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Referral (re•fer•ral /rɪˈfɜrəl/, “an act or instance of referring”) economy is a system where people help and trust each other by sharing their experiences about a product. Thanks to the social impact of each consumer, the rise of a new economy centralized around the power of the reference has taken place. The keystone of its function is confidence: ''“92% of respondents trusted referrals from people they knew” - Nielsen.'' Normally happens among friends, which enhances the value of the recommendation, since there are no trade interests. The intangible value that it produces to the company´s reputation is substantial.〔 This new economy has produced the growth of platforms such as ''Refer.ly'', which offers a small remuneration to those people whose references generate a further outlay of money. Thus, a new way to make money through the Internet has emerged.〔 When acquiring a good, people give greater importance to the suggestions and are no longer guided by traditional advertising campaigns.〔 In marketing, the only reason that could stop a product research and proceed with its purchase, is the recommendation of a friend. A recent Nielsen study found that ''84 percent of global respondents trust word of mouth'' recommendations from friends and family, making it the most highly trusted among digital and traditional methods of receiving recommendations. Nowadays, the user which has the greater contact network to transmit information to or, in this case, a recommendation, is who captures more power in marketing.〔 == Range == Referral economy affects every platform or social event where people share their interests. It scopes from blogs to social networks or community pages. Furthermore, the entire Internet is monetized this way and people are often being compensated without them even knowing it.〔 Moreover, ''“65% of new businesses comes from referrals” – New York Times.'' 〔 Referral programs are strategies focused on achieving references from costumers with the purpose of implementing sales or spreading the company image and existence.〔 There are some examples about programs which have obtained results over the average: * Dropbox. Is a file hosting service that offers cloud storage, file synchronization and client software. Despite Dropbox is not appealing as a product, it has been the main reason of discussion in many colloquial talks between friends and family all over the world. His referral program is well known and it is the key element of its actual company size.〔 * Uber. It is an American international transportation network company which works from the costumers’ perception as an app. One of the reasons why Uber worth in barely five years around $70B are the eases of sharing the service offer. It is just necessary to open the app and click the “email a friend” button. Banks. When it comes to money issues where people have special interest and care, they tend primarily to rely on friends and their recommendations on any bank, being these sources the most trustworthy ones. The banking business is now built on the basis of relationships. Those companies that have enhanced them as part of its commercial strategy, are now being rewarded.〔 The first step so someone can make a good reference for you begins by finding references for that person. If the company aids costumers, they will want to return the favour and the will be transformed into a potential source of recommendations.〔 Social Media. Nowadays it is difficult to conceive a company which wants to be at the height of the expectations if it does not have a social media strategy''. Around 55% of people consult these platforms prior to a purchase'', which highlights its importance.The evolution of social networks during the last years has turned from a place designed to chat with friends and colleagues into the basement of its marketing policy for most businesses. In addition, the same entrepreneurs and employers register themselves into these online platforms. As for making marketing decisions, social networks have influenced immensely, being the ideal time for companies boost their media strategy as a result. Arriving at this sector without having a concise strategy may cause upset results.〔 Nevertheless, carrying out an appropriate strategy close to patrons, results in great benefit both value and reputation. 〔 The ''71% of buyers are influenced by the reviews found online'' when purchasing a product. This reflects in what social networks have became, an influence.〔 In general, a positive increment of 30% on ''Twitter'' is four times more effective in provoking additional sales than an increment of the 30% on existing regular advertising ''Top influential sites are'''':'' Facebook (30.8%), YouTube (27%), LinkedIn (27%), Google+ (20%), Pinterest (12%), Twitter (8%), etc. Travel sites. An example is TripAdvisor'','' a portal whose original idea, according to its founder Stephen Kaufer, was to focus on opinions of reliable sources such as travel guides and magazines. However, the page had an option for users to add his own comment referring a place, and this rocketed. In a very short time, the page started to be full of people´s reviews about their own experiences, surpassing in great number the ''professional'' recommendations from its beginnings. In fact, ''59% of users say these sites have the greatest influence on their booking decisions.'' Peter Shankman, author of the book Zombie Loyalists, say that ''the next fifty years of the economy are going to be run by costumer experience''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Referral economy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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