If it seems like your friends are marketing services to you via your Facebook newsfeeds and Twitter streams, you’re not imaging it.
Given how much we rely on our friends’ recommendations when making shopping decisions, companies seeking to build their businesses are increasingly rewarding customers for referring friends via social media sites.
In other words, it’s easier than ever to get discounts by encouraging your network to try out the services and products you like. So, today’s hint is to consider referring your friends to the services you’re a fan of, so you can take advantage of such discounts too.
Wondering which services offer such programs? As I wrote recently on U.S. News Money’s The Frugal Shopper blog, refer-a-friend programs can help you save on services ranging from babysitting services (check out UrbanSitter’s program here) to kids’ activities and products (Kiwi Crate and Citrus Lane, for instance, offer such programs). They’re also ways to save on personal shopping (think Stitch Fix), cable television, cell phone bills and car services (check out Uber’s referral program, for example).
The referral programs generally all work the same – you share a special link with your network, whether via social media sites or email – and then if someone you refer signs up for the service, you get a credit of some sort.
Read more about these refer-a-friend programs in the full post, “Get Discounts With a Little Help From Your Friends,” at The Frugal Shopper blog.
What refer-a-friend programs did I miss? Share your favorites, and your experiences with such programs, below. And get discounts for signing up for UrbanSitter by booking a sitter via my referral link (click on the link in this sentence and earlier in this post).
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Awesome post. Airline frequent flyer programs (and hotel points programs) often offer refer-a-friend deals where you and your friend get bonus points if you fly/stay within a certain time period. I’ve had a lot of luck with Marriott’s refer-a-friend program within my own family.
Some credit cards now offer refer-a-friend options too – I recently referred a family member for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and snagged 5000 Chase points.
Not all of these refer-a-friend programs in the travel and credit card space are ongoing. But it is always good to keep on top of which promos are being offered and take advantage when you can.
So great to know about these additional deals:)