When small businesses and high-touch service businesses mimic the referral rewards programs of big businesses, I would argue that they cheapen themselves and fail to maximize the potential yield of their referral sources.
What the heck am I talking about?
I’m referring to the difference between sincere yet deliberate (orchestrated) gratitude and what I call a “transparent referral economy.”
If you’re managing thousands of referrals and referral sources, at some point you may find that you have no choice but to build a simple referral economy. Refer a friend and get $10 off of your next purchase. Refer two friends and you pay nothing for …. A referral economy is a publicly stated formula for compensating referral sources.