Customer referrals can be an great source for getting the word out about your product. The other day, I was reading about how Dropbox used referrals to get their product go viral. Dropbox already had a great product, they added a little incentive (additional storage if friends signed up via the referral link) and boom!

So when is the best time to ask for a referral? Here are the best practices

1. Order Confirmation Page: If you are an online retailer, always have the referral offer on the ‘order confirmation’ page. This is the page where users land after having completed their purchase. They already like your products and your site (hey, they just completed a purchase), its the best time to give them an incentive to refer friends.

2. Email Campaigns: Include a message about your referral offer within all your email campaigns. At the minimum, include it in the email footer. A little “Refer friends and get $10″ message with the corresponding link can go a long way.

3. Website Banner: Add a graphic to your website about the offer. Above-the-fold placement is always better, also add a link to the header or footer per your site design.

Remember, the referral offer is supposed to make your site viral; but it needs the appropriate exposure so that users know about it. Our free refer-a-friend floating button widget can make your referral offer very visible, and a free version is available.

We have been receiving a lot of feedback and all of it is very appreciated!

A legend has passed away. Everyone that we talked with this evening was sad and shocked, many found it hard to believe that the charismatic Steve Jobs is no more.

While most people talk about how Apple (Steve Jobs) changed their lives by introducing amazing products, there are so many start-ups and industries that benefited directly or indirectly from them. For example, Foursquare, Twitter and the hundreds of successful start-ups  out there that thrive due to the overall ‘smart phone adaptation’ would not have existed without Apple’s introduction of the iPhone. ‘Angry Birds’ and thousands of app companies would probably not exist without Steve Jobs. And what about the ‘mobile e-commerce’ revolution that has begun? Mobile commerce is on the rise like never before and all online retailers can say a big thank you to Steve Jobs for it.

His speeches and work ethic is a strong inspiration to all professionals, technie or not.

We never met Steve Jobs and never worked for him, but still feel the vacuum that has been created. RIP Steve Jobs, thanks for everything.

A lot of cool startups are coming up these days. I have observed many a times that their ideas/products are consumer facing and hence rely on end user adoption in order to be successful.

We have had many candid discussions with startup co-founders, most of whom have a strong technical background. Most comment that its challenging to recruit a sales or business development team, especially if you are a starving entrepreneur; and hence its easier to try out going the ‘consumer facing product’ route which may not need a rock star sales person to begin with.

Soon they realize that its not as easy to get a viral for their products, and even well designed ones can take time to gain popularity. One of the best way (also the easiest) is to try introducing a ‘refer-a-friend’ offer. Getting your loyal customers to share it on social networks like Facebook and Twitter helps, and others might prefer to share in a less socially visible way (via email). Having a good product is the best way to get users to share it with friends, the next most important thing is to make sure its easy for them to share it.

If you are one of those startups that is looking into implementing a referral program, do try out our free refer-a-friend widget to see what it can do for you. The setup is easy and the returns can be very effective!

Word of mouth marketing is on the rise. With the rise of social networks and the adoption of smart phones, information can be shared with one click and sent across to numerous people. Groupon executed very well on their referral strategy by offering an incentive to existing users to get their friends to sign up, and all deal sites have followed suit. In fact, I don’t know of a single deal site that does not offer a referral bonus!

Today, all startups and small businesses need a referral strategy to strengthen their user acquisition strategy. With that in mind, we recently developed a very easy to use refer-a-friend widget that will enable businesses to easily go live with a word-of-mouth strategy. The best part is that the basic version is absolutely free! So if you want to test the waters by launching a referral program, go ahead and do so without hurting your wallet.

Give it a try and send your feedback to sales@refmob.com, we look forward to hearing from you! We will write more about this widget and tips on how to customize it in future blog posts.

Every time a study is conducted about marketing programs, researchers come up with the same results. Referral marketing is the best form of marketing, yet many businesses overlook this simple tool.

Further research indicates that most businesses know this fact, but fail to act upon the information. Only approximately 37% of businesses actively use referral marketing as part of their strategy, even though they know it provides the best results.

So the question is why. Some professionals believe implementing a referral program is too complicated; others believe it to be too time consuming. However, both opinions are wrong. All companies have a customer database. An e-mail list is all you need to begin your promotion and a newsletter is simple to create.

There are a few things that businesses should keep in mind though, before starting any referral promotion.

1. Let your customers know why you stand apart from other companies. When you promote your referral program remind your customers why you stand apart. Let them know how you are connected to your/their community.
2. Make the reward for the referral worth the effort. Honestly look at what you are offering and decide how you would react to the offer. If you are not impressed your customers will not be either.
3. Keep it simple. If your customers have to sit and figure out how they are going to be rewarded by referring your company they are going to pass on the offer. Digital marketers must remember that attention spans are short, the point must be made, and made quick, or you have lost their attention.

The overall picture is quite plain. Utilize the information you have about your current customers to your advantage. Take that information and let them know why you are special. Reward them for a referral, and thank them once you have received one. And, finally, keep it simple. Referral marketing works best when it is basic and feels natural. Customers do not want to “feel” like they are promoting your company. They want to refer products or services as part of a conversation where their input is appreciated.

Ideally, a business would like to be present on as many channels as possible in order to engage their audience at every available touch point.  However, the reality is that time is finite, and most businesses don’t have the resources to dedicate toward creating meaningful conversations on every channel.  Therefore, a good rule of thumb when choosing a channel would be to think hard about your customer, and try to predict where most of them are spending their time engaging with friends, family, and colleagues online.  First evaluate each potential social media channel, create an account, and get a feel for the demographic of the people who use it.  Because most businesses spend a lot of money on search, try searching a public engine for social media networks and tools which appeal to your demographic.

In my experience, 1-3 channels can be managed by a small to mid-size business in a time effective manner.  Typically, most businesses invest in Facebook, Twitter, and a company blog.  Again, make to to choose channels that are used by the people that you want to talk to.  For the most part, most people use these three channels.

Once you’ve found a few social media networks that “feel” right, make sure that if you move forward and commit to building a presence that you do so with force.  Simply creating an account and expecting your customers and prospects will not lead to success.  Remember, successful social media marketing is about quality, not quantity.