Paired with our partner affiliate program, refer-a-friend is a great way to earn cash while helping friends, family, and TripShock vendors!
Nevertheless, the referral program is an important aspect of the marketing strategy that will help TripShock partners make more sales in 2022 and beyond.
Keep reading for five benefits of referral marketing:
#1. Multiply Loyal Customers
In a media landscape saturated with advertisements from every direction, who do you trust? Most people are likely to accept recommendations from people they know. With referral marketing, businesses are able to build a Rolodex of customers who have had positive experiences and are willing to share them.
This results in referred customers being introduced to a product or service with a positive opinion from a peer and increasing the likelihood that he or she will make a purchase. Referral marketing empowers the customer to become an advocate for the business and attracts more like-minded customers who will potentially become advocates themselves.
#2. Build a Community
Referral Marketing allows companies to identify and target loyal customers while offering them a personalized experience. This optimizes brand reputation and gives customers who align with the brand an opportunity to represent the brand and connect with others through a common interest.
With referral marketing, all satisfied customers are empowered to share all the benefits of a product or service which improves customer perception long-term.
#3. Cost Effective Campaigns
Because referral marketing depends on word of mouth, this type of program is more cost effective. By focusing marketing efforts on existing customers who are already familiar with a brand, product or service, businesses can significantly decrease customer acquisition costs over time.
For example, with a pay-per-click campaign, an ad spend is used to get customers to click on a link but there is no guarantee that the person who clicks the link will make a purchase. However with a refer-a-friend campaign, an incentive is paid directly to the customer only after a sale is made. Though both strategies are effective in expanding brand awareness, referral marketing allows TripShock to allocate funds to reward customers directly.
#4. Increased Online Engagement
A common way customers share recommendations is via social media. With billions of users every day, social media is an important aspect of building brand awareness and credibility. Referral marketing programs allow social media users to be paid for their influence while increasing social media engagement for the sponsoring brand. This is also true for websites, blogs, and email newsletters.
Referral marketing can be an effective way to establish omnipresence online without a traditional ad spend. Furthermore, the TripShock referral program also allows customers to share a personalized link via email, SMS and their personal websites, maximizing reach beyond social media.
#5. Marketing Automation
The TripShock referral marketing program is easy to modify and user friendly. This helps to extend a personalized experience to customers without investing more resources in operations.
Data analytics from the program allows TripShock to view user engagement and gauge referral success with regular progress tracking reports. Marketers can then use this information to shape strategy for future marketing efforts.
With a more than decade-long dedication to innovation and digital marketing, the TripShock referral program will be an important tactic the tourism exchange uses to sell tours and activities. For this reason, it is imperative that the refer-a-friend program be seamless.
This is how the TripShock referral program works:
Step 1: User visits TripShock.com and clicks the ‘Get $10’ button on the top right. The link can also be accessed from the landing page menu on TripShock.com and at the bottom of most TripShock marketing emails.
Step 2: User enters their email and has the option to opt in for TripShock marketing emails.
Step 3: The user receives a personalized referral URL, along with the option to share with as many friends via email, SMS or social media.
Step 4: The friend receives an email containing a promo code for $10 off their order of $100+.
Step 5: When the friend makes a purchase of $100+ (within 90 days), the user receives a $10 digital gift card to the retailer of their choice when the booking is completed.
Step 6: Every user who completes a booking and clicks on either 4 or 5 stars in the review email will receive another email inviting them to refer a friend.
With referral programs, the benefits are endless. In addition to expanding one’s customer base, referral programs have proven to be more persuasive than traditional advertising campaigns at a lower cost.
To learn more information about the TripShock refer-a-friend program or to discuss how innovation at TripShock can help you sell more tours, please call a member of our team at 850-424-5125 ext 3.