We first released automated referral rewards in 2016. A decade later, it’s still consistently one of the best ways a race can boost registrations and reach new runners. Because of that, we incorporate referral rewards into our setup recommendations. However, not all referral programs are equal – races that promote their program can see significantly more success.
Today, we’re taking a look at a sample of 100 races using referral rewards in a variety of ways, with different setups and varying levels of promotion. From this, we can draw better conclusions about how well referral programs work, what drives referrals, and what setups lead to the most success.
Jump Ahead:
What Is a Referral Rewards Program?
As a quick refresher, Referral Rewards programs incentivize event participants to invite their friends and family to join them at your event by offering a reward in exchange for successful referrals. While RunSignup’s Referral Rewards programs are automated (no need to manually send a refund), the race director (you) has the power to pick your setup:
Set a Threshold
This is the number of referrals a participant must reach for a reward.
Set a Reward
This is the refund amount (or other reward) when the threshold is reached.
Once the referral program is setup, participants work through the automated referral flow:
A person registers.
The registrant gets a personalized URL to share.
The registrant gets credited for each person registering with the unique URL.
Registrant is rewarded according to your referral setup.
Do Referral Rewards Programs Work for Races?
What the Data Says:
The clear answer is yes, referral programs work. On average, 8.1% of registrations came from referrals, and 4.5% of registrants referred at least one person to the race.
The finances of referral programs are strong: within these 100 races, $2.4 million was collected in registrations (and another $35,646 in donations) for 566,714 registrations, while only $59,662 was paid in refunds. That’s an acquisition cost of just over $1.38 for each new registration.
What this Means for You:
Simple. You should incorporate a referral rewards program into your race marketing plan. One caveat: if you’ve already opened registration for this year (and people have registered), you might want to wait until next year setup your referral rewards. While RunSignup automates the process of tracking referrals and providing refunds, we can’t backfill referrals for registrations that have already happened, leading to manual work and judgement calls if you open a referral program mid-registration.
Do Referrals Just Discount Registration for People Who Would Have Signed Up Anyway?
What the Data Says:
While some referred registrants are likely to have run your race previously (and may have been likely to return), the majority of referred runners are new to your race. Overall, 74.5% of all referred registrants had not run the race in any of the previous 3 years, and 83% of them had not run the year before.
What this Means for You:
Don’t over-stress about people taking advantage of referral programs. Yes, it’s true that you might refund one or two people who only referred your regulars, but with such a low cost of acquisition, it’s not a huge risk. You’ll reach more new people than returners with a referral program.
Who Makes Referrals? Who Responds to a Referral?
What the Data Says:
Referrers are younger than the average participant, with 34.6% of all referrers between 18-29 years old. The second most likely cohort of referrers? 30-39 year-olds, making up 32.4% of referrers. On the flip side, participants under 18 do almost no referring (likely because they were registered by parents).
Women are much more likely to make referrers than men. Some of that could be that women also make up the majority of race participants, but the gap is much larger for referrals. While 53% of participants are women, 61.4% of referrers are women.
However, while the ages of referred runners are similar to those of the referrers (36.1% between 18-29; 30.5% between 30-39), the gender of referred runners is closer to that of the average race. 53.4% of referred participants are women, while 44% are male.
Referral Demographics
What this Means for You:
Younger runners and women are more likely to take the initiative to actually refer your race. This means your reward needs to keep those cohorts in mind.
Cash is always a motivator, likely even more so for young adults still building their careers. Because of this, we always recommend a referral program that includes a refund. Additionally, we know that younger runners tend to be in search of a social experience. So, referring their friends is a win-win: cash back, and a better race day.
If you’re going beyond cash, think about premium rewards that are more likely to appeal women, since they are more likely to make the referrals.
Do Referral Programs Work for Turkey Trots?
What the Data Says:
Turkey Trots, with their unique family-friendly setup, see slightly different trends for referral programs. On average, the Turkey Trots reviewed got 7.2% of registrations from referrals (compared to 8.1% for all races), and 4% of participants made at least one referral. Additionally, a slightly lower percentage of referred Turkey Trotters were new to the race (72.2%). With the holiday and family obligations, it’s not surprising that it’s harder for referrals to reach new runners.
What this Means for You:
Referral programs can still be valuable for Turkey Trots. While you should bake some family referrals into your calculus and can expect slightly fewer referred registrations, Turkey Trots still saw a very low acquisition cost of just $1.20.
If you’re not sold on referrals for Thanksgiving, think about how you can use Groups/Teams or age-based pricing that focus on boosting intergenerational family engagement.
What Types Referral Programs Work Best
The short answer is: it depends on your race. In part 2 of this blog, we’ll take a deep dive into how different referral setups can find success. However, if you’re looking for an easy tweak that can lead to higher success levels, we recommend considering a multi-tiered referral program. That means that after one refund level is reached, there is a second refund that can be reached by meeting a second threshold.
Events with multiple refund tiers referred more runners, had a higher percentage of people make a referral, and attracted more new runners to their race.
Were Referrals
Made a Referral
New to the Race
In RunSignup, you can fully customize tiers, but it’s also easy to add a second refund (of the same amount as the first) by simply clicking on “Advanced Options” in the setup and adding an additional refund for continuing to refer. We’ll never refund more than the participant paid initially, and you can use “Ensure Registration Balance” to set a higher mark that refunds cannot exceed.
No matter how many tiers you implement, though, the key indicator in the success of any referral program is the strength of your race communications about it.
Summary: Do Referral Rewards Programs Work?
Here, we answered the question “Do Referral Rewards Programs Work? with a resounding yes. Referral programs can be a valuable addition to your marketing plan, incentivizing participants to market your event for you.
Trying to decide how to setup your referral program? Check out Part 2: What Referral Program Works Best for examples of high-value referral programs and tips for getting more out of your referral rewards.