What incentive do you provide members who bring in new members? Is it monetary? Do you offer credits on renewals? What are the details behind your member referral program? If you don’t have one, or are looking to revamp yours, read what other chambers are doing:
Ideas for Member Referral Program Incentives
There are numerous ways to motivate people to recruit for you. Here are a few ideas from chamber professionals across the country:
Chance
You needn’t offer an incentive for every referral. The Gardner Edgerton Chamber of Commerce doesn’t offer individual incentives for each membership. This year they are creating an opportunity for one ambassador to win a trip for his/her referrals.
Gamification
Creating a leaderboard or public incentive is also a good motivator. For instance, the Midland Chamber of Commerce selected activities they deem important for ambassadors (such as ribbon cutting attendance and member referrals). The chamber then awards their ambassadors with a point system for performing those activities.
Local Rewards
At the Riverbend Growth Association, they reward every referral with a $25 universal gift card valid at over 50 of their member businesses. This way the ambassador gets a token of appreciation and a member receives additional business revenue when the referrer spends the card at their location.
Another chamber combines aspects of gamification and rewards by creating a program that assigns points for desired actions. The person with the most points that month receives a $25 gift card and additional promotion in the newsletter.
Drives
Motivate people through scarcity by making something available for a limited time. The Chillicothe Chamber in Missouri does that with their member referral program. They shared, “…our Ambassadors are vying for Visa cash cards. Four $25 cards will be given to the first four Ambassadors to bring in a new member. Then every member who brings in a member gets their name put in a drawing for $100 Visa cash card. These Visa cards were earned through our credit card reward points so we didn’t spend any extra on them.”
Curious about what other chambers are doing? Join the conversation here.
