Last week, Swedish automotive company Polestar announced a new referral program for customers in Europe, South Korea, and the United States. The program, meant to incentivise Polestar owners to promote the brand and its electric vehicles to others, will allow customers to earn rewards for their referrals, including charging credits and a reported Google Bundle that includes a Nest Hub. If you don’t know, the Google Nest Hub is a smart home hub that can control other smart home devices like plugs, doorbells, and thermostats. Referral programs have long been used in the automobile industry, but the sales tactic was made popular again by Tesla, which, until September 2021, offered rewards and prizes to owners that referred new customers for the Model X and Model S.
Of course, just because Tesla reignited the referral program movement in the automobile industry doesn’t mean we can’t see it in other business economies. In fact, the online gambling industry has become renowned for offering promotions like loyalty and rewards programs to incentivise new and existing players. For example, one of the casino promotions at Paddy Power is a rewards club that lets players with existing accounts win prizes like free bets and early access to new games. This rewards program even allows players to road test casino games. Online casinos like Paddy Power also offer individual bonuses for games like blackjack, slots, and roulette, and promotions like no deposit bonuses and free spins. Like Polestar and Tesla, online casinos offer these bonuses and rewards programs to incentivise players to spend money and spread the good word to other online gamblers.
We can also see this sales tactic used in the retail industry. Many retailers offer seasonal promotions and use the buy one get one (BOGO) method to attract consumers, but these brands also offer loyalty points and rewards programs. Some examples of loyalty and reward programs in the retail sector include the popular Tesco Clubcard scheme, which operates in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Tesco Clubcard is a loyalty card that rewards shoppers with points based on how much they spend while shopping at the British supermarket chain or using Tesco services. According to reports, as of 2017, the Tesco Clubcard has more than 17 million users in the United Kingdom.
With Tesla ending its referral program, Polestar may quickly see the benefits of rolling out its own program since the Swedish company is filling a recently opened gap in the automobile industry. However, Polestar is also just trying to spread the word about the importance of electric driving through person-to-person referrals, which isn’t much different from the online gambling and retail industry. Both markets are trying to spread the word about their businesses and are using different incentives like prizes and loyalty points to do so. Sales promotions are a type of business tactic that has been around for years, but it has changed drastically through the introduction of technology like personal devices, and all three industries (automobile, retail, and online gambling) have used this transition to their advantage.
Disclaimer:
- As per the Public Gambling Act of 1867, all Indian states, except Goa, Daman and Sikkim, prohibit gambling
- Land-based casinos are legalized, with certain guidelines, in Goa and Daman, as per the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act 1976
- Land-based casinos, Online gambling and E-gaming (games of chance) are legalized in Sikkim under the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Rules 2009
- Only some Indian states have legalized online/regular lotteries as per and subject to the conditions laid down by state laws. Kindly refer to the same here
- Horse racing and betting on horse racing, including online betting, is permitted only in a licensed premise in select states. Kindly refer to the 1996 Judgement by the Supreme Court Of India here and for more information
- This article does not endorse or express the views of Qrius and/or any of its staff.
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