The e-commerce wave has had a drastic impact on specific industries that were once restricted to the brick-and-mortar strategy. People are getting more comfortable ordering mattresses online as compared to previous years, where they’d have to lie on several beds in a store to pick their best choice. Leesa has played a massive role in easing the stress of buying mattresses by selling and directly shipping compressed and boxed mattresses to its customers.

The company is mainly known for its uniquely designed mattresses which offer a Universal Adaptive Feel, giving maximum satisfaction to all body shapes, sizes, and styles of sleeping.

Matt Hayes, the Head of Commerce at Leesa, admits that its competitors are willing to spend to get more customers, making it a challenging game. Knowledge of this fact certainly pushes them to find strategic ways of grabbing new leads, primarily through Word-of-Mouth marketing. As a result, Leesa has acquired a steady stream of quality leads through its referral program.

In this post, we take a good look at how the program works, why it has been so successful, and some drawbacks they could improve to make the referral program more attractive.

How does the program work?

Leesa uses a strategic referral program to incentivize its customers to promote their mattresses. The company offers $75 to customers (Leesa Ambassadors) for referring their friends. When they input their names and email addresses, 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 platforms, Facebook, Twitter, email, and messages. Once a friend purchases through their link, the Leesa Ambassador receives a notification. In addition, an approval period of 125 days is set to ensure that the product is processed and shipped and the referred friend does not return the mattress. After this period, the Leesa Ambassador receives a $75 commission sent through PayPal.

Customers are liable to gain a reward per each friend they refer. Again, Leesa’s referral program allows customers to earn 1000 points for each friend that purchases a mattress through their referral link. Friends also enjoy a 15% discount on the product they are buying. Referral commissions are only accessed through PayPal, which means the Ambassador needs to link their PayPal account while registering for the program.

According to the program’s terms and conditions, customers should only share referral links to friends and contacts who will benefit from receiving such messages. Sharing referral links through coupon websites and people who do not have a personal connection with the referrer is not allowed.

What are the good things about the program?

Easy to Understand

Leesa’s referral program is simple and easy to understand. The message embedded in their referral pop-up page is quite simple; thus, new and existing customers alike can quickly grasp what it seeks to offer.

Great Value

Another great feature about this referral program is the amount of value to both its new and existing customers. The program provides a $75 discount that is valuable when purchasing a mattress above $100. Again, both sides get to earn a reward which makes sharing the program an attractive activity. More people will be willing to share their links to their closest network, knowing that they’re doing them a good favor and earning a referral reward in return.

No limit to the number of commissions one can earn

Unlike a host of other referral programs, Leesa has not placed any limits or restrictions on the number of commissions a member can earn. Leesa Ambassadors earn $75 for each approved commission and earn as many as they want, depending on how well they promote the program. This is great for the customer and has the potential of creating a long-lasting relationship with the brand.

Social Proof & Testimonials

Leesa has tapped into the power of social proof and reviews 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 reviews 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. Since customers don’t get to see the mattresses before ordering, Leesa replaces this experience by incorporating social proof from trusted influencers and existing customers on their platform.

How could they have made their rewards program more attractive?

Inadequate Promotion

While the program offers a great deal of value to customers, Leesa has done a poor job promoting its referral program. If your referral program is not adequately promoted, the chances of customers seeing it or getting interested enough to join are meager. Essentially, you’d be losing out on a good number of quality leads or the opportunity to build a loyal customer base. A quick look at Leesa’s Facebook page reveals that the company has not promoted or updated a post about its referral program since November 2015. On its Instagram page as well, there have been no recent promotions about it. It appears the only way for existing and new customers to find out about the program is when they visit the About section on the company’s online store.

Leesa can increase the number of referrals drastically by promoting the referral program better. In addition, raising awareness about the program and showing customers’ the benefit of signing up will significantly boost their urge to engage with the brand on that level.