Email Experience Council’s Chad White recently reviewed several email newsletters each from 103 of the top online retailers that he tracks to see which included refer-a-friend (RAF) links in their emails. Only three did.

The 3% of the sample that uses RAF stands in sharp contrast to the 44% that use send-to-a-friend (STAF) programs (according to Chad White’s Send to a Friend Benchmark Study), another customer acquisition tool that relies on existing customers. Unlike STAF, which forwards a newsletter along to a friend, RAF programs send an email that introduces the friend to the retailer.

The Refer a Friend Benchmark Study looks at the unique way in which each of three retailers implemented their program, and also addresses several areas of concern with these RAF programs—namely, a lack of attention to privacy issues, ease-of-use problems, limited integration into email campaigns, and concerns with adherence to the JumpStart ruling.

You can read the executive summary and purchase the study here.

In addition to releasing the Refer a Friend Benchmark Study, Chad also
published a reportlet
on special holiday email series.