How to Choose the Right Referral Marketing Style for Your Brand

Posted by naxumadmin / January 26, 2023

If you’ve been following along NaXum’s blog and social media, you’d know that we’ve been discussing a lot about predictive actions, the platform, and some tips and tricks on how to win the referral marketing game.

We’ve even discussed ways how to engage your clients and customers and why your referral marketing channel might not be working for you. This all comes from NaXum’s years of expertise in the referral marketing field. For this week, we tackle a topic that is a little basic but nevertheless essential.

Companies all across the globe have been working their way into owning their own referral marketing channel. This can differ from company to company; the types of referral marketing companies can be categorized in a spectrum. The spectrum would begin with types of referral marketing that involve less training and commitment and the other end would entail more commitment.

We all know that referral marketing is also known as word-of-mouth marketing. This immediately tells us that referral marketing revolves around the social aspect of selling. 

Today, social media has paved the way for a new kind of referral marketing type: affiliate or influencer marketing. This type of referral marketing requires the least amount of commitment and usually requires bloggers or influencers to include a link on their promotion posts and have interested customers click the link or use a code.

From there, they earn a certain amount of commission. This belongs to the far right of our referral marketing scale. The next type of referral marketing is direct selling. Now direct selling refers to the type of referral marketing that, from the name itself, sells directly to consumers in a non-retail environment. Sales happen at work, at home, or most recently, online. This is also known as person-to-person retail and is a great way to market products because it is cost-effective. 

Immediately after direct selling comes a party plan. A party plan, on the other, hand, is a type of referral marketing that means there are extra people in the relationship. Usually, this is called a host. 

On the far end of the spectrum lies Network Marketing. While there is a negative connotation with the term, the scam that is usually misinterpreted as network marketing is called a pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme is a network of people making money off of other people without selling any products. Network marketing or multi-level marketing entails more training and entails a much more engaged culture within the company.

If the previously mentioned types only shared links or little content, network marketing requires a good relationship between leaders and their teams. They hold training sessions in order to hone and mold their members into the culture they want to project and protect. 

Now the question is, how do you know which referral marketing type is for your company?

Consider your clients.

One of the most important things to consider in any business is your clients. Who are your clients? Do you think they best respond to training and referral marketing? What do you think the customer’s expected outcome would be if they join your referral marketing company? Where are they currently in their life? What is their demographic?

Consider your culture.

Is your culture a little laid back and independent, or is it open to learning and training? Is your culture open to influencing others and training others to become better? 

Consider your product. 

What is your product or service about? Is it something that promotes health? Are the people who purchase your product or service in a place in their life where they’re looking to find more income?  Is your product or service something that can be sold in sets and as part of a routine? 
These are just some questions to ask yourself when considering the referral marketing model for your brand. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the referral marketing space and referral marketing software and platforms, don’t hesitate to book a discovery call with our CEO Ben Dixon, and Sales Executive Tamiko Russaz at www.naxumtour.com.