As an e-commerce shop owner, you likely spend a bomb on Facebook and Google Ads each month. I know I did when I started my first store, and I think it’s really almost an e-commerce right of passage. The problem is, after guessing on what products to promote to what audiences and ad sets, what headlines I should A/B split test, how to get high quality images or edgy yet informative videos to use, you are wasting lots and lots of dollars. In the process of testing while trying to lower your cost per customer, you simply end up tossing lots of cash out the window.
Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.
John Wanamaker (1838-1922) founder of Macy’s.
But what if you didn’t have to. What if you could guarantee that cost per sale every time? What if you could simply set a price with enough margin to pay for each sale, without having to worry about falling into the money pit black hole of testing? Well…. you can. And you know who is going to help you do it? Your customers.
Now we all have some good customers and some “not so happy thanks to waiting an extra week to receive a product due to a freak snowstorm” customers. But, did you know that generally, almost 2/3rds of your customers would be happy to promote your products if you just asked them?
Tesla’s referral program lets owners provides their friends with six months of free Supercharging with the purchase of a new Model S. In exchange for sales, customers receive a glass-etching of their choosing launched into Space (seriously!), a kids version of the Model S, performance wheel upgrades, exclusive test drives, software updates and VIP tickets to unveiling events.
Tesla.com
But just how much could I grow my sales with a referral program you ask? Well, it really depends on your market niche. At the high-end, you have electronics and gadgets which can get up to 60% more sales using properly executed referral programs. Hot fashion or apparel products can get up to 40% more sales. We see an average of over 30% lift in revenue with most referral programs.
The key is all in the execution. For example, it is very important to not just ask customer to tell their friends about a wonderful product, but you have to give them a reason to share. You also have to leverage personal benefit oriented reviews that show product value. People love to give their friends and family exclusive discounts via coupons, or unique new product offers that really solve problems or reduce pain-points It also really helps increase your referral rate if you can provide a cash back incentive to your customers. That’s really what our Shopify App Gravy is all about helping our shop owners do.
Not only do we at Gravy help shop owners track referrals, share tracking links on Facebook and Instagram, but we also provide marketing tools such as customer product reviews, after checkout messaging and abandoned cart e-mails to get the word out. And we go the extra mile by giving your customers cash back when their friends and family purchase. They in turn can refer their friends and so on it can go.
Eventually, our ultimate goal is that you can then stop spending all your budget on Facebook and Google ads, and finally pay only for guaranteed sales which turn you a profit every time. And your customers will thank you when they get cash back on their initial purchase, or even free products. So, sign up now for a Gravy account to get your referral affiliate program off the ground. Happy selling!