Acobot enables you to use a "Give X%, Get $Y" referral program to motivate your current customers to introduce their friends to your business. When the new customer makes a purchase, he gets a percentage discount and the referrer is rewarded with a fixed-amount discount coupon.

Why Use a Referral Program?

The success of e-commerce is dependent on credibility and trust. When existing customers refer their friends and colleagues, they are vouching for you. The new customers come to your website with a positive impression on your brand and thus are more likely to make a purchase.

1. 81% of customers trust recommendations from family and friends over those from companies (HubSpot Research).
   
2. 55% of people share their new purchases on a social network (Annex Cloud).
   
3. On average, each referring customer may send 2.68 invites (Referral Saasquatch).
   
4. Research by Marketo indicates that referrals have the highest conversion rate at 3.74%, outperforming all other customer acquisition channels.
   
5. The referred customers have 16% higher lifetime value and 18% less churn than those acquired by other methods, according to Wharton School of Business.
   
6. Consequently, you can expect at least 16% more in profits from referred customers (Harvard Business Review).
   

But referral programs don’t run themselves. And referred customers don’t show up without asking for them.  83% of consumers are willing to refer after a positive experience but only 29% actually do (Texas Tech University). To enjoy the benefits of referral, an e-commerce business have a formal referral program in place and let the customers know the reward policy.

So where do you start?

Acobot Referral Program

Give 20%, Get $20! Invite your friends. After their first purchase, they get 20% off and you get $20 off. It’s a win-win!

1. A flat discount for existing customers ($y)
   
2. A percentage discount for their friends (x%)
   

Referral Incentive

Most customers won't recommend your brand just because you ask them to. You have to reward them with special offers.  

The amount of the flat discount as a referral incentive is key to the success of your referral program. We recommend that you reward customers as much as you can. If you feel it is difficult to determine the number, think of the total cost of acquiring a new customer. Also, keep in mind that the customers are not eligible for the discount before their friends have finished their first purchase. You do not need to actually pay the money until the customers place orders to use the discount. It’s totally risk-free for you. 

New Customer Incentive

Acobot will give referred customers a percentage discount coupon based on the maximum discount percentage that you set up for Discount Coupons feature. This means you need to set up Discount Coupons before the Referral Program can work for you. When you change the maximum discount, the Referral Program will change the discount when creating coupons for new customers. However, any coupons that are created before will go unchanged.

Messages

Acobot explains how the Referral Program works to your customers. When their friends land on your website, Acobot greets them and confirms they are eligible for a special offer.

Acobot prepares personalized invite messages that your customers can use to invite friends to your website using emails or their social accounts. Your customers may also provide the names and email addresses of their friends and let Acobot reach out on their behalf. 

Friend Nudge

If new customers do not complete their purchases, Acobot notifies the referrers and asks them to nudge their friends with a single click. We all know cart recovery emails work well in boosting conversion. The recovery emails from friends work even better.

Summary

A referral program may improve your e-commerce conversion rate, customer retention and lifetime value, growing your business fast and boosting your profitability. With Acobot, you can easily set up a loyalty program that works by setting the flat discount coupon for referral incentive.

Bonus Infographic