Many of the most successful companies out there have found a way to deliver win/win advantages to their customers…

They figure out a way to improve the customer’s experience and value while also increasing their own profits and/or customer loyalty.

Some companies do this with awesome guarantees, others with loyalty programs or customer communities. Still others achieve this win/win through prestige, peace of mind, education, or reward programs…

There’s no shortage of ways to make a mutually beneficial relationship for your business and the customers you serve…

But what about a win/win/win? 

A triple win!

Dropbox has achieved exactly that with their method of referral rewards…

The online storage company figured out a way to provide a win/win/win for themselves, their current customers, AND incoming referrals – and it’s catapulted them to the forefront of their industry.

According to Drew Houston, the company’s CEO, implementing the referral program in 2010 increased users for 100,000 to 4,000,000 in just fifteen months, and increased signups by an ongoing 60%! (Source)

Now their numbers are in the range of 300 million users, with 100 million new users in the last six months!!!

Talk about a powerful strategy…

Here’s how:

Win #1 – Dropbox Wins A Customer

By giving current users a chance to refer their friends and colleagues, they’ve created a channel for attracting new customers that runs largely on word of mouth and company reputation.

They’re earning new customers without spending a ton of money on marketing, and because of the referral perks (I’ll get to that in a moment), these new customers are coming onboard already happy to be doing business with Dropbox!

Win #2 – Customer Perks And Becomes A Hero

When an existing customer makes a successful referral to Dropbox, they gain two very important advantages…

First, they get a free gigabyte of storage if their referral signs up.

This bonus storage can stack with multiple referrals, up to 32GB, and is a great reason for existing customers to invite their friends to join Dropbox – the more people they get to join, the more they get out of their accounts!

But the even bigger advantage comes with the opportunity to be a hero…

When an existing customer refers a friend to Dropbox, they’ve giving their friend an “insider’s advantage” with an offer to get 500MB of bonus space that they otherwise would never receive by just visiting the website on their own.

By arming the customer with a preferred advantage they can take to their referrals, you are making them a hero.

People love to feel appreciated and helpful, and Dropbox has given its customers a great chance to do just that…

Win #3 – Referral Shares The Perks

As we just said, when your referral signs up for Dropbox, they automatically get an additional 500 megabytes in their account!

Making them happy and you a hero!

Because your referral enjoys more of an advantage coming in as a referral – versus just signing up for the service on their own…

And this positive experience will make new users even more likely to share Dropbox with others who could benefit (further increasing their own benefit as well!).

Heck, some 2.8 MILLION referral invites went out in April 2010 alone, and that’s when they were just getting started!

See, just asking for a referral is one thing – and is certainly useful for building leads and find new customers…

But when you can provide your customers with a method to both increase the value of the service they’re already using AND gain the satisfaction of helping others…

They will actively (and gladly) refer people to your business in droves.

How can you create a win/win/win for your business?

In your corner,

Charlie