Seamlessly Connecting Your Referral Program: How Gather Integrates with Your Marketing Ecosystem

A referral program, no matter how well-designed, exists within a broader marketing ecosystem. To truly maximise its impact, it must integrate seamlessly with existing marketing efforts. Marketers often struggle with connecting their referral programs to email marketing platforms, and other essential tools. This disconnect can lead to missed opportunities and inefficient workflows.

The core challenges are:

• Data Fragmentation: Without proper integration, referral data remains isolated, preventing a holistic view of customer behaviour.

• Inconsistent Messaging: Disconnected systems can lead to conflicting or redundant messaging across different channels, confusing customers.

• Manual Data Entry: Lack of integration often necessitates manual data transfer, increasing the risk of errors and wasting valuable time.

• Limited Promotion: If the referral program isn't integrated with other marketing channels, it's difficult to effectively promote it to the target audience.

• Difficulty with Automation: Without integration it becomes difficult to automate referral-based workflows.

Gather is designed to solve these integration issues, ensuring your referral program becomes a seamless part of your marketing strategy:

• Direct EMP Integrations: Gather offers direct integrations with popular email marketing platforms, including Klaviyo, Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor. This allows for automatic synchronisation of referral data, providing a unified customer view within your existing platform. You can segment customers based on their referral activity, enabling personalised marketing campaigns.

• Email Marketing Platform Integrations: Gather integration with leading email marketing platforms, enabling you to automate referral program promotions within your email workflows. You can easily embed referral links into your email campaigns.

• Robust API Access: Gather provides a comprehensive API, allowing for custom integrations with virtually any marketing tool or platform.

• Comprehensive Tracking and Analytics: Gather's built-in tracking and analytics provide detailed insights into referral program performance.

• Easy Shareable Links and Content: Gather creates unique shareable referral links, which can be easily distributed across various marketing channels, including social media, websites, and email. This makes it simple to promote your referral program and drive participation.

By utilising Gather's integration capabilities, you can eliminate data silos, automate workflows, and create a cohesive customer experience that amplifies your referral program's impact. This allows you to focus on building strong customer relationships and driving genuine growth, without the headaches of disconnected systems.

Protecting Your Referral Program: Addressing Fraud and Abuse

Referral programs are a powerful tool for acquiring new customers, but they also present a unique challenge: fraud. Marketers often worry about individuals gaming the system, creating fake referrals, or exploiting loopholes to claim rewards. This not only inflates costs but also dilutes the value of genuine customer advocacy. Effectively mitigating these risks is crucial for maintaining the integrity and ROI of your referral program.

The core concerns are:

• Self-referrals and Fake Accounts: Customers creating multiple accounts to earn rewards for self-referrals. This artificially inflates referral numbers and drains resources.

• Difficulty in Tracking and Identifying Fraud: Manually tracking and identifying fraudulent activity can be time-consuming and inefficient, especially as programs scale.

How the Gather's Platform can help:

• Automated Fraud Scoring: Platforms like Gather include fraud detection mechanisms that analyse various data points (IP address, email addresses) to assign a risk score to each referral, flagging potentially fraudulent activity. This automated scoring provides a first line of defence, efficiently identifying suspicious behaviour.

• Implementing a Fraud Detection Features: Gather allows marketers to set specific rules based on their business needs. Such as implementing fraud detection for a referral program and setting the number of referrals required to receive a reward. These customisation features empower users to tailor fraud prevention measures to their unique requirements.

• Manual Review Capabilities: Gather’s fraud detection feature that allows administrators to manually review flagged referrals, providing an extra layer of scrutiny and control. This ensures that legitimate referrals aren't accidentally rejected.

• Verification Processes: Gather uses verification processes such as double opt-in for referred customers, to ensure legitimacy. Gather recommends the use of double opt-in for a lead-generation campaign.

By using the Gather platform, marketers can significantly reduce the risk of fraud and abuse, ensuring that their referral programs deliver genuine customer acquisition and growth. This allows for a focus on genuine customer relationships and the promotion of real advocacy.

Choosing the Right Rewards: A Guide for E-commerce Lifestyle Brand Referral Programs

One of the most critical decisions when setting up a loyalty or referral program is determining the type of rewards to offer. The right incentives can drive engagement, boost customer lifetime value, and encourage advocacy. However, choosing poorly can lead to low participation and wasted resources.

