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Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about referral programs. Why do some fail while others succeed? What triggers someone to go that extra step and recommend something?

Not surprisingly the same mechanisms that power viral marketing also play a role in a referral program’s success.

Good referral programs start at the source. That source is the user’s experience. People don’t recommend a product or service if it simply meets their expectation. They don’t chat with friends about an experience that was just acceptable. In order for a referral program to be successful, a company must do everything in its power to exceed expectations. Exceeded expectations equal chatter.

The same goes for viral marketing. In order for your campaign to go viral it must exceed expectations. This is something I alluded to in April when I talked about viral energy. A great example of this is the original “Where in hell is Matt” video. There’s nothing special about a white guy dancing like a fool. What exceeded almost 10 million people’s expectation was that Matt taped himself dancing all over the world. And as the video progressed the locations got more interesting.

Creating a sequel of Matt dancing in a bunch of new places wouldn’t exceed anybody’s expectations. So, Matt stepped it up a notch and produced a video that is truly remarkable in its accomplishment. As a result it has already been viewed over 2 million times. That’s the power of exceeding peoples’ expectations.

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