referral programs - rdasupport.com€¦ · referral programs 2010 rda support michael grimm 3 radio...

REFERRAL PROGRAMS

2010 RDA Support Michael Grimm

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HOWTOMAKEYOUREXISTINGREFERRALPROGRAMMOREEFFECTIVE

(andhowtostartoneifyouhaven’talready)

ReferralProgramsareanotherpremiumformofleverage.Essentiallyyouareturningyourexistingmembersintosalesrepsforyourresort.Youwanttoarmthemwithtoolsthatwillhelpthemreferpeople.ThebesttoolstogivethemarethesametoolsyouusewithyourJointVenturePartnersandattheTradeshows.GivethemMarketingDVDsandBrochures.Weallknowreferralsareeasiertosellandcostlesstogetinthedoor,becausetheycomewithinferredendorsements.

MaterialsgiventobeusedtogeneratereferralsshouldbelabeledwithaTrackStamp(explainedintheupcomingreportontracking)designatingthemassuch.AdditionallylaytheresponsibilityonthemembertolettheirreferralknowtomentiontheirnameortypeitinonyourLandingPage.Additionally,trainyour,real,salesrepstoaskeverysaletheymakeiftheywerereferredbyamember,andifso,whoitwas.

EssentialElements:

InordertohaveasuccessfulReferralProgramyoumusthave:

‐ PromotionalMaterials‐ ARewardSystem‐ AProducttoRefer‐ Memberstoreferyourproduct

Thingswe’llcover:

‐ Whyyouwantareferralprogram‐ 7simplestrategiestopromoteyourprogram‐ Compensation‐Whyinhouseproductsorservicesmakethebest

incentives‐ WhybreakagemakesinhouseGiftCertsthebestofthese‐ Howtokeeptrackofandfulfillyourincentivesystem

WhyYouWantaReferralSystem

ReferredMembersReferMembers‐Memberswhowerethemselvesreferredtoyourresortbysomeonearemorelikelytoreferotherpeopletotheresort.

ByimplementingasolidReferralSystemyou’reexpandingyoursalesforcetoincludeyourentirememberbase.

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HerearethreereasonsyouwanttobuildabetterReferralSystem:

‐ Yourmembersknowpeopleyoudon’t‐ Youdon’thavetopaythemunlesstheymakeyoumoney‐ Sheernumbers.Youhaveexponentiallymoremembersthanyoudo

salespeople

Likemindedpeoplecommonlysticktogether.RV’ersknowotherRV’ersandspendtimewithotherRV’ers.Byprovidingyourmemberswithqualitytools,youcanletthemsharewhattheylovewiththepeopletheyknow.It’simportanttoprovidethemwithtools,especiallyvideos.Avideoensureseachprospectseesandhearsexactlywhatyouwantthemto.Itcompletelyeliminatesanyneedfortraining.JuststickaMarketingDVDintheirhandsandlettheDVDplayerdothework.

Youdon’thavetopayyourmembersthatareontheprogramuntiltheysendyouanewmember.Andeventhenyouaren’tpayingthemwithcoldhardcash.Atleastyoushouldn’t,butwe’llcoverthatinthecompensationsection.

Considerhowmanysalespeopleyouhaverightnow.Isitfive?Ten?Justone?Isitjustyou?Nowconsiderhowmanymembersyouhave.Hundreds.Thousands.Youcouldliterallyaddthousandsofsalespeopletoyourresortwithouthavingtomakeasingleextrapotofcoffee.

ThisstrategywasimplementedbyafirearmstraininginstitutecalledFrontsight.Theyaddedoverathousandsalespeopletotheirbusinessinabouttwodays,helpingtodoublesalesthatyear.Howwouldyouliketodoubleyoursalesthisyear?

7SIMPLESTRATEGIESTOPROMOTEYOURPROGRAM

HowmanywaysdoyoucurrentlypromoteyourReferralProgram,ifyouhaveone?Herearejustsevenofthebestwaystopromoteit.

1. IncludeaReferralProgrambriefalongwithseveral“ReferredBy”GuestPassesinevery‘NewMemberPacket’yousendout,explaininghowtheprogramworksandencouragingthemtotakefulladvantageofit.

2. Promoteitinyournewsletter.ManyresortswillmentionsomethingabouttheirReferralProgramonceortwiceinamembernewsletter.ButyourReferralProgramshouldhaveitsownsectioninthenewsletter.Makeabigdealaboutit.Drawattentiontoit–Clearlyexplainit–Promptthereadertotakeactiononit.Featureeveryonewhorefersanewmember,howmanymemberstheyhavereferred,andhowtheywererewardedfordoingso.AfterthatyouplugtheReferralProgram.Explainhowothermemberscangetinvolved.