The Problem: What Rewards Resonate?

Marketers often struggle to identify rewards that truly motivate their target audience. Common pitfalls include:

• Generic Discounts: While discounts are popular, they can devalue your brand if overused. Customers may become conditioned to waiting for sales rather than paying full price.

• Irrelevant Rewards: Offering rewards that don't align with customer interests or preferences can lead to low engagement.

• Complex Redemption: If rewards are difficult to redeem, customers may become frustrated and abandon the program.

• Lack of Perceived Value: Rewards that don't feel valuable to the customer won't be effective motivators.

Exploring Reward Options

Here are some common reward types to consider:

• Discounts: A percentage or fixed amount off a future purchase. Effective for driving repeat business, but can impact perceived value if overused.

• Gift Cards: Provide customers with the freedom to choose what they want. Particularly effective for lifestyle brands with diverse product offerings.

• Free Products or Samples: A great way to introduce customers to new items and increase product discovery.

• Exclusive Experiences: Access to special events, early access to sales, or personalized services can create a sense of exclusivity and strengthen customer loyalty.

• Tiered Rewards: Offer increasingly valuable rewards as customers reach higher loyalty tiers. Motivates continued engagement and spending.

• Charitable Donations: Allow customers to donate their rewards to a chosen charity. Appeals to socially conscious customers.

• Points Systems: Customers earn points for various actions (purchases, referrals, engagement) and can redeem them for rewards. Offers flexibility and encourages ongoing engagement.

Gather's Solution: Powering Flexible and Effective Rewards

Gather provides a comprehensive platform that empowers e-commerce brands to implement a wide range of reward options, including:

• Gift Cards: Seamlessly integrate gift card rewards into your loyalty and referral programs using Gather’s integration with Tremendous. Offer various denominations and even partner with other brands for expanded choice.

• Reward codes: Generate discount codes on the fly with Gather Promotions Connect. Design tailored promotions for advocates and friends at different stages of your referral funnel. You can even reward customers with store credit.

• Tiered Loyalty Programs: Design multi-level programs with increasing rewards and exclusive benefits for your most loyal customers.

By leveraging Gather's platform, you can overcome the challenges of choosing the right rewards and create a compelling loyalty and referral program that drives customer engagement, increases lifetime value, and fosters brand advocacy. For more information on choosing the right rewards for your brand read our Referral Program Rewards Playbook.

The Power of Gift Card Rewards

Gather now integrates with Tremendous. Reward customers with gift cards.

Marketers are constantly seeking effective ways to boost customer loyalty and drive repeat purchases. While traditional loyalty programs offer points and discounts, gift cards provide a unique and powerful alternative. They offer flexibility, personalisation, and a tangible reward that resonates with customers.

Why Gift Cards?

• Flexibility & Choice: Gift cards empower customers to choose exactly what they want, ensuring the reward aligns with their preferences and needs. This is especially important for lifestyle brands with diverse product offerings.

• Increased Engagement: Offering gift cards encourages customers to return to your store and explore new products, fostering a deeper connection with your brand.

• Brand Awareness: Every time a customer uses your gift card, it reinforces your brand and keeps you top-of-mind.

• Perfect for Referrals: Gift cards make excellent referral rewards, incentivising customers to spread the word about your brand.

• Data & Insights: Gift card programs provide valuable data on customer spending habits and preferences, allowing you to tailor future marketing efforts.

Implementing Gift Card Rewards Effectively

• Seamless Integration: Choose a platform (like Gather) that seamlessly integrates gift card rewards into your existing loyalty program.

• Personalisation: Offer a variety of gift card options (e.g., specific amounts, partner brands) to cater to different customer segments.

• Clear Communication: Clearly communicate the value and redemption process of your gift card rewards.

• Strategic Timing: Consider offering gift card rewards during specific promotions, holidays, or customer milestones.

• Track & Optimise: Monitor the performance of your gift card program and make adjustments based on customer feedback and data insights.

By incorporating gift card rewards into your loyalty program, you can create a more engaging, personalised, and effective experience for your customers, driving long-term loyalty and brand advocacy.

Find out about Gather’s integration with Tremendous and see how you can use gift cards as part of your referral program.

Generate Discount Codes on the Fly with Gather Promotions Connect

Tired of clunky discount code management? Gather Promotions Connect streamlines your referral program by generating unique discount codes instantly.

