While on a lookout for great-looking referral programs, we discovered The Clymb, which sells everything you'll need for your next outdoors adventure. The Clymb is a great example of how word-of-mouth incentive programs can be both visually compelling and strategically effective — design and incentive structure matter equally.
They have a referral program that's sleek, stylish, simple and compelling.
Two-Sided Referral Incentives
When a successful referral is made, Clymb rewards both parties.
The referrer (Alice) gets $15 credit towards her next purchase, while the referred friend (Bob) gets $15 off his first purchase.
The referral program has a minimum purchase amount of $50.
Sharing Refer-a-Friend Links:
Members browsing individual product pages can share them with friends by clicking the above button, which prompts to type in their friends' email addresses.
They also have a dedicated "Invite Friends" tab on their their account management page, which prompts them to share referral links via IM, email, Facebook and/or Twitter:
Referral Emails
When a new member signs up for the free Clymb membership, she receives a "Welcome to the Club!" email with three simple steps to follow:
1: Check Your Inbox for daily deals and new products;
2: Act Quickly to take advantage of said deals; and
3: Invite a Friend, which redirects her to her "Invite Friends" tab where she is reminded of the dual-sided incentives, and is prompted to refer her friends through whichever means she wants.
The personal invite link that she shares with her friends directs them to a unique personalised sign-up page, where they can join the exclusive Clymb membership club by simply providing their name, email address, password, and zipcode.
Constant Visibility
On the website, the referral call-to-action button is located at the top right-hand corner of the header, and appears on all pages.
In fact, the entire header remains visible even while scrolling down the webpage! Check it out:
The referral call-to-action can also be found in
1: Member's email (Welcome to the Clymb! Invite friends),
2: Invitational email (You've been invited to join the Clymb! Invite friends)
3: The daily newsletter (Check out the stylish "$15 for you, $15 for them" graphic)
So...what can we learn from all this?
- Be subtle, but always be visible. The call-to-action should always be within sight and reach, but never in a place that will annoy and disrupt the browsing experience.
- Make your referral program appear in all of your marketing collateral. Have your referral program button appear in all your marketing media, e.g. emails, newsletters, etc. Doing so in a non-intrusive and elegant way will subconsciously drill the idea into them, and they can easily click to refer a friend ANYTIME.
Here's an overview of The Clymb's referral program:
Overview of Referral Program
NameThe ClymbProduct / service typeOutdoor athletic and sports gearReferral methodUnique referral URL, Email, Facebook, TwitterReferral RewardWhen referred friend purchases products totalling more than $50:
- $15 in-store credit
Referred Friend OfferAfter sign-up
- $15 discount promotion code (applicable for purchase more than $50)
We've certainly enjoyed exploring The Clymb's website and referral program.
If you'd like to learn a bit more check out our refer-a-friend program examples for apparel stores here.