Building a Referral Program for Your Hair Extension Business

Are you ready to take your Hair Website to the next level? How are you going to do it? 

Good question! The answer, for many entrepreneurs in the hair extension world, is to start building a referral program.

If you know what that is and want to get started, we’re about to guide you through everything you need to know.

And if you’re totally new to this type of program and want to know if it will work for you, we’re here to help with that, too. 

Let’s take a closer look by starting with the basics, and then you can see what you need to do! 

What is a referral program?

Imagine if you could turn all of those happy and loyal customers of yours into a free marketing department that effortlessly spoke the language of your Target Audience.

That’s what a referral program is all about! 

The idea is that when an existing customer recommends your new 3D Mink Lashes or Lip Gloss to a friend, that customer receives some sort of bonus or discount when their friend buys.

It’s simple when you put it like that, so we’re going to carry on keeping things simple so that you don’t have to try and wrestle with all of the frustrating industry jargon. 

Do your customers want a referral program?

Referral programs aren’t just common practice in virtually every industry — many customers have come to expect them.

The key is to remember that you have to offer your loyal customers something they want, even if you feel that you’re asking them for virtually nothing in return — a quick word to a close friend really doesn’t require any effort on their part, but they still need to feel valued and be incentivized. 

Make it fun and engaging, and add a social element wherever you can, and you will find that you are onto something special before you know it.

Ideal when you want to make money simply by getting your existing customers to show their new Flat Iron to their friends, neighbors, and colleagues. 

Now that you’re sold on the journey, take a moment to work your way through these half a dozen proven steps. 

1. Know the customer journey 

You need to be able to embed your referral program into your existing customer journey.

Why? This is the smart way to catch the eye of existing buyers without making them feel like they’re being sold to. 

Laying out the customer journey on a piece of paper and then following it with your finger is a much easier approach than clicking between various windows.

It’s all about slowing things down and giving yourself the time and space you need to reflect on what matters.

Something as simple as a pop-up or a follow-up email after the purchase has been made can give your customers a nudge that will make them want to share their purchase with their friends. 

2. Settle on an offer 

Is giving away a Full-body Wave bundle too expensive?

It may be better if you offer a 20% discount code for every friend they recommend who then goes on and buys something from your store. 

Alternatively, you might decide that volume is what you want because you want to push up your margins and try to negotiate a better deal with your supplier.

In this case, you could offer a free hair bundle for every 10 customers they refer to you.

There are plenty of variations on these themes that you can make use of once you start to experiment. 

3. Track all the referrals

Having a code or link that is unique to each of your customers is essential if you want to be able to scale your program quickly and efficiently.

The important thing here is that, as well as efficiently handling all of the extra sales you’re going to generate, you also need to be able to distribute the rewards the program members have qualified for. 

4. Make referrals a social choice 

Something like giving your buyers an option to share a photo or a post of their new crown with their followers can make the program so much more fun and engaging.

By having a shortcut that allows them to post it to their timeline, you can remove much of the bureaucracy and formality from your program.

An added bonus is that if your buyers use the images as content to boost their profiles, they’ll feel like they’re getting even more by joining up. 

5. Keep things fresh 

You don’t want to offer the same thing to the same group of program members month after month.

As we both know, styles ebb and flow with the seasons, meaning that what was hot in the summer may not be the ticket to stardom in the fall, and the Seasonal Trends can change everything. 

Rotating through different offers and looks will freshen things up and get program members excited to keep working with you. 

6. Be proactive 

If you find that things are plateauing, you need to take a closer look at the analytics. Is there a substantial drop-off in terms of program member activity?

Reach out to them with a Targeted email campaign, and you will be able to catch their eye and nudge them back into action.

Don’t do it too frequently; otherwise, they’ll think you’re spamming.

Perhaps try a fortnightly newsletter that they will get used to seeing at the same time. 

Final thoughts 

Believing that you can do this isn’t just the first thing you need to do; it’s actually the most important thing you need to do.

If you tell yourself that referral programs are big dreams that only big businesses can pull off, you’re going to be right 100% of the time.

That little bit of self-doubt that has crept in will be what stops you from pushing hard to get things moving and into the air.

But if you tell yourself that taking things one step at a time is all that matters, you’re going to be heading in the right direction before you know it. 

A referral program may not happen overnight, but once it is up and running, you can open yourself up to thousands and thousands of potential buyers simply by connecting with your existing customers. 

We know you can do it!