Casper has, over the years, defied the odds by building a successful e-commerce business in an industry which otherwise should have remained a brick-and-mortar industry. Before this, buying a mattress without first touching and feeling it was considered a not-so-smart idea. However, with its solid referral program and direct-to-consumer model, Casper has won the hearts of its customers and continues to reap the returns of word-of-mouth marketing.
This post looks at how the Casper referral program works, why it has seen tremendous success, and how the company could have done better to make its referral program more attractive.
How does the program work?
Casper uses a strategic referral program to incentivize its customers to promote their mattresses. The company offers a $75 Amazon Gift Card to customers for referring their friends. When they input their email address, customers are given a personal referral link to be part of the referral program. This link can be shared with the customer’s network of friends and family via social media, email, and messages. Once a friend purchases through their link, customers will receive a $75 Amazon Gift Card. In addition, the newly-referred customer will also receive a 20% off their very first order.
Customers can also earn $10 for referring a friend to buy a Casper Pillow. Casper offers a $10 gift card when a customer successfully refers a friend to purchase their first pillow with the brand. The newly-referred customer gets a 10% off their order as well. This offer, however, excludes the Nap Pillow.
Customers are liable to gain a reward per each Friend they refer. This means that they can only earn the $75 or $10 gift card on the first purchase made by this person. The maximum amount that each customer can earn is $599 in Rewards value per calendar year.
What are the good things about the program?
Social Proof & Testimonials
Casper has tapped into the power of testimonials and social proof to win the hearts of more customers. It is natural for people who hear about products from trusted sources such as their family, friends, or influencers to be more inclined to purchase. This is because hearing testimonials reduces the level of concern associated with making such big-ticket online purchases. In addition, the recommendations establish trust between the brand and new customers. The company makes good use of customer testimonials, particularly in its social media content and ads. Since customers don’t get to see the mattresses before ordering, Casper replaces this experience by incorporating testimonials from trusted influencers and existing customers on their platform.
Informative Content
Casper complements its flagship referral program by providing detailed content for customers who explore its website and products. The company has established itself as an expert in all areas related to sleep, relaxation, and comfort. Valuable information is readily available on the company’s website and tailor-made for every step of the customer journey. Apart from providing quality, valuable content, Casper does a great job at using strong Call to Action links on their product pages. The content drives traffic to their website, while the CTA buttons capture the customer’s attention and boost conversion rates. Their referral program pages, for instance, are designed to capture the emails of any customer willing to join. With this, they can gain access to communicate with and promote their products to these customers directly.
Convenient Purchasing Experience
Apart from the exciting rewards customers can gain from Casper’s referral program, they can also enjoy an excellent purchasing experience with the brand. Since the referral links directly lead to the company’s website or virtual showroom, the company has provided an easy-to-follow purchasing guide that aids first-time customers in making a purchase. Even better, Casper gives a 100-night guarantee to all its buyers, reinforcing trust with the brand and convenience for the customer. If a customer no longer wants a Casper mattress within 100 nights of purchasing, they will send a courier to pick it up and donate it to charity or recycle it. As opposed to buying a mattress from a brick and mortar store, Casper eliminates all the worries of going through a long sales process, setting up expensive delivery, or worrying about returns by making the process easy and risk-free. Videos and pictures are used effectively in showcasing the products, while numerous reviews, free return and shipping policies, a 10-year warranty, and a 100-night trial are displayed on the product pages. This, coupled with the Amazon gift card reward or percentage discounts earned for referring, is enough to incentivize customers to share their links with their friends and family.
Easy to share
A well-designed referral program should enable its members to share their links and product materials with their networks easily. Casper has done a great job enabling its referral program members to easily share their links to other people via email, Facebook, and Twitter with their ingrained social-sharing buttons. The company takes it a step further by generating a personalized message customers can readily share to incentivize their loved ones to click on their referral links.
How could they have made their rewards program more attractive?
The brand seems to have done an excellent job designing an effective referral program and achieving great results. However, like every other eCommerce business, some improvements could make it more attractive.
Casper could have made its referral program more attractive by improving its publicity and visibility. While the company provides valuable incentives in its referral program, it is almost as if the program is hidden. A visit to the Casper website displays other perks such as the 100-night risk-free trial, Free delivery, and 10-year limited warranty; however, the company’s referral program appears to be hidden among the options at the bottom of the page.
Of course, clicking on the Referral Program button will open a new tab with a concise explainer page, but what is the point if customers, and especially new visitors, do not find the button at first glance. Casper can attract more customers and referrals if they add popups to their main page or promote their referral program at the top sections of their webpage to draw more attention.
Conclusion
The Casper referral program has contributed to the company’s immense success in the e-commerce industry, especially since the mattress industry seemed like a highly entrenched one. While Casper is shifting to the offline retail industry, its referral strategy remains key in sustaining it as a giant in eCommerce. The core of Casper’s referral program is basic; providing as much value to their customers as they can. If there’s any lesson other brands cannot miss learning from Casper, it is how highly they esteem influencer marketing and developing their existing customers into loyal brand advocates.
