Referral Text Message Examples

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Referral Text Message Examples

We have good news and bad news. First, here’s the bad news: According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, distrust is now society’s default emotion when it comes to encountering something new.

Now, the good news: According to Nielsen, 92 percent of consumers around the world said they trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising.

Referral marketing, otherwise known as word of mouth for those of us “in the biz,” leverages trust from people we know. That means, as consumers, this referrer has a sense for what you may and may not like. It’s the trust and confidence that makes referral marketing so powerful. In fact, that same Nielsen study found that consumers were 77 percent more likely to buy a product if their friends recommended it.

Traditionally, we saw referral marketing happen in real time. When someone noticed your well-groomed lawn, you told them who did it and handed off their card. If someone complimented your outfit, you showed them it had pockets, shared the price, and the place you got it. Although these exchanges still happen this way, alternative forms of communication are on the rise. For instance, refer-a-friend emails have long been part of the business toolbox (check out our favorite email referral examples) but the convenience of text messaging has made an impressive entrance into the referral marketing scene. In fact, with people spending over 3.75 hours on their phone each day in the United States, it’s the perfect way to get in front of your target market.

Let’s learn more about how ecommerce businesses can leverage SMS messages to launch their referral-based business into the next tax bracket.

What Are Referral Text Messages?

In a marketing context, a referral text message is an SMS message that encourages subscribers to recommend your service or product to a friend, colleague, family member, or acquaintance.

In the larger marketing funnel, these messages enter into the buyer’s journey either as a way to make more people aware of your offering, or as a way to potentially push them to the next stage of the buying cycle.

This message should be clear, concise, editable, and personable. In fact, let’s look at the anatomy of a a referral from the final receiver’s end. In this example, let’s use the fictional store Montoya’s Uneek Boutique. Montoya’s is located in a small downtown of a popular tourist destination. There are many clothing stores nearby, but none with Montoya’s unique flair. They also have an online store that they manage through the same POS.

Although this is a retail example, a few simple tweaks can make these examples great for an online shopping destination, or even an in-person service.

The Anatomy of a Referral Text Message

The anatomy of an effective referral text message includes the following elements:

As you can see, referral text messages should include three main parts:

• A personalized introduction: This might seem like it’s overkill, but LinkedIn-owned Slideshare reports that 80 percent of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that provides a tailored experience. Using a first name has long been a way to increase open rates for email and that continues to be an effective tactic for SMS marketing as well. Keep it simple with a “Hi [first name],”
• A value proposition: For those who don’t speak marketing, this is what makes your service different than your competitors. If you sell funky clothing, your value proposition may look read like, “Visit Montoya’s Uneek Boutique to get one-of-a-kind threads.” You can see that it mentions the name of the company, and explains what makes them different from their competitors.
• A call to action: This is a must-have for any piece of business communication. People don’t naturally know what you want from them. Ensure that you’re directing them to visit your website, take advantage of your offer, or see a specific product. In Montoya’s situation, we might share a discount like, “Shop our online store (www.montoyauneeqboutique.com) and receive free shipping using the code SMSREFER.”

Despite this looking like a simple formula, it can go very, very, right or very, very, wrong. Let’s take a look at a few examples that can help keep your business on the right track when it comes to referral marketing text messages.