SCALE THE CARE INSIDE YOUGROWING FROM REFERRAL

THE TALK PLAN

#1. What you must know about a referral program.

#2. Hacks you can use to optimize a referral program.

#3. Solutions you can use to build a referral program.

#4. A few reasons people aren’t sharing your program.

#1WHAT YOU MUST KNOW

ABOUT A REFERRAL PROGRAM

GROWING A COMPANYFROM A GROWTH HACKER ENDPOINT

ON THE BACKOF SOMEONE ELSE

AIRBNB & CRAIGSLIST

FACEBOOK & EMAILING

ZYNGA & FACEBOOK

YOUTUBE & MYSPACE

FROM YOUREXISTING USER BASE

RETARGETING(CONVERT & UPSELL)

REFERRAL(INCLUDING WOM)

AFFILIATION SYSTEM

A REFERRAL PROGRAM IS BASED ON 3 STEPSTHE MORE STEPS THERE ARE, THE MORE FRICTION YOU ADD

#1. PEOPLE SHARING YOUR LINK.

#2. VISITORS THAT CLICK ON THE LINK.

#3. CONVERSION, CONVERSION, CONVERSION.

THE CONCEPT IS SIMPLETHE URL HAS A GET PARAMETER INCLUDING THE REFERRER

SOMEONE IS SIGNING UP FROM THE FOLLOWING URL

http://www.mywebsite.com/?referrer=julien

YOU CATCH THE GET VARIABLE ON THE SERVER

$_GET[“referrer”] ; req.params.referrer ...

YOU CHECK THAT EVERYTHING IS RIGHT AND YOU INCREMENT SOME FIELD

SOMETHING IS MISSINGTRACK THE SHARING SOURCE!

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF USERSYOU MUST IDENTIFY WITHIN YOUR PRODUCT

(POWER) USERS WHO WILL SHARE YOUR PRODUCT

EVEN IF YOU DO NOT GIVE THEM ANYTHING

USERS WHO NEED AN INCENTIVE TO SHARE YOUR

PRODUCT

INCENTIVES

ACCESS TO A FEATURE (DROPBOX)

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT (KOUDETAT)

GET A DISCOUNT (GHTV)

GAMIFICATION (LEAGUE OF LEGEND)

GET FREE MONTHS (HULU, NETFLIX)

DESIGN YOUR REFERRAL PROGRAMACCORDING TO YOUR CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE

USUALLY DOUBLE-SIDED REFERRAL PROGRAMS

OUTPERFORM THE SINGLE-SIDED PROGRAMS

AN EFFECTIVE REFERRAL PROGRAM CAN CHANGE YOUR

ADVERTISING STRATEGY(USERS CAN BE ACQUIRED FOR A HIGHER CPA)

HOW TO SPREAD THE WORD?CHANNELS YOU CAN USE FOR A REFERRAL PROGRAM

FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS

(ZYNGA, BUZZFORK...)

EMAIL INVITATIONS(GMAIL/YAHOO API)

(LINKEDIN)

FORUMS, ARTICLES...(ZEROCLIPBOARD)

SMS(IOS & ANDROID SDK)

WORDOF MOUTH

MAKE THE EXPERIENCE PERSONAL IS A GROWTH SOURCE

FOR WORD OF MOUTH(ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CARING)

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MOMENTHAPPY MOMENT VS USER’S PAIN

FIND HAPPY MOMENTS WHERE YOU CAN ASK A USER

TO MAKE A REFERRALDESIGN A PROGRAM TO

✓ CAPITALIZE ON THAT MOMENT.

✓ FIND THE PAIN AND REWARD SOME BEHAVIOR.UNDERSTAND A USER’S PAIN

TO MAKE A REFERRAL.

TEST, OPTIMIZE AND AUTOMATE

DO USERS WHO MAKE REFERRALS STICK AROUND LONGER?(CHECK WITH MIXPANEL)

IS YOUR PROGRAM IMPACTING YOUR SIGNUP CONVERSION RATE?

(CHECK WITH MIXPANEL TOO)

COMPARABLE METRICS YOU MUST KNOWTO DETERMINE IF YOU’RE MAKING PROGRESS WITH YOUR PROGRAM

✓ Participation Rate = Inviters / Active Users

✓ Spread rate = Recipients / Inviters

✓ Click Rate = Clicks / Recipients

✓ Registration Rate = Registrations / Clicks

✓ Product = Registrations / Active Users

#1 - HOW TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE?ROBERT B. CIALDINI - INFLUENCE: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE

✓ Social proof: show your audience they are not crazy because 1,000 other people are doing it too.

✓ Liking: people say yes to people they are similar too. Be less you and more like them.

✓ Reciprocity: give first and expect a favor in return.