Say goodbye to:

• Manual code uploads: No more CSV files or tedious integrations.

• Bulk code apps: Eliminate the risk of codes ending up on discount websites.

• Low code alerts: Enjoy peace of mind knowing your codes are always available.

How it works:

1. Create your promotion: Design compelling referral or lead capture campaigns within the Gather platform.

2. Automatic code generation: Gather Promotions Connect generates unique discount codes for each referral or lead as needed.

3. Seamless integration: Codes are automatically registered with your Shopify checkout, ready for use.

Experience the Gather difference:

• Effortless implementation: Simplify your referral program with a user-friendly interface. Create the unique promotions for your campaign. 

• Enhanced customer experience: Reward your advocates with personalized and exclusive discounts.

• Increased conversions: Drive more sales and grow your customer base through effective referrals.

Ready to simplify your referral program?

Start using Gather Promotions Connect today and experience the power of automated, on-demand discount codes.

Advanced Editor Feature: Configure your Gather Opt-in Sidebar Z-Index

Control the arrangement of your Gather Opt-in Sidebar, on your site, with Gather’s advanced preferences editor.

Lately we’ve introduced a number of advanced editing tools giving our users even more control and additional ability to customise their Gather Opt-in forms.

For more information on our advanced styling custom CSS features read the following post.

In addition to the advanced styling features Gather now enables admins to change the z-index of the Gather sidebar so you can control the stacking order in which your sidebar loads in relation to other elements on your site.

For example, do you have a cookie banner on your site? Would you like your cookie banner to load infront of your opt-in side bar/opt-in launch button?

No problem, by entering a z-index number, lower than your cookie banner z-index, in the ‘preferences’ section of your Gather campaign editor, you can control the position in which your Gather sidebar displays in relation to your cookie banner.

This is an advanced editor feature of Gather and the default sidebar z-index is set at ‘2147483647’. Do not change this value unless you have a specific need or conflict on your site with an existing overlay.

Enhance your User's Experience with a Gather Personalised Opt-in Campaign

The Gather platform’s Editor enables you to create a personalised and effective opt-in campaign to match your website's aesthetic, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Why Use a Launch Button?

A well-placed launch button can significantly enhance your opt-in campaign's visibility and conversion rates. By providing a clear and accessible way for visitors to engage with your campaign, you can encourage more sign-ups and collect valuable first-party data, without compromising on user experience.

Gather's Customisable Launch Buttons

With Gather, you have the flexibility to choose from various launch button options:

• Floating Button: A discreet, always-visible button that floats on the bottom left or right hand of side of the screen, providing easy access to your opt-in sidebar.

• Full-Width Banner Button: A prominent banner that appears at the bottom of your screen, capturing attention whilst not interfering with the visibility of the page.

  You can even add a ‘close’ option to the button to hide the call to action.

Tailor Your Launch Button to Your Needs

Gather's launch buttons offer a high degree of customisation, allowing you to:

• Choose the button's appearance: Select a colour that complements your website's design and branding.

• Set the button's position: Determine where the button will appear on your screen; left, right or along the bottom of the screen.

• Customise the button's text: Choose a call to action that captures the visitor’s attention.

Customise Your Opt-in Campaign’s Launch Buttons Today

By leveraging Gather's customisable launch button options, you can create a more engaging and effective opt-in campaign that drive conversions and grows your customer base. Visit the Preferences section of your Gather campaign to explore the various launch button options and start tailoring your campaign to your specific needs, read the following article for more details on styling your launch button.

Introducing Custom CSS for Enhanced Campaign Styling

We're thrilled to announce the new custom styling feature for your referral and lead-gen campaigns.

We understand the importance brand identity when it comes to UI. That's why we're introducing custom CSS capabilities in the Sidebar Editor. This feature will allow you to tailor the look and feel of your embedded sidebar or inline forms, to better suit your website.

This feature allows styling of the card contents of the Gather sidebar.

The Gather sidebar is a customisable webpage overlay that appears on the side of a webpage, providing a space for referral and lead generation forms.

It's designed to seamlessly integrate with your site while capturing First-Party and Zero-Party data. This custom CSS feature is intended for developer use and requires experience in CSS to effectively implement.

Card styles such as padding, button sizing and letter spacing can be adjusted with CSS to ensure the sidebar feels like a natural extension of your website.

For both referral campaigns and lead-gen campaigns, you can find the CSS section in the campaign editor.