{"id":2739,"date":"2020-10-21T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog3.canny.io\/wordpress\/?p=2739"},"modified":"2024-06-17T15:52:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T19:52:18","slug":"customer-feedback-ask-for-referrals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/customer-feedback-ask-for-referrals\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercharging customer feedback: when to ask for referrals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.referralcandy.com\/blog\/referral-marketing-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">80% of all B2B and B2C purchases<\/a> involve some type of word-of-mouth recommendation during the purchase cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And, according to research by The New York Times, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/276605\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">65% of new clients<\/a> stem from referrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These numbers point to one thing: Referrals are a powerful source of new customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, there&#8217;s a process to the whole thing. You can&#8217;t just randomly ask customers to recommend your product. It could be off-putting and may lead to you <a href=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/reduce-saas-churn-customer-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">losing their business<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to ask for referrals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When is the right time to ask your customers to refer you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Before we get into that, let&#8217;s look more at how word-of-mouth and referral marketing works:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>People are wired to share information they trust<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We all gain social validation and gain respect when we share valuable information<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This builds our desire to share any information that people may find helpful<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When users find a service or product valuable, trustworthy, and relevant to their friends and family, they&#8217;ll naturally have the desire to share it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why? For the social recognition and the validation of sharing valuable information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-e1d55d08-a2cf-44a3-a9a0-f3ca5ff21dfa\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"><span id=\"hs-cta-e1d55d08-a2cf-44a3-a9a0-f3ca5ff21dfa\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-e1d55d08-a2cf-44a3-a9a0-f3ca5ff21dfa\"><!-- [if lte IE 8]>\n\n\n<div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div>\n\n\n<![endif]--><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(5705808, 'e1d55d08-a2cf-44a3-a9a0-f3ca5ff21dfa', {\"region\":\"na1\"}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An introduction to referral marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At its simplest, referral marketing is the intentional acquisition of customers via solicited referrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can be as basic as informally asking for a referral. For example: &#8220;If you like our coffee, tell your friends, share this on Facebook or Tweet about us.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of that is referral marketing. In this broad sense, any marketing process that requires consumers to speak to other consumers is referral marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, anyone can talk about anything they consider worthwhile at any point. Referral marketing is <em>deliberately asking<\/em> for customer referrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does referral marketing work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we just went over, referral marketing can work by informally requesting customers happy with your service to share your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, a <a href=\"https:\/\/feedback.canny.io\/changelog\/canny-referral-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">referral program<\/a> is a structured way of requesting referrals from your customers. It\u2019s a sustained, deliberate system of asking for and encouraging referrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Systems like this usually involve some relevant incentive structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A familiar example is Dropbox&#8217;s referral program, which involves the customer referring their friend to use Dropbox&#8217;s service for extra storage for both them and their friend.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/refer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"998\" data-src=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.41.41\u202fPM.webp\" alt=\"Dropbox's referral program\" class=\"wp-image-7285 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2000\/998;width:650px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.41.41\u202fPM.webp 2000w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.41.41\u202fPM-768x383.webp 768w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.41.41\u202fPM-1536x766.webp 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/refer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dropbox&#8217;s referral program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The customer already finds Dropbox essential for storing their data, and would naturally recommend it to anyone else they know who needs the same service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But with an incentive of extra space, they&#8217;d be on the lookout for someone that needs the service, since the extra storage space is valuable to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">P.S. Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/feedback.canny.io\/changelog\/canny-referral-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Canny&#8217;s referral program here<\/a>. Share Canny with your network and earn up to $1,000 per referral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"hs-cta-embed hs-cta-simple-placeholder hs-cta-embed-170605541142\"\n  style=\"max-width:100%; max-height:100%; margin:0 auto; width:650px;height:277.1953125px\" data-hubspot-wrapper-cta-id=\"170605541142\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com\/web-interactives\/public\/v1\/track\/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLJODuXHTCnq6%2BVLThALUoGeiNt2vAr%2BCfBrrVnHeH2zA7JEL1KaY1V488RaTXNW2HJXE%2FNZsCVl%2FOwh48GhK8ylJno3EDqeowJPtVbWH1cHi%2BFlS2jccQgVbQwK4zkEwG0%2FwPIWkJ%2FI%2F5kSFAc%2BbitsJIsjaBC974W9%2BQgAqFlDBrsUc3E7g%2B1DKMnrgKJTM%2BH%2B63S%2FnIal21lUeTGSLA%3D%3D&#038;webInteractiveContentId=170605541142&#038;portalId=5705808\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Share Canny &amp; earn up to $1,000 per referral\" data-src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/5705808\/interactive-170605541142.png\" style=\"height: 100%; width: 100%; object-fit: fill\"\n      onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to ask for referrals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You want to only ask for a referral when you&#8217;re sure that your customer is happy with your service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t want to seem like a lead-starved sales rep who&#8217;s through with them and eager to move on to their connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that said, there are 3 phases to asking for referrals from customers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Onboarding phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you&#8217;re dealing with a new customer, you want to ask for a referral after you&#8217;ve solved a huge problem with your offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Once you have a great onboarding process, you can even ask for referrals during sign-ups:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Collect necessary advocate information.<\/strong> This means understanding who is referring people to your business in the first place.