#2 - HOW TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE?ROBERT B. CIALDINI - INFLUENCE: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE

✓ Commitment: getting people to commit to something small first helps getting them to say yes to the big question. Will you marry me? Ask for a testimonial before asking for a referral.

✓ Authority: When Barack Obama speaks on conversation, people listen.

✓ Scarcity: Scarcity makes people act. Invite your friends now and get a better reward.

#2HACKS YOU CAN USE

TO OPTIMIZE YOUR REFERRAL SYSTEM

LAUNCHING A REFERRAL PROGRAMHERE IS ONE SIMPLE METHOD

EMAIL EACH OF YOUR USERS AND GIVE THEM THEIR

UNIQUE REFERRAL CODE.

(+ SOCIAL MEDIAS)

WRITE A BLOG POST FOR USERS SEARCHING FOR THE

REFERRAL PROGRAM ON THEIR BROWSER.

SCHEDULE A SKYPE CALL WITH YOUR

POWER USERS

YOU CAN ALSO ADD A LINK IN YOUR EMAIL SIGNATURE

NOTIFYING AND RETARGETING TO BOOSTYOUR REFERRAL PROGRAM

SEGMENTING, INTERACTING AND AMPLIFYING AT THE RIGHT TIME

SCENARIOS

SOMEONE IS USING YOUR APPLICATION SINCE 1 MONTH

SOMEONE REACHED LEVEL 10

SOMEONE WATCHED 10 VIDEOS IN 48 HOURS

SOMEONE VISITED 100 PAGES IN 24 HOURS

MIXPANELNOTIFICATIONS(EMAIL, SMS, PUSHOR IN-APP NOTIFS)

PERFECT AUDIENCE(ADD HIM TO A LIST)

CREATIVE IDEAS:

- TO MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE A REFERRAL PROGRAM AVAILABLE.

- TO SHOW THEM WHAT THEY CAN GET BY USING IT.

- AND OF COURSE, SHOW THEM HOW MUCH YOU VALUE THEM (EX: THEPRINTFUL.COM)

SOMEONE JUST WATCHED ALLTHE EPISODES HE BOUGHT ON KOUDETAT

RETARGET THIS USER ON FACEBOOKTO MAKE HIM SHARE SOMETHING

TO HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS

SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING AWESOME AND VISITED THE ABOUT PAGE

1 TO 1 SKYPE CALL WITH THE FOUNDERAND INTRODUCE HIM TO THE

REFERRAL PROGRAM (AMBASSADORS)

HOW TO SPOT YOUR POWER USERS?TO ANALYSE AND TO TAKE CARE OF THEM ON A DAILY BASIS

WORD OF MOUTH REFERRALUSUALLY SEE BETTER RETENTION AND LTV

DON’T TREAT ALL YOUR USERS AS EQUALCONSIDER HOW MUCH INFLUENCE A USER HAS WITHIN A GROUP

AND OF COURSEHOW VALUABLE THEY ARE.YOU DON’T TREAT A PRINCE OF QATARTHE SAME WAY YOU TREAT A PARISIAN.

STREAMLINE REGISTRATION BY INVITEEPREFILL THE INPUT IF THERE IS ONE

CUSTOMIZE REFERRAL CODESAIRBNB MAKE IT MORE PERSONAL

SPECIAL REFERRAL LANDING PAGESOPENING THE APP AFTER INSTALLING THROUGH AN INVITATION

PLAYING ON IDENTITYTHE GREAT DROPBOX SPACE RACE

DON’T FORGET THE LEADERBOARDACTIVE INVITERS LOVE THAT KIND OF STUFF

BECAUSE EVERY MOMENT IS AN OCCASIONHERE IS MY BUSINESS CARD SIR. ;-)

WHEN THE PRODUCT OR YOUR APPBECOME A REFERRAL BY THEMSELVES.

BE SMARTER: “FREE WITH YOUR FRIENDS”HACK “THE GROWING FROM AN EXISTING USER BASE” MINDSET

MAKE YOUR PRODUCT EXPERIENCE SHAREABLE

DIAMOND CANDLES

YOU CAN LET THEM CHOOSE THE REWARDBUT BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT COMPLEXITY

BUILD A DOUBLE VIRAL LOOPTHE LINKEDIN EXAMPLE

LINKEDIN USERS INVITE FRIENDS TO

JOIN LINKEDIN.(EMAIL INVITES)

A NEW USER JOIN LINKEDIN

EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS TO RE-ENGAGE EXISTING USERS AND TO ASK THEM TO

INVITE MORE

UNDERSTAND WHICH CHANNELS WORK BEST FOR YOUR INVITES(AND REDESIGN YOUR REFERRAL PROGRAM)

BE CAREFUL WITH BULK EMAILS(REMEMBER THAT YOUR SMTP IPS

MAY BE BLACKLISTED)

IF YOU HAVE APROMO CODE PROGRAM

(SUBMIT THEM TO SOME COUPON WEBSITES)

THE LOOP REMINDERSEND A PERFORMANCE EMAIL TO NOTIFY YOUR REFERRERS

ERIN CONDRENMAYBE THERE IS SOME HACK TO DO WITH A GIF TOO

MEASURE HAPPINESSIMPROVE NPS - USERS REFER PRODUCTS THEY TRULY LOVE

HACKING THE NPSHUUUM YOU LOVE OUR SERVICE?

