Cited by 267Digital Marketing and Social MediaCustomer Service Quality and LoyaltyConsumer Market Behavior and Pricing

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A Penny for Your Thoughts: Referral Reward Programs and Referral Likelihood

Ryu, Gangseog, Feick, Lawrence·2007·Journal of Marketing

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Abstract

Because referral reward programs reward existing customers and build the customer base, firms use them to encourage customers to make recommendations to others. The authors report on four experiments in which they find that rewards increase referral likelihood. More specifically, they find that rewards are particularly effective in increasing referral to weak ties and for weaker brands. It is also important who receives the reward. Overall, for weak ties and weaker brands, giving a reward to the provider of the recommendation is important. For strong ties and stronger brands, providing at least some of the reward to the receiver of the referral seems to be more effective. The authors discuss the implications of the results for the design of reward programs.

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Exploring customer engagement in tourism: Construct proposal and antecedents
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Influence of Social Media Marketing in Development of Customer Trust and Satisfaction through the Moderating Role of Electronic Word of Mouth
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Influential
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I Will Get a Reward, Too: When Disclosing the Referrer Reward Increases Referring
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“This may, for example, be the case when services are of an inconsistent quality or when the firm’s brand equity is low (Ryu and Feick 2007).”
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Authors: Ryu, G., & Feick, L.
Affiliations: Korea University (KR)
University of Pittsburgh (US)
Corresponding author: Ryu, Gangseog
Feick, Lawrence
Venue: Journal of Marketing
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2007-01
Volume: 71
Issue: 1
Pages: 84-94
ISSN: 0022-2429 (ISSN-L)
1547-7185
DOI: 10.1509/jmkg.71.1.084
OpenAlex: W4253164461
Cited by: 257
References: 42
Citations by year: 2026: 9 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 2
FWCI: 7.88
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Journal of Marketing (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Digital Marketing and Social Media
Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Customer Service Quality and Loyalty
Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing
Keywords: referral reward programs, word-of-mouth recommendation, weak ties, brand strength, reward allocation, referral rewards, customer referral programs

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A Penny for Your Thoughts: Referral Reward Programs and Referral Likelihood

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