How to Boost Word-of-Mouth Referrals Without Discounts

Read time: 3 mins

Any marketer worth their weight in spreadsheets knows that word-of-mouth marketing is an extremely powerful channel. In fact, it’s the channel most trusted by consumers.  

What you might still be scratching your head over, however, is how you can drive more of these growth-exploding word of mouth recommendations without a discount.

Because while a good deal is sure to go down a treat with consumers, it might not sit so well within your profit margins.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to encourage word of mouth referrals and drive customer advocacy within your customer base without taking off a penny.

Read on to discover four of the most effective.

Why 'no discount' referrals matter

Referrals are a cost-effective and scalable way to find new customers and grow your business. But if you always use discounts as the incentive, you risk devaluing your brand in the eyes of every new customer you land. Cutting prices could result in a quick win, but it also raises the question of whether your products or services are ever worth full price. 
 
By removing discounts from the equation, you can protect your margins and your brand image while still benefiting from the power of word of mouth. 

Offering non-discount rewards for referrals can make them feel less transactional and more like a genuine recommendation. That’s good for building trust, great for long-term customer value, and even better for keeping your profits where they belong: in your business, not in the bargain bin.

What actually motivates customers to refer

Most people don’t tell their friends about a product because they’re chasing a coupon. They do it because it makes them look and feel good.

Here’s what’s really going on when someone hits “share” on your offer:

• Social currency: People are more inclined to share things with their friends and peers if it makes them look intelligent, interesting, or ‘in-the-know’.
• Trust and community: They may also be motivated by genuine care and concern for their friends and recommend your brand as something that could help or add value to their lives 
• An emotional connection: If you stand for something they believe in, a customer may refer your brand to their network to demonstrate their alignment with your values
• Recognising exceptional service: By delivering standout experiences to your customers, you encourage them to shout about your brand

Tap into these drivers, and you’ll see far more referrals than any discount code could ever deliver.

Non-discount word-of-mouth referral strategies that work

From appealing to your customers’ desire to be seen as doing the right thing to giveaways that don’t sacrifice your margins, here are four referral strategies that tap into these motivational drivers without resorting to discounts.

An eco-friendly incentive or charity donation

Instead of tapping into consumers’ desire to score a bargain, try creating a deeper connection by promoting an incentive that reflects your brand's values.

For example, if your brand is all about sustainability, you could plant a tree or offset your carbon footprint for every successful referral.

Or, if you’d like to show your commitment to a particular cause, choose a charity that aligns with your values and make one donation for every referral.

A key psychological driver (or blocker) of word of mouth referrals is how consumers think their friends will perceive them for sharing your offer.

By sharing an incentive that supports a positive cause, your customers will get the fuzzy feeling that comes from doing a good deed, they’ll look great to their friends, and you’ll score major points for putting your values into practice.

It’s a win-win-win.

Co-op’s referral incentive highlights their commitment to being eco-friendly

Gift cards

Rewarding referrals with gift cards is an easy way to incentivise customer advocates without sacrificing profit margins.

They’re a particularly popular alternative to discounts for several reasons. 

Firstly, if you’re selling products or services that consumers are unlikely to repurchase soon, they might not jump at the chance to get a discount on their next spend. Instead, offering a gift card for a third-party retailer means you can reward customer advocates instantly with an incentive they’ll love.

Gift cards are also very simple to manage. For example, we partner with a provider GiftCloud, to deliver rewards in real-time, without needing to upload any gift cards manually.

People’s Postcode Lottery offer gift cards for a variety of retailers to customers who introduce their friends

Free gift

Well, who can resist a freebie?

Giving consumers the chance to share a free gift with others (and bag one for themselves) is an easy way to drive engagement, as it plays on their desire to look good to their friends.

Make sure it’s something that will appeal to both existing and future customers — bonus points if it’s an exclusive item they can’t get anywhere else.

Free gifts also have the added appeal of letting new customers try out something extra with their first purchase, while nurturing even more customer advocacy software from the original referrer.

Your customers may even discover their new favourite product of yours.

Le Col give referrers and their friends a free pair of winter gloves

Bloom & Wild treat their customers to free flowers for themselves and their loved ones

Competition entry

When you want your referral offer to make a bigger splash than usual, such as during seasonal promotions or when you’re launching a new product line, competition entries are a powerful incentive.

Whether you’re giving away an experience, a year’s supply of product, or a mega cash prize, give both referrers and their friends the chance to win to drive maximum engagement.

And if you’re doing tiered rewards, where customers get extra entries for a certain number of referrals, you’ll soon see word of mouth recommendations skyrocket as referrers get competitive.

Boux Avenue ran an irresistible competition to win a £500 gift card

As you can see, the key to any successful referral incentive is delivering genuine value to your customers.

Give them an offer they’ll be genuinely excited to share with their friends and family by word of mouth, and you’ll soon accelerate acquisition and engagement through the power of customer advocacy.

How to implement non-discount word-of-mouth marketing strategies

If you’re ready to ditch discounts but keep those referrals flowing, here’s how to make it happen:

1. Be customer-led: Figure out what your customers actually value through surveys and feedback forms and tailor your incentives accordingly.
   
   
2. Choose incentives that align with your brand: Not every strategy is suitable for every brand, and your customers may be suspicious of incentives that don’t align with your values. For example, if you’re all about sustainability, plant a tree. If you’re all about exclusivity, offer a members-only giveaway.
   
   
3. Reward both referral parties: Double‑sided incentives (that benefit both referrer and referee) often outperform one‑sided strategies in conversion and trust.
   
   
4. Make sharing easy: Build referral prompts into emails, post-purchase pages, and even your packaging to make it easy for your customers to share.
   
   
5. Test, revise, and keep it fresh: A/B test incentives, monitor referral behaviour, and avoid damaging trust by overusing discounts or pushy requests. You should also rotate incentives, run seasonal competitions, and try new ideas to keep customers engaged.

The easier and more rewarding you make the process, the more likely people are to tell their friends.

Conclusions

You don’t need to slash prices to get customers talking. Your referrals will be stronger (and more profitable) when they’re based on value, connection, and genuine excitement.

Give people something worth sharing, make it effortless to pass along, and deliver the kind of experience they can’t stop talking about. Do that, and you’ll turn casual customers into passionate advocates who grow your business for you — no discount code required.

Ready to drive authentic growth through word-of-mouth referrals? Get a free, no-obligation demo of Mention Me today.