Channel managers can use a guided flow to design and launch a referral program and its promotions by completing a few simple steps.
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Here are the steps to design a referral program.
| SEQUENCE | TASK |
|---|---|
| 1 | Create a referral program |
| 2 | Add rewards for your referral promotion |
| 3 | Add advocates for your referral program |
| 4 | Create promotion templates |
| 5 |
|
How Referral Programs and Promotions Work Together
Brands run referral programs to encourage their partners and existing business customers to refer new businesses. The timing of these programs can change depending on who they want to reach and when they plan to contact advocates.
A referral program can include many different promotions, each designed for specific purposes. Companies can set up promotions that run all the time (evergreen) or for a set period (time-bound). These promotions can target specific partner groups or all of them.
Example Cloud Kicks wants to run an evergreen promotion, offering a $1000 discount for their
business partners and their referred parties. They also want to run two time-bound promotions:
one during the company's anniversary month and another on December 31 and January 31. The
channel manager creates one referral program and adds three promotions to it. The evergreen
promotion has a start date but no end date. The company anniversary promotion runs for a
month, and the year-end promotion starts on December 31 and ends on January 31.
Example Example Cloud Kicks wants to run a referral program for their business partners in
France and Canada. For France, they want to reward the partners and their referred party with
a 10% discount voucher. For Canada, Cloud Kicks wants to provide a 15% discount to the
partners and a 10% voucher to the referred parties. In this case, Cloud Kicks can run two
promotions, one for each country.
Example Example Cloud Kicks wants to run a referral program that consists of an evergreen
promotion for all its business partners and a time-bound promotion for a specific partner
group. For the evergreen promotion, the partner manager selects a start date but doesn't
select an end date or a target audience. For the time-bound promotion, the partner manager
selects a start date, an end date, and a campaign that consists of the promotion's target
audience. Cloud Kicks launches an evergreen referral program for its entire network of channel
partners, the evergreen promotion offers a standard 5% commission on all successful
referrals.
- Create a Referral Program
The cornerstone of a referral strategy is the referral program. After setting up a referral program, channel managers can manage and implement all aspects of their referral strategy from the referral program. - Add Rewards
Incentivize advocates and their referred parties to engage with your brand by adding rewards to your referral program. Channel managers can include rewards like vouchers and payout commissions that resonate with their audience. They can add multiple reward types within a referral program, tailored for both advocates and their referred parties. If a referral program includes several promotions, each can offer its own unique set of rewards to create a personalized experience. - Add Advocates
Advocates of a referral program are the partners who are willing to refer your brand to another businesses. Channel managers can either add all partners as advocates or add a select set of partners to the referral program. If the number of partners to be added is small, partner managers can add the advocates one by one. Or, they can work with the admin to set up a process that adds all the advocates simultaneously. - Promotion Template
Promotion templates determine promotion configuration. Use promotion templates to define stage names, the stages at which advocates and their referred parties are rewarded, and the activities that trigger rewards. Every promotion uses a promotion template. Before creating a promotion, decide whether to use an existing template or create a unique one. - Create a Promotion
Promotions are the primary vehicle that run your referral program. Channel managers can design different types of promotions with varying duration, audience, rewards, and stages.