Will a referral program help you grow your SaaS?

Running a successful SaaS referral program might give your business the boost you need. It’s a pretty straightforward marketing technique that leads to low-cost and fast turnaround sales. Whether you already have a program or you’re thinking about starting one, we’re here to help.

In this guide, we’ll outline what a referral program is, why it’s so great, and how to run a successful program.

What Is a SaaS Referral Program?

Before you learn how to improve a SaaS referral program, you need to know what it is. A referral program is when you entice, incentivize, or ask your current and former customers to refer their friends to your company. In most cases, referrals are tracked with a link or discount code, but in some cases, the referred person will include the name of the person who referred them.

Why Is a Referral Program So Great?

A referral program works well because of a few key ideas: it’s low-cost, low-effort, and works fast.

Low-Cost

You are only paying affiliates a referral commission when you actually get a sale. There is no need to spend funds on marketing that may or may not result in a sale. Provide affiliates a commission to get their friends to use your product or service. Affiliates can provide an incentive for their friend in the form of a trial period or discount for your service.

Low-Effort

With a referral program, you don’t have to find leads, nurture them, or walk them through the sales funnel. Allow your current SaaS clients who already know and love your business to help you find like-minded customers. 

It Works Fast

If you already have users for your SaaS business, they are in a great spot to refer new customers. Your customer is doing all the work by setting up the referral.

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How Can You Start or Improve a SaaS Referral Program?

If you’re thinking about starting a program from scratch or you already have one running, you came to the right place. We’ll tell you the tips for improving or starting your program. 

Give People a Reason to Refer

No one will refer your business if they don’t have a reason to. A good reason could be: 

• Great software that sells itself
• An incentive for each referral
• Impeccable customer service
• Fixing a genuine problem for a business.

The best practice is to focus on the customer experience. You want everyone to walk away with a smile on their face, excited to tell their friends about your company.

Make It Really Easy to Share

You should put together a quick, written elevator pitch that people can share with their friends. 

A good idea is to create a page on your site that explains who you are and what your software does. Make it shareable, so people just have to click once to send it to a friend.

Offer the Right Incentives

A lot of companies offer an incentive that goes with their referral program. There are a few popular incentives that you might offer:

• A coupon
• A gift card
• Discounts on the referrer’s next purchase
• Free month of subscription
• Unlocking special content

You should focus on offering the right incentive. You want something big enough so that it’s impactful and desirable, but not so big that it eats all of your profits. A proper incentive can persuade someone to refer your company even if they weren’t otherwise going to.

Focus on Referral Tracking

Through referral tracking, you’ll see what does and doesn’t work in your referral program. Maybe you need to change the incentive or offer longer-term incentives. It might also mean that your shareable blurb doesn’t do a great job of selling what you can do long-term.

What Are the Next Steps for Your SaaS Referral Program?

A well-run program can boost your sales and expedite leads through the sales funnel. Knowing how to improve a SaaS referral program can help your operation tremendously. If you want to see how else you can optimize your company’s SaaS referral program, contact LeadDyno today. We’ll answer your questions and help you run a successful referral program that you can be proud of.