It's still not permission marketing. I'm trying to think of a way to turn this a...

patio11 · on April 28, 2010

For example, what if I could "ask" my social network for a recommendation, instead of having it pushed onto me?

Which scenario sounds better to you:

1) Cindy Smith at George Washington Middle School wants a freebie. She sends an email to her colleagues asking them to sign up. Some do, she gets her freebie. Several colleagues who were not interested in Bingo Card Creator get emailed.

2) Cindy Smith at George Washington Middle School wants a freebie. She sends an email to her colleagues asking if any of them are current users of Bingo Card Creator. No one is. Cindy Smith gets disappointed. No one else signs up. Several colleagues who were not interested in Bingo Card Creator get emailed.

rubinelli · on April 28, 2010

Permission marketing is good when the potential customers know they have a problem and solutions exist. patio11 can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the biggest hurdle in his customer acquisition pipeline is creating awareness. Teachers don't go online and ask "What is the best software to create bingo cards?" because they don't even know this kind of software exists; but if one colleague sends them an email saying there is this nice site where they can print a handful of bingo cards and save a day of work, now they are probably not only aware, but also interested.

ajj · on April 28, 2010

This was exactly the thought I had while reading Patrick's post. What if the sign-up page on the website has a link saying "Ask my friends (on FB, twitter, whatever) if they can refer me."

When people look for jobs, this happens often. Someone you know well works somewhere and you ask him/her to refer you. This makes it much more palatable, I believe even more than the double-sided incentive.

Of course, the downside being only people who end up on the webpage will do this. The double-sided incentive actively seeks to find more customers.