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Radiostationsdothisallthetime,featuringpreviouswinnersbeforeabigpromotion.Theyshowwhowonbeforeandwhattheywon.

3. Dothesamethingonlineasinthenewsletter.OnyourwebsiteyoucanevenaddalinktoyourLandingPage.ThatwillhelpfamiliarizeyourexistingmemberswithyournewLandingPageandshowthemhowtosendtheirfriendsthere.

4. EverymembermaileryousendoutshouldincludeaGuestPassortwo.Whenyou’resendingsomethinganyway,itonlymakessensetoincludeacoupleGuestPassesthatcouldpotentiallybeworththousandsofdollarstoyou.Infact,thereshouldbeastackofGuestPassessittingrightnexttotheenvelopes.

5. Createandkeepinthemainoffice,ReferralPackets.Itcansimplybeanenvelopewithaletterexplainingtheincentive,acoupleBrochures,acoupleGuestPasses,andacoupleMarketingDVDs.Traintheofficestafftoaskeveryonewhocomestocheckiniftheyalreadyhaveareferralpacket.

6. Ifyou’reusingan‘InHouse’incentive,promoteitthere.Forinstance,ifyourincentiveisagiftcertificatetoyourrestaurant,promotetheprogramintherestaurant.Havetheserversaskifthey’llbepayingwithagiftcertificate.Mostwon’t,butitwillcreateachancefortheserverstoexplaintheprogramandbuildawareness.Addsomethingpromotingtheprogramtoyourmenu.Evenaddalineoftexttoyourreceiptsthatsays“NexttimeEatFree!Withyourgiftcertificate”.Havereferralpacketsreadilyavailableatthehostesscounterformemberswhoareinterested.

7. Host“BringaFriendBBQ’s”.HaveoneSaturdayeveryotherweek,oronceamonth,whenmemberscanbringaguestupforaBBQ.AttheBBQletalloftheguestsknowthattheyareeligibleforaguestweekendatyourresort.Letthemknowthatiftheygetamembershiptheirfriendthatbroughtthemupwillgetafree(whateveryourincentiveis).Peoplerespondwelltothat.Oftenthey’lldomoretohelpafriendthantohelpthemselves.

Therearemanywaystopromoteyourprogram.Thesehavebeenjustafew.Usethesetechniques,andcomeupwithyourowntoo.

COMPENSATION

Whiletherearemanydifferentformsofcompensation,thetwomajorformsinthisinstanceare:monetarily,orwithacredittowardssomething.Thereareprosandconsforeach.Butbyandlarge,youwillalwaysfarebetterbyissuingacredit.

Ifyourewardthemwithcash,youknowthateverysinglepersonisgoingtousethatcash.Ifyourewardthemwithcredittowardssomething

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youwillencounterbreakage.Forthesakeofthisprogram,we’reconsideringanythingotherthancashorchecktobeacredittowardssomething.Forinstance,acreditcouldbe:acertificateforoneofthepremiumsyougiveouttoyourtours,itcouldbeagiftcertificateforyourgeneralstore,oritcouldbeagiftcertificatetoyourrestaurant.ItcouldevenbesomethingyouworkedoutwithoneofyourJointVenturepartners,likeacredittowardsanewRV.Withalloftheseoptions,aswithanygiftcertificate,you’llhavesomepercentageofbreakage,whichisalwaysinyourfavor.Thisclearlymakesanyprogramofferingacreditovercashthebetterchoice.

Whatistheverybestreferralincentiveyoucanoffer?InHouseCredit.Thosethreemagicwordsaremoreprofitablethananyotherformofreferralincentive.Whileotherincentiveswillcostyoumoney,InHouseCreditwillnotonlycostyouless,butwillactuallymakeyoumoney.Here’show:

• Breakage.Theyhavetokeeptrackofthecertificateinordertouseit.Manypeoplewillloseitandjustforgetaboutit.Eveniftheydon’tuseit,manypeoplewillstilljustforgettheyhaveit.Breakagecanbeincreasedbyputtinganexpirationdateonthecertificateoneyearfromthedateofissue.

• TheValue/Costdifference.Eveniftheydouseit,thevalueoftheircertificateisnotthesameasthecosttoyou.Example:Ifthecertificateisforyourrestaurantandtheytakethefamilyfordinnertheymightspend$50ofthegiftcertificate.Butthat$50dinnertheyboughtdidn’tcostyou$50.Itprobablyonlycostyouhalfofthat.Yourprofitmarginbecomesabuffer.Soforevery$100giftcertificateyouissueyoumayonlypaybepaying$50or$60.

