3 ms·

I definitely agree on #2, that your product needs wide appeal, but #1 (fremium) seems not to be the case. You can find plenty of places out there that do a ref

I definitely agree on #2, that your product needs wide appeal, but #1 (fremium) seems not to be the case. You can find plenty of places out there that do a refer-a-friend in exchange for the referrer receiving something in return. My gym (24 hour fitness) does this and I have referred people to it before. I suspect in this case the problem mostly lies in the product being too niche, not that it costs money.

gsaines 16y ago
Good point usaar333, I don't know if I did a good enough job making that distinction clear. In our case the niche product is a big referral buzzkill. My thinking though was that niche/non-niche aside, it seems like referrals would spread more easily (they wouldn't necessarily be more monetizable) if there was a freemium version though. Do you agree or disagree with that line of thought? For instance, if your gym had a "2 weeks free" and didn't require me to take out my credit card, I think I would be more likely to try it out all things being equal. Then again, my personal experience is often totally biased. I am trying hard to give up thinking that I know what our customers really want and let testing show the way!
jscore 16y ago
I don't buy the theory that the product needs wide appeal at all (#2). Gym referrals work because it's mutually beneficial, "hey, come join 24h fitness, so we can workout together". I win, and my friend wins. It's much easier to go the gym with a partner for motivation, etc. than to go by yourself. Now, let's take travel, which is also not niche. If I'm lonely planet trying to sell travel books, referral won't work because it's not mutually beneficial for both of us to have the same book, etc. Good discussion going on. I'm actually brainstorming on a referral strategy for one of my sites (travel based).
- usaar333 16y ago
  Mutual benefit certainly helps. I just wonder if you have to have it. The people I referred I actually never work out with. It was just a trivial way to get $25 or whatever the bonus was at the time. I believe Zecco (brokerage) also has a referral system going. Again, using it is beneficial monetarily - I could care less though if my friends use it. One thing that is probably true: If there is no 'network effect', you probably need a much larger reward to get referrals.

gsaines 16y ago

Good point usaar333, I don't know if I did a good enough job making that distinction clear. In our case the niche product is a big referral buzzkill. My thinking though was that niche/non-niche aside, it seems like referrals would spread more easily (they wouldn't necessarily be more monetizable) if there was a freemium version though. Do you agree or disagree with that line of thought? For instance, if your gym had a "2 weeks free" and didn't require me to take out my credit card, I think I would be more likely to try it out all things being equal. Then again, my personal experience is often totally biased. I am trying hard to give up thinking that I know what our customers really want and let testing show the way!

jscore 16y ago

I don't buy the theory that the product needs wide appeal at all (#2). Gym referrals work because it's mutually beneficial, "hey, come join 24h fitness, so we can workout together". I win, and my friend wins. It's much easier to go the gym with a partner for motivation, etc. than to go by yourself. Now, let's take travel, which is also not niche. If I'm lonely planet trying to sell travel books, referral won't work because it's not mutually beneficial for both of us to have the same book, etc. Good discussion going on. I'm actually brainstorming on a referral strategy for one of my sites (travel based).

usaar333 16y ago
Mutual benefit certainly helps. I just wonder if you have to have it. The people I referred I actually never work out with. It was just a trivial way to get $25 or whatever the bonus was at the time. I believe Zecco (brokerage) also has a referral system going. Again, using it is beneficial monetarily - I could care less though if my friends use it. One thing that is probably true: If there is no 'network effect', you probably need a much larger reward to get referrals.