Referral marketing can be an incredibly effective strategy for small businesses looking to boost sales and acquire new customers. But running a referral program manually requires a ton of work. That‘s where referral software comes in – these tools automate the busywork involved so you can focus on results.
In this in-depth guide as an industry insider, I‘ll compare the top 7 referral program software options to help you determine the best choice for your small business. I‘ve worked with many of these solutions and clients over my 15 years as a webmaster, so I can provide unique insights from an expert perspective.
Contents
Why Referral Programs Are Game Changers for Small Businesses
First, let‘s look at why referral programs can be game changers for driving growth:
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Higher Conversion Rates: Referred customers convert at a rate of 10-30% on average, compared to 1-3% for non-referred visitors. When someone is referred by a friend, they already trust your business.
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Lower Customer Acquisition Costs: It costs 6-7x more to acquire a new customer versus keeping an existing one. Referrals allow you to leverage happy customers to promote your brand.
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Increased Customer Lifetime Value: Referred customers also spend more over the lifetime of your relationship. Their first purchase is typically 25% larger, and they‘re more likely to become repeat buyers.
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Accelerated Growth: Referral program members spend 2-3x more than average customers. A study by Nielsen suggests word-of-mouth drives 20-50% of purchasing decisions.
When you get referral marketing right, it can transform your business growth trajectory. But doing it manually won‘t enable you to scale. That‘s where referral software comes in…
The Power of Referral Program Software
Running a referral program involves a lot of moving parts:
- Generating unique referral links or codes
- Tracking referrals and sales
- Calculating commissions owed
- Distributing rewards to referrers
- Communicating with referrers
- Analyzing performance
It‘s extremely difficult to manage these tasks one-by-one, especially as your business grows. But referral software automates the busywork for you:
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Automatic Link Generation: Makes it easy for referrers to share your offers with their network.
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Referral and Sales Tracking: Automatically measures referral performance and attributes sales accurately.
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Reward Fulfillment: Seamlessly issues discounts, cash rewards, or other incentives owed to referrers when milestones are hit.
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Communication Tools: Allows you to engage referrers with updates on earnings, new offers, and other program news.
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Performance Analytics: Provides dashboards and reports to understand which parts of your referral initiative is working best.
With the technology lifting the heavy lifting, you‘re freed up to focus on other high-leverage areas of your business.
Next let‘s compare the top referral software options available today…
7 Best Referral Program Software Platforms for Small Businesses
1. ReferralCandy
ReferralCandy is one of the most popular dedicated referral software tools. It makes launching a program dead simple, and includes automation for every part of the process.
Some of the notable features include:
- Email and popup tools to recruit referrers from your existing customer base
- Customizable rewards – offer discounts, cash bonuses, free products, and more
- Automated reward distribution after a successful referral is attributed
- Detailed reporting on referral traffic, conversions, revenue, and other key metrics
- Integrations with ecommerce platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify
ReferralCandy is used by leading brands like Leesa, Anker, and Brooklyn Bedding to scale referral marketing.
It‘s pricing starts at $49/month plus a 5% commission on sales revenue generated from referrals. ReferralCandy is a great choice for ecommerce stores that want to leverage word-of-mouth and maximize ROI.
2. Viral Loops
Viral Loops is a powerful referral marketing platform that also supports loyalty programs and brand ambassador campaigns.
Some key capabilities include:
- Drag and drop workflow builder to customize your referral flows
- Ability to create tiered rewards through points and levels
- Flexibility to set up different campaigns for different segments
- Automated reward distribution when referrals convert
- Viral sharing tools and integrations with social channels
- Analytics into your viral channels and growth loops
Notable customers include Peloton, Canva, and Glassdoor. Pricing starts at $99/month for basic needs. Viral Loops is great for creative program design and tiered rewards.
3. Extole
Extole is an enterprise-level referral software used by major brands like Costco, Hilton, and Angie‘s List. It utilizes AI and machine learning to maximize the ROI of your programs.
Notable Extole features:
- AI optimization of referral offers and messaging for highest conversion rates
- Omnichannel tools to communicate with referrers across email, text, chat apps, etc.
- Real-time dashboards and analytics into referral performance
- Seamless integrations with marketing automation platforms
- Referral portals and customizable landing pages
Pricing is tailored based on your business needs. Extole is ideal for large brands with big budgets and high complexity programs.
4. Ambassador
Ambassador is a referral software focused on empowering and equipping referrers. It provides an affiliate interface where referrers can track links, see their earnings, and access custom assets to share your brand.
Notable aspects include:
- Branded affiliate dashboard where referrers manage their campaigns
- Automated distribution of customized rewards
- Assets like banners, videos, and social posts to share with referrers
- Team accounts and hierarchy for managing referrers
- Attribution models to reward influence across channels
Ambassador is used by companies like Box, Qualtrics, and Revel. Pricing is customized based on your requirements. It‘s great for self-service referrer enablement.
5. Influitive AdvocateHub
Influitive AdvocateHub allows you to track referrals, provide key resources to referrers, and integrate referral tracking with your existing sales and marketing systems.
Some of the key capabilities include:
- Unified dashboard to manage your referrers and advocates
- Turnkey advocate marketplace to recruit referrers
- Social sharing capabilities and branded assets
- Gamification through tiered points and levels
- Workflow automation and CRM integrations
- Referral tracking across channels
Pricing scales based on your needs. Influitive is great for unlocking referrals from loyal brand advocates and customers.
6. AffiliateWP
AffiliateWP is a popular WordPress affiliate management plugin. It provides referral program capabilities in addition to broader affiliate marketing tracking.
Some notable features:
- Central dashboard to manage referrers and affiliates
- Automatic unique link generation
- Referral sales reporting and program analytics
- Payouts managed seamlessly within WordPress
- Discount and coupon tracking
- Email marketing integrations
Plans start at $149/year. AffiliateWP is a great option if you want an integrated affiliate and referral program on WordPress.
7. Referral Rock
Referral Rock is a lightweight WordPress plugin for referral programs. It focuses on fast setup and simplicity.
Some of the features include:
- Quick installation with no coding required
- Customizable rewards and commission structures
- Social sharing and email tools to spread referrals
- Referrer leaderboards and notifications
- Coupon tracking and basic analytics
The free version has limited capabilities. Premium plans start at $99/year. Referral Rock provides a simple self-hosted WordPress option.
Key Takeaways
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Well-designed referral programs leverage happy customers to promote your brand through word-of-mouth marketing. This can significantly boost customer acquisition and revenue growth.
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But managing referrals, tracking sales, distributing rewards, and analyzing data manually won‘t scale. Referral software handles these tasks seamlessly.
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Turnkey solutions like ReferralCandy, Viral Loops, Ambassador, and AffiliateWP make launching a program quick and affordable for small businesses.
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Enterprise-level options like Extole offer advanced capabilities but have heavy pricing. Make sure the software matches your budget and needs.
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Focus on finding a referral software that integrates with your existing tech stack and fits your business‘s specific requirements. Test and optimize!
As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience, I‘ve seen firsthand how impactful referral marketing can be when executed successfully. The right software solution removes all the friction so you can demonstrate ROI and quickly scale your customer acquisition efforts.