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inform the advocate<\/strong> about the rewards of referring people to your brand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Give your advocates access to the necessary tools<\/strong> (referral links, informational materials about your products, etc) needed to refer people to your business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the onboarding process PayPal used in its early days, according to Elon Musk<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1742\" height=\"928\" data-src=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.45.12\u202fPM.webp\" alt=\"Paypal's referral program\" class=\"wp-image-7288 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1742px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1742\/928;width:650px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.45.12\u202fPM.webp 1742w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.45.12\u202fPM-768x409.webp 768w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.45.12\u202fPM-1536x818.webp 1536w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-17-at-3.45.12\u202fPM-209x110.webp 209w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1742px) 100vw, 1742px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.referralcandy.com\/blog\/paypal-referrals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paypal&#8217;s early referral program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The result was 100,000 customers in its first month. Their onboarding process was simple: get rewarded for opening up an account and for referring anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Retention phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reallysimplesystems.com\/blog\/customer-retention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customer retention<\/a> is extremely important in building a powerful referral system. Research even shows that 83% of satisfied customers are willing to recommend services and products to their network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But you have to know who your satisfied customers are first and the right moment to ask for a referral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To identify your satisfied customers you can use a <a href=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/features\/collect-feedback\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">feedback tool<\/a> (like Canny!) that will enable you to see your most engaged, active users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By building that relationship, you can get a sense of who your strongest advocates would be when it comes to giving referrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next step would be to reach out to these active users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>However, when you&#8217;re dealing with some of your most&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.candybar.co\/blog\/customer-loyalty-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">loyal customers<\/a>, here&#8217;s when you should ask for referrals:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After you&#8217;re certain that they&#8217;re happy with your service<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When you\u2019re certain that they cannot think of a way you can satisfy them better<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you\u2019ve ensured the above, you can then gently suggest a referral. Mention that if they have a colleague or friend in need of the same service, you&#8217;d appreciate if they spread the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take the Airbnb referral program for example. It selectively asks for referrals from <a href=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/increasing-customer-loyalty-by-collecting-feedback\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">loyal customers that are in its retention phase<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"701\" data-src=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/airbnb.png\" alt=\"Referral marketing program via Airbnb\" class=\"wp-image-2744 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1280px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1280\/701;width:650px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/airbnb.png 1280w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/airbnb-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/airbnb-768x421.png 768w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/airbnb-210x115.png 210w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their process is simple. After signing up for the program as a loyal customer, all the advocate has to do is log in, import Gmail contacts, and Airbnb will smart-recommend a couple of contacts they feel are relevant and interested in their service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then the customer can send them an email using Airbnb&#8217;s template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Using NPS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/what-is-nps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Net Promoter Score survey (NPS)<\/a> is an age-old method used by businesses to gauge if a customer would promote the brand to a colleague or friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They look something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;On a scale of 1 to 20, how likely is it that you&#8217;ll refer us to a colleague or friend?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, say your product gets an above-average of 19\/20 or 20\/20 for the NPS survey for many customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It tells you you&#8217;re ready to launch your referral program as your customers are happy with your service and will recommend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, before you ask for referrals, <a href=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/the-best-way-to-collect-user-feedback\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">collect customer feedback<\/a> to find out your customer\u2019s experience with your business and what would make them become a referral partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to ask for referrals: Using Dropbox as a case study<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With referrals, Dropbox rose from 100,000 to 4 million users in a year and 5 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s when they asked for referrals: During the onboarding phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They built their referral process right into their onboarding system. The sign-up process had six steps, with the last step stating, &#8220;Invite your friends to join Dropbox.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"602\" data-src=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2f06b502-7370-48ce-a979-d653e1728664.webp\" alt=\"Dropbox's referral program during onboarding\" class=\"wp-image-7289 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 800px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 800\/602;width:650px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2f06b502-7370-48ce-a979-d653e1728664.webp 800w, https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2f06b502-7370-48ce-a979-d653e1728664-768x578.webp 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/growsurf.com\/blog\/dropbox-referral-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dropbox&#8217;s onboarding featuring a referral program<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Referral marketing is crazy effective, but knowing when to ask customers for referrals can make or break the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the best ways to know which advocates to ask for referrals is to use a <a href=\"https:\/\/canny.io\/\">feedback tool<\/a> that&#8217;ll help you identify your most active users who are satisfied with your offering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A solid referral marketing program is more than just asking users to say nice things about your product. Here&#8217;s how to ask for referrals based on user feedback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-feedback"],"aioseo_notices":[],"modified_by":"Maria Vasserman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}