Overview
To measure how broad your advocate base is, Extole uses a metric called Participation Rate. Participation Rate compares the number of advocates to the number of transactors (e.g. purchasers, new members) over a time period. A high Participation Rate means that you are effectively marketing your program and is a key indicator for successful programs
Calculating Participation Rate
Participation Rate = (advocates/customers) * 100
Advocates: the number of unique people that have advocated on your behalf (e.g. the user has shared, dropped a hint, left a rating or a review, etc.).
Customers: the total number of unique people who have become a customer (both referral and non-referral). This is a proxy for the total potential reach of your advocacy efforts. In your program, the desired activity may be a download, a new account opened, a purchase, or a registration. We only count each person once, so if they have multiple purchases, this will not affect your Participation Rate.
Another way you can think about this is that for every 100 people who have purchased (both referral and non-referral), 10 are going on to advocate (10% Participation Rate).
Why Should you Care about your Participation Rate?
The most important factor in scaling your programs is driving more advocates at the top of the funnel. Participation Rate measures your advocacy in comparison to your total site traffic. As more people interact with your site, we want to see more advocacy take place.
How to Improve your Participation Rate
The primary lever to improve your participation rate is increasing the visibility of your program. Top performing referral programs have multiple onsite, in app, and behind login placements alongside a strong outbound email and SMS strategy.
For more on ideas on how to increase the visibility, check out How to Market your Program.
Other Strategies for Bringing in More Advocates
Limited time burst campaigns can also drive increased participation when paired with additional marketing efforts. Learn more about How to Run a Burst.