WOULD YOU PLEASE SHARE IT TO SOMEONE?

CONCLUDING RECOMMENDATIONSCUSTOMIZATION IS NOT OPTIONAL

✓ PERSONALIZE THE REFERRAL CODE.

✓ PERSONALIZE YOUR LANDING PAGE WITH THE INVITER’S NAME AND PICTURE.

✓ CREATE A REFERRAL COMPETITION AMONG USERS.

✓ GIVE THEM STORIES TO TELL.

HOW TO PREVENT ABUSE?YOU HAVE TO EXPECT FRAUD

IP ADDRESSES(CAN BE GAMED WITH

PRIVATE PROXIES)

EMAILS(BLOCK GUERRILLAMAIL

AND CO)

MOBILE PHONE NUMBERS(CAN BE GAMED WITH

PRIVATE PROVIDERS LIKE ONOFF.FR)

MAC ADDRESS(CAN BE FOUGHT WITH

VIRTUAL MACHINES)

USING ONLY THIRD PARTY

PROVIDERS TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT

(DIFFICULT TO GAME)

#3SOLUTIONS TO BUILD A

REFERRAL SYSTEM

BUILDING A REFERRAL SYSTEMIS HARD WORK.

IT TOOK A 5 PERSON TEAM (WITH LOTS OF BORROWED HELP!) 3 FULL MONTHS AND 30,000 LINES OF CODE TO DO AIRBNB’S

REFERRALS 2.0 SYSTEM.

AUTOMATE YOUR REFERRAL PROGRAMWITH GETAMBASSADOR OU REFERRALCANDY

DETECTING IF SOMEONE SHARED ON FBOF COURSE, HE MAY DELETE THE POST LATER

DETECTING IF SOMEONE CLICKED ON THE LIKE BUTTON

You can also subscribe to edge.remove

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/javascript/FB.Event.subscribe/v2.3

DETECTING IF SOMEONE TWEETYou can also subscribe to a follow, a retweet, a favorite...

https://dev.twitter.com/web/javascript/events

#4A FEW REASONS PEOPLE AREN’T SHARING YOUR

REFERRAL PROGRAM

BAD LOCATION MEANS BAD DISTRIBUTIONDON’T JUST PUT YOUR REFERRAL PROGRAM IN YOUR FOOTER

MAKE IT EASY TO SHAREFRICTION IS BAAAAD

SUGGEST INVITESIF THEY SIGNED UP FROM GMAIL, FACEBOOK, YAHOO...

FROM THE ADDRESS BOOKRANK PEOPLE BASED ON THE TARGET USER FOR YOUR APP

#1. The names of people in your address book actually reveal much information: “hubby”, “wife”, “sis”, “bro”, “bff”, “bestie”, “dad”, “mom”...

#2. Another way to determine close family and friends is to look for contacts with the same last name as the phone’s owner.

#3. Furthermore, if an entry contains emojis, you can interpret positive or negative emotions based on the specific symbols used

YOU CALL TO ACTION ISN’T CLEAR ENOUGHMAKE IT AS SHORT AND INVITING AS POSSIBLE

REDUCE THE FRICTION BUT BE CAREFUL. YOU DON’T WANT TO

LEAVE THE USER CONFUSED AND FRUSTRATED BY NOT EXPLAINING

THE PROGRAM CLEARLY.

DON’T BE A DOWNER.AVOID TELLING PEOPLE THEY’VE

EARNED $0 OR 0 CREDITS.

NOT CHOOSING THE RIGHT INCENTIVEINCENTIVE AREN’T ALL CREATED EQUAL

DON’T LOCK YOURREFERRAL PROGRAM BEHIND A

SIGN UP OR A LOGIN

CONCLUSION

IN A NUTSHELL, THINK ABOUT REFERRALWHEN YOU START TO HAVE SOME POWER USERS IN YOUR APP

✓ THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT (ABILITY TO RUN CAMPAIGNS WITH A HIGHER CPA)

✓ SOCIAL PROOF (MORE CREDIBILITY AND PATIENCE WITH THE PRODUCT)

✓ A GOOD INDICATOR FOR PRODUCT MARKET FIT.

AND OF COURSE, DON’T FORGET.SHARING A GREAT PRODUCT IS

THE BEST INCENTIVE.

THANK YOUQUESTIONS?