Namaste to all the yogis out there! If you're running a yoga studio, you know the importance of spreading the love and sharing the zen with as many people as possible. But, how do you get the word out there? Enter referral marketing - the secret weapon for growing your studio. Join us as we delve into the world of word-of-mouth marketing and explore how to set up a referral program that will 3x your revenue.

According to a report by Neilson

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92% of respondents trusted referrals from people they knew.

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AND

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Companies with formalized referral marketing programs experienced 86% more revenue growth over the past two years when compared to the rest.

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But how to create a referral program that is successful?

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Why do referral programs fail?

It is important to understand the reasons for failure.

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Friction in the referral process

One of the biggest reasons why referral programs fail - the process of referring is too complicated.

If there are 5 steps for your client to refer someone, there is a possibility that he might drop out of the process is much higher versus a program that can be implemented in 1 step.

Another friction could be non-availability of your program on mobile apps through which clients can easily share your business.

The third and last friction is that the program is being difficult to find and share. Make sure that your clients are able to easily locate the program and can intuitively share it with friends and family.

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Wrong incentive

The worst incentive that you can give out in your referral program is — Cash!

Do you know why?

1. Non-cash incentives are 24% more effective at boosting performance than cash incentives.
2. By giving out cash you are actually dipping into your profit margins.

The most cost-effective reward?

Studio credits.

They keep money in your business and give valued customers a reason to keep coming back (and keep spreading the word!)

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Steps to ensure the success of your referral program

Follow this step-by-step method to create a referral program that will not fail:

Step 1: Structuring the program

As the first step, structure your program, decide the incentives and rewards to be given. One of the best referral programs is:

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Booster Transform

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One of Bookee’s clients, Booster Transform, ran a very successful referral program after which they ended up adding almost $51k to their revenue.

The structure of Booster’s program is:

The referral program offers a trial class to your friends for free when referred, and if they attend a 2nd class at Booster, the one who refers gets a free class.

Different incentives that can be offered are:

1. Discounts on memberships
2. Discounts on products
3. Studio products
4. Free class

Step 2: Communicating value

Your referral program should be communicated in a way that it catches attention. It should sound like there is value in the program. This value will motivate your clients to refer more.

Step 3: Friction-less advertising through apps to multiple channels

Your yoga studio management software should facilitate a friction-free referral experience. Your clients should not have to spend time to figure out how to refer. It should be a single step process.

Step 4: Promoting the program

One of the most crucial step: promoting the program through different channels.

• Website & App
• Email marketing
• Social media promotions
• Word of mouth (telling clients about it in the studio)
• Push notifications on the app
• Posters in the studio
• Referral cards

Step 5: Providing a great client experience

The ultimate success of your referral programs is when the referred clients become your regular paying customers. This can only happen when you provide them with a great in-studio experience. Keep a track of the referred clients and give them a personalised and welcoming experience.

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Secret sauce of creating a great referral program

Let us spill the beans on how businesses create a successful referral program.

Create class packs and offer some premium services along with them.

Since, these classes are premium, each class becomes a more valuable class. Due to this, the perceived value of each class goes high.

At this point, a free class becomes a big reward to get.

Hence, giving a referral becomes very enticing since your clients are getting something very valuable in return.

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How to setup a referral program on Bookee?

Bookee knows that one of the most profitable channels to grow is referral marketing which is why we have created a referral marketing setup that is easy and intuitive and will surely help you add clients to your studio just like it did for Booster Transform.

What Bookee offers is:

1. One step referral process
2. Easy sharing of the referral link on every channel through the website as well as the mobile app
3. Referral lead tracking
4. Reports of your referral program

Setting it up is also extremely simple.

To set up a referral program on Bookee, you can follow the below steps:

• Navigate to Manage > Referral
• Click on the setup option under the referral program

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New customer offer:

• Select the offer type as memberships/packs
• Select free package: Select the package you want to give the customer who was referred
• Message for new customer: Enter the message you want the system to sent to the customer when a customer wants to send a referral code to a new customer by clicking on Edit Message

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Referring customer offer:

• Trigger for successful referral: Enter the number of classes the new customer has to attend in order for the referred customer to get a free class (This includes the class attended using the trial class offered)
• Select the offer type as memberships/packs
• Select free package: Select the package you want to give the customer who referred a new customer
• Message to existing customers on successful referral: Enter the message you want the system to send to the existing customer on a successful referral by clicking on Edit Message

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Looks pretty simple, right?

Setup your referral program for success right away!

Enable it through the best tech around - Bookee!

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Book a demo!

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