Many experts and studies say that incentives should be considered and referral rewards do work to increase referrals and Word of Mouth. See what they have to say:

1. Referral Rewards & Referrals Do Incentives Increase Word of Mouth?

2. Traditional marketing just isn’t working like it used to. Today’s consumers trust recommendation from their peers more than any other source. And there are people out there ready and willing to recommend the brands they like to their personal, social and professional networks. Call it “Brand Advocacy” or “Word of Mouth”. . . The result is referrals and marketers are looking for a way to get more!

3. The Debate: But how do you stimulate word of mouth so you get more referrals? Some companies say that incentives are bad and should never be used to reward referrals. But many experts and studies that say that incentives should be considered and referral rewards do work. . . . Here’s a few. . .

4. “We need to create some sort of infrastructure or methodology that delivers the consummate win-win- win scenario: You win through increased sales, your new customer wins both directly (by buying a great product) and indirectly (with a possible additional benefit), and of course, your existing customer wins intangibly (goodwill from sharing their positive experiences with another person, as well as the recognition from your company acknowledging their contribution) and tangibly (some kind of offer, perk or incentive). “- Joseph Jaffe, Flip the Funnel One of the most sought-after consultants, speakers and thought leaders on new marketing, Joseph Jaffe is President and Chief Interuptor of crayon, a new marketing company (www.crayonville.com) crayon is a mash-up of 5 key areas: strategic and creative agency services, consulting, M&A Advisory, thought leadership/custom publishing, and finally training/education. crayon's initial clients include The Coca-Cola Company, GSD&M and SpiralFrog. (Bio from iMedia Connection )

5. “First, we should focus on the provision of material incentives. Providing material incentive is the most effective means to increase the customers’ will of WOM. No matter what relationship intensity and level of participation, material incentive always stimulate the will of P-EWOM (Positive Electronic Word-of-Mouth )most and the impact is very significant.” Influences of External Incentives on Consumers’ Positive Electronic Word-of-Mouth Intention NIU Haipeng 1, , WANG Xiaofan 2, SUN Naijuan

6. “Compared with offering no reward, offering a reward increased the likelihood of referral. Ryu, G. & Feick, L. (2007). A Penny For Your Thoughts: Referral Reward Programs and Referral Likelihood. Journal of Marketing, 71, 84-94

7. “Many practitioners, including managers of the bank who made the data available, fear that referral programs suffer from "moral hazard," where opportunistic customers bring in "deadbeats and other unprofitable new customers just to earn a referral fee," Van den Bulte states. However, the study shows that the benefits of a customer referral program can outweigh such negatives, making the programs pay off financially. “ 'Turning Social Capital into Economic Capital': Straight Talk about Word-of-mouth Marketing: Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2554)

8. “You'll be amazed at how the action of showing appreciation can generate good will and additional referrals. Once a person gives a referral, they become much more likely to continue to refer people your way. As soon as someone sends you a referral, immediately send them a thank-you gift. A card or quick phone call is the bare minimum” http://www.kinesisinc.com/ ArticleSource: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wendy_Maynard

9. Incentivized referral programs do work and can motivate your customers, employees, and partners to make referrals for your company. Referral rewards are not “one-size-fits-all” though, and should be designed to specifically fit the unique relationship you have with your advocates. uRefer supports a wide-variety of incentives including points, charity donations, cash programs, gift cards, tiered rewards, sweepstakes and more. . . To find out more, see our demo: Or you can contact us at 734.585.5684 or visit us at www.urefer.com