Ambassador:7 Common Referral Marketing Myths Debunked.

Myth #1:An affiliate program is the same thing as a referral program.

Truth #1:In a referral program, your brand ambassadors, partners & influencers all refer new business your way.

Affiliates are more self-interested and typically motivated by money. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just a different message.

Ambassadors may also be self-interested but tend to be more complex than affiliates.

Myth #2:Referral programs are less effective than other marketing channels.

Truth #2:84% of people trust advice from another satisfied customer but only 50% trust online ads in search results.

A referral marketing program leverages this trust to provide a much greater ROI than other channels and convert higher quality customers.

Myth #3:All a referral program takes is exceptional customer service.

Truth #3:Customer service is a critical part of creating passionate brand ambassadors, though, it's not enough.

For your program to be successful you'll want to keep your customers engaged and offer relevant rewards.

Myth #4:Happy customers will automatically refer your product or service.

Truth #4:If this were true, there wouldn’t be any need for referral programs. To the contrary, a Texas Tech study concluded that 83% of respondents would be willing to refer new business to a brand they love, but only 29% of them actually do.

In order to obtain a steady stream of quality referrals, you have to train your ambassadors to listen and look for a referral opportunity, and to seal the deal.

Myth #5:Referral programs should only focus on the most influential consumers.

Truth #5:Having powerful people to back your brand is going to help achieve great results, but that doesn’t mean you should exclude less influential folks.

In many cases, it’s not so much how many connections your advocates have, but the quality of those connections. All it takes is one referral to someone with an unlimited budget to boost your sales to the next level.

Myth #6:Once a referral program is in place it can run itself.

Truth #6:The most important component of a successful referral program is the relationship between the ambassador and the brand. Relationships with your brand ambassadors must be nurtured over time.

Referral program software will allow you to focus on the human factor of your referral program, while the nitty gritty details are managed within the platform.

Myth #7:If I’m a SaaS provider I should just build my own referral program.

Truth #7:If you are a SaaS company, you could create your own referral program. You could also create your own CMS, and do all your own hosting too. So why shouldn’t you?

Simple; opportunity cost.

We work tirelessly on making your referral program seamless and easy to integrate. So you can stay focused on your core value proposition.

- An affiliate program is the same thing as a referral program.

- Referral programs are less effective than other marketing channels.

- All a referral program takes is exceptional customer service.

- Happy customers will automatically refer your product or service.

- Referral programs should only focus on the most influential customers.

- Once a referral program is in place it can run itself.

- If I’m a SaaS provider I should just build my own referral program.

- Affiliate programs and referral programs are similar, but are not the same.

- Referral programs are more trustworthy and generate a higher quality customers.

- Customer service is crucial but there are also other factors to consider.

- Happy customers need to be incentivized in order to refer a product or service.

- Referral programs should focus on all customers.

- Successful referral programs should be continuously optimized and maintained.

- SaaS providers could build their own, but should focus on their core value.

Myths Truths