Building the Best B2B Referral Program

Learn what drives your customer and how you can reward them for their actions.

64% of marketers believe that word-of-mouth is still the most effective form of marketing. Nothing can beat a client’s trust in a friend rather than traditional media. 

In this case, referral marketing comes from word-of-mouth marketing, which is probably the oldest form of advertising that exists. Referral marketing is a blend of organic content, community marketing, and influencer marketing. Word-of-mouth is a powerful channel for both successful global names as well as new, niche brands. Referral marketing blends perfectly with brands that have a clear customer-centric approach, making it affordable for companies of any size to attract new customers while retaining existing ones.

However, most organizations are not utilizing this form of marketing enough nor realize how powerful it can be. At the end of the day, whether you are a B2B organization or a B2C organization, we are all humans, and it all comes down to psychology and understanding what drives your customers.

So, in this episode, Raul Galera shares how you can build the best B2B referral program for your business and get more clients.

Raúl has been leading ReferralCandy’s partnership efforts for the past five years, working alongside marketing agencies, media, and tech companies. On a regular day, you’ll likely find him with a half-full cup of coffee next to him and a salsa playlist playing on his Spotify.

Podcast Timestamps/Outline

01:22 – Introduction

02:07 – About Raul Galera

03:14 – The bottom line of referral marketing – we’re still human

03:53 – Common mistakes in referral marketing

06:40 – The importance of small and micro rewards

07:45 – Traps with gamification

10:41 – The problem of lack of promotion

14:09 – How to get people to ask for more referrals

18:22 – How to capture qualitative information

22:47 – The importance of making it easy for the customer

24:01 – Rewards don’t have to be just money.

30:50 – Taking into consideration the act of giving as an incentive

33:39 – How much effort go into testing?

35:58 – What should a B2B Digital Marketer be thinking about now?

37:40 – Connect with Raul Galera

Memorable Quotes

“Referral marketing comes from word-of-mouth, which is probably the oldest form of advertising that exists. It all comes down to psychology.”

“It’s better to offer small rewards often than big rewards rarely.”

“Gratification doesn’t have to be instant, but it has to be close to instant.”

“It’s about giving something smaller, but making the other person understand that they’ve received something – they’ve been rewarded for what they’ve done.”

“One of the main reasons why some referral programs end up not working is because of lack of promotion.”

“Don’t be shy to ask for referrals.”

“If your customers are happy, your referral program is going to work well.”

“If you can do the hard work for your customers, then you’re going to see results coming in right away.”

“Rewards don’t have to be just money.”

“It all comes down to understanding your customer and understanding what drives them.”

“Sometimes we’re more incentivized about the act of giving rather than whatever commission we can get out of it.”

Episode Links and Resources

Raul’s email: [email protected]

Referral Candy website: https://www.referralcandy.com/ 

Digital activity ROI assessment: https://b2bdm.com/digital-activity-roi/ 

More episodes related to referrals and the customer: https://b2bdm.com/queen-bee-mindset/