How To Maximize Customer Value With Referral Marketing

It is well known that the lowest cost per sale comes from current customers, so why wouldn’t you allocate a portion of your marketing budget to generating repeat sales? That is the quickest way to maximize customer value.

Rather than throw a bunch of hail marys, give this tried-and-true marketing strategy a go. Referral marketing is the best (and easiest) way to maximize customer value and acquire new customers at the same time.

Acquiring new customers and increasing brand awareness are often the primary drivers for investing in referral marketing, but this kind of marketing can also help you make the most of your existing customer base.

When it comes to how referral marketing contributes to driving repeat purchases and increasing customer lifetime value (LTV), the data speaks for itself.

It's really the customer value strategy that all businesses should be looking at.

So let's do just that.

Referral Marketing Can Deliver 5X LTV Compared to Other Marketing Channels

The lifetime value of a customer is an important metric because the higher the LTV, the better your ROI when you acquire new customers. No matter what your cost per acquisition is, you want to maximize revenue from every customer you have earned. It just makes sense to invest in the channel that will deliver the highest LTV.

When you gain new customers from referral marketing, they can have five times the lifetime value of customers you acquire from other marketing channels. One reason for this is that referred customers are more highly qualified than other customers and there is already a certain level of trust established. They’re also more likely to become repeat buyers because a trusted friend or family member referred them.

Just by being referred, these new customers will naturally have a higher customer lifetime value.

Acquiring new customers is just the first step; you must also convert them into repeat buyers to generate a higher customer lifetime value.

Referral programs help you do this by rewarding customers for promoting your brand. The more they share, the more rewards they get and the more value they bring to your business.

Paired with a customer loyalty program—where customers are incentivized to make repeat purchases—and the more likely they are to make another purchase, ultimately leading to a higher LTV.

Customer retention + customer acquisition + increased customer value = 🤯

Cultivating Advocates Increases the LTV of Your Overall Customer Base

The lifetime value of a referred customer is significantly higher than other channels, largely due to two factors: the low cost of customer acquisition coupled with established brand equity among Advocates.

Friends are more inclined to purchase when referred by an Advocate they know and trust. Beyond that, they stay longer with your brand because the Advocate referred them for a reason: They knew the referred Friend would like it.

Similarly, Advocates are likely to keep referring so they continue to reap the rewards of the program, and they stay longer as they continue to earn rewards. 

The cool thing about this process is that you'll naturally increase customer loyalty along the way, compounding the customer value as time goes on.

Of course, generating repeat sales and fostering customer relationships requires some ongoing customer marketing efforts. One way to do this is by promoting your referral campaigns in all of your communications to existing customers, not just on the website.

For example, premium scrubs brand FIGS sends a series of customer lifecycle emails to welcome a new customer after they make a purchase. By incorporating the referral program into these emails, FIGS encourages new customers to share their brand experience (and $20) with Friends to generate their own $20 reward. The company also sends customer anniversary emails with a similar offer, sparking renewed interest in the brand and fostering customer loyalty.

Why does FIGS take all these steps to put its referral program in front of existing customers? The company’s data shows that the customer lifetime value of Advocates is higher than that of customers who don’t take part in the referral program. FIGS has proven that investing in Advocates generates measurable returns and a higher LTV across their entire customer base. 

And referral marketing is just the way FIGS supercharged their entire customer lifetime value.

Redeemable Rewards Spark Higher LTV

According to referral marketing statistics, 64 percent of consumers say that rewards play a role in how much they spend. If you want to generate repeat sales, maximize customer lifetime value and increase LTV, sweeten the deal for Advocates with rewards that are both compelling and easy to redeem. The easier it is for a customer to use their rewards, the more the customer spends...

...both now and on future purchases.

Undergarment brand Thinx integrates rewards directly into the checkout process so that returning customers will have a seamless experience. When returning customers make a purchase, their account credit is clearly visible and accessible. Customers even have the option to use only a portion of their account credit, so they have total freedom to use rewards their way.

Of course, customers also see the post-purchase overlay after their transaction is complete, reminding them to share referral incentives with friends immediately after using their rewards to continue the cycle.

Boost LTV by Engaging When Customers Are Happy

There are several moments in the customer journey when people feel extra motivated to share your brand with friends (and spark this entire cycle of maximizing customer value). Immediately after making a purchase is a perfect opportunity, which is why a post-purchase overlay is one of our recommended best practices. 

You can intentionally add more of these moments to encourage sharing and increase the lifetime value of advocates. For example, floral brand The Bouqs Company sends surveys to gather customer feedback on the product and customer experience to learn from its audience.

When a customer leaves positive feedback and they’re feeling good about the brand at the moment, The Bouqs Company provides an opportunity for that customer to refer a friend and includes a customized referral link that they can easily share with their friends. Our integration with survey company Delighted makes this a seamless experience for both the customer and the e-commerce company.

PRO TIP: We have an entire post-purchase email sequence that we recommend following for automated customer value maximization. This will help you gather customer feedback, promote your referral program, and provide a positive experience to your customers in one smooth sequence.

Get the Benefits of Referral Marketing with Friendbuy

Getting the benefits of referral programs begins with strategically incorporating your referral program throughout the customer experience. Make it easy to drive repeat referral behavior—and repeat purchase behavior—from Advocates who receive referral rewards. The key is to set up a referral program that integrates seamlessly with your brand at every customer interaction, from the moment they first learn about your products to the moment they’re ready to become loyal brand ambassadors. 

When you work with Friendbuy, you don’t just get a referral platform; you get a partner. Our team is here to help you not only with the technical aspects of executing your referral program but also with the strategy behind it. You can use our deep experience with referral marketing to your advantage when creating campaigns, offers, rewards, and promotion strategies. 

We’ll work closely with you to outline your referral marketing goals and create a strategy that supports them. A well-rounded strategy focuses not just on new customer acquisition but also on cultivating existing customers to generate repeat business and maximize ROI. With built-in reporting tools and metrics, Friendbuy allows you to easily track progress toward your goals and identify the areas that need more attention. 

Maximizing customer lifetime value is our bread and butter.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to integrate referral marketing into your brand strategy to acquire new customers, increase customer lifetime, and get the most value from your existing customer base, download The 2021 Referral Marketing Blueprint for E-Commerce today.