What is 3 Degrees of Separation Customer Acquisition Strategy

With the advent of social networking websites and the phenomenal advancements in global communication, organizations have been forced to change the way that they conduct business. This change has particularly been more marked in regards to the way that companies market themselves and their products in order to attract customers. Consequently the 3 degrees of separation acquisition strategy is primarily a business tactic that has been specifically designed to incorporate the advantages provided by new global communication.

It basically involves attracting customers by offering numerous incentives as well as exploiting the vast network of friends, colleagues and relatives that each customer possesses. Essentially each person is connected to somebody else through a mutual friend or acquaintance. The degrees of separation can be expanded to about six levels. However when it comes to business the 3 degree separation acquisition is more appropriate as well as adopting an adequately conservative approach. Basically the exploitation of social networks for marketing purposes has become easier and more convenient to accomplish because of social networking websites such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

3 degrees of separation involves initiating programs that promote customer loyalty. Such programs can be based upon offerings such as regular rewards and incentives distributed amongst one’s customer base. On the other hand, some companies have also formulated successful models incorporating gift cards, club cards, shop discount cards, hotel and flight rewards as well as gift certificates. All of these factors can help an organization attract, maintain and nurture a loyal customer base that will keep the company ahead of its competitors while also sustaining profitability.

The basic step in the 3 degree separation acquisition strategy involves offering a product to customers that will provide them with a benefit. The company will then setup an initial target customer base. Each customer within the initial list will contribute his or her social network. Upon each successful referral, a particular customer will get an incentive such as those that have been mentioned previously. A social network aggregator is used that allows extensive participation as well as keeping the entire 3 degree separation program within one’s particular network. The idea is to keep the number of separation levels to a minimum of 3 because the network starts losing strength as the number of levels increase.

The model basically assumes certain activation or successful referral rate as well as a specific network size at a particular degree. As the degree level moves from 1 to 3, the size of the network increases as well as the number of successful activations. This inherently means that the value of the total incentives gained by an individual customer increases.

However, it is wise to remember that this model is strictly theoretical. In practical terms, one has to keep in mind various factors such as differing behavior and perception of consumers.