• Peoplespendmoneytosavemoney.Wehavealldoneitatsomepoint.Whenthemembersgiftcertificateisdowntoonly$5or$10they’llstillfinishoffthecertificate.Thesamefamilywillcomebackfordinneragainbecausetheyknowthateventhoughthey’llhavetopayforaportion,they’restillgettingthat$5or$10extraforfree.

• It’shabitforming.Oncepeoplestartusingthecertificateinthestoreorrestaurant,theywillgetusedtoshoppingoreatingthere.Ifthatsamefamilywenttotherestauranttousetheircertificatethreetimesduringtheirlastthreetripstoyourresortchancesareprettygoodthatthey’regoingtoeatthereagainontheirnexttripeveniftheircertificateisallusedup.

Inhouseincentivesarepopularbecausetheywork.It’slikewhenyougotoVegas.Youcangetadiscountataninhouseshowifyou’restayingatthatcasino.Ifyouwinbig,thecasinos‘reward’youandcompyouanight.Casinosunderstandthatbykeepingyouintheircasinomore,they’llgetmoremoneyoutofyou.Samethingwithyourresort.Themoreyoukeep

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membersaroundyourpaidamenities,themorethey’llbuy,makinginhouseincentivesthebestchoiceforareferralprogram.

MONITORINGANDFULFILMENT

Havingareferralprograminplaceisgreat,aslongasyou’rekeepingyourendofthedeal.Thiscaneasilybeaccomplishedbyassigningthetasktooneperson.Thistaskisbesthandledbyanyoneinvolvedwithmemberservices.Havethemkeepeitheraphysicallogbook,oradigitallog,orboth.Thelogshouldincludethedateofsale,nameofnewmember,nameofreferringmember,andthereferralincentiveawarded.Writeupacompanypolicyforfulfillingreferralincentivesthatdictateswhatgetssentoutandwhen.

Thequickerthepersonhastherewardintheirhandthebetter.They’llbehappier,andmoreinclinedtogooutandrefermorepeople.

SUMMARY

Developingamorerobustreferralprogramincreasesyoursaleswithoutmuchaddedcostoreffort.Turnyourmembershipbaseintoanarmyofsalespeople.Armthemwithqualitymarketingtools,andrewardthemgenerously.KeepitInHouseandturnaprofitonyourpremiums.YourinvestmentinyourReferralProgramisadirectinvestmentinyourresort,andinthesuccessofits’future.

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ACTIONITEMS

1. Decidewhatyourincentiveforyourreferralprogramisgoingtobe.

2. BuildReferralPacketsforyourmembersthatinclude:abriefexplainingtheprogram,severalGuestPasses,Brochures,andMarketingDVDs.

3. Ifyou’reusinganInHouseincentive,haveGiftCertificatesmadeuptoreflecttheincentiveyou’vechosen.

4. Promotetheprogramtoyourmembersusingthepromotionstrategiesreviewedearlier.

5. Keepupyourendofthedealandrewardmemberswhentheysendinatourthatresultsinamembership.

6. Perpetuatethecyclebypromotingtheincentivesthatwererewardedtomembersonaregularbasis,byusingyourwebsiteandnewsletter.

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EXECUTIVESUMMARY

YourReferralProgramisn’tasgoodasitcouldbe,yet.ForyourReferralProgramtobesuccessfulyoumust:Haveagoodrewardsystemforyourmembers,greatpromotionaltoolsforthemtouse,andasolidsystemofpromotiontomakeyourmembersawareoftheprogram.Herearesevensolidstrategiestopromoteyourprogram:

1. IncludeaReferralPacketinsideeveryNewMemberPacketthatyousendout.

2. Actively,andregularly,promoteitinyournewsletter.

3. Actively,andregularly,promoteitonyourwebsite.

4. IncludeGuestPassesinsideeverymembermailerthatgoesout.

5. KeepReferralPacketsinthefrontoffice,readilyaccessibletoyourmembers.

6. IfyourincentiveisInHouse,promoteittheir.AlsohavetheReferralPacketsavailablethereforyourmembers.

7. Host“BringaFriendBBQ’s.”

ThemostprofitabletypeofcompensationforyourReferralProgramisInHouse.Thisissupportedbythefollowing:

•Breakage

•Value/Costdifference.Yourprofitmarginsremainwithyou

•Memberswillspendextrajusttouseit

•Whilethemembergoesbackagainandagaintofullyredeemthecertificate,theywilldevelopthehabitofdoingso.Whentheircertificateisdonefor,thememberwillkeepgoingbackoutofhabit.

•Breakage

UpgradeyourReferralProgram,promotetheheckoutofit,andenforceitamongstyourstaff.Putallyourmemberstouse,profitingasmuchasyoucanfromeachofthem.

referral programs - rdasupport.com€¦ · referral programs 2010 rda support michael grimm 3 radio...

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