In almost every industry, referrals are the gold standard of customer acquisition. Research has repeatedly shown that referred leads close faster, buy more, and stay longer — all with significantly less effort and at a much lower CPA than non-referred prospects. A University of Pennsylvania study[1] found that referred customers are more loyal and profitable — by a 16% margin — than their non-referred counterparts.

If you’ve attended college (or had to pay for it) sometime in the last three decades, you’re probably as frustrated as anyone about the skyrocketing price tag. According to one report, the cost of college has risen 538% since 1985.

When you make a purchase from just about any major eCommerce retailer today, you’ll likely receive a follow-up email (or a series of emails) that deliver a few key pieces of information:

If you’ve done any research on successful referral marketing use cases, you’ve probably run into a lot of the same examples over and over again.

When it comes to word-of-mouth and referral marketing, it’s easy to assume that the energy industry — specifically, solar companies — aren’t a great fit.

When it comes to word-of-mouth and referral marketing, there may be no industry that benefits more from — and aligns better with — referrals than health and fitness.

Think about the last time that you took out a loan or used an accountant to prepare your taxes. Even if your experience was positive, was it exciting enough to inspire you to refer the company to your friends, family, or colleagues? Did you run to your phone to tweet about the experience, or send a mass email to your contacts singing the company’s praises?