This Tesla Story is Wild. Here's What We Can Learn

In the mid 2000s, the creators of the weirdest most unique truck were nobody's.

Now, Tesla is worth over $1 trillion. With a T. And they got here with a $0 marketing budget.

Most people have no clue how they did it.

And honestly, neither did I.

So I took it upon myself to:

• Pour a steaming cup of joe (with a dip of vanilla syrup)

• Crack open the computer

• Tick tack type away

And study exactly how.

I wanted to see if I could find a repeatable strategy rental operators could use to grow a big business with a small marketing investment.

Few hours later, here’s what I learned:

Quick Notes About Tesla

First, some context:

• EVs weren't popular when Tesla started. Most auto makers ditched the idea.

• EARLY Tesla spent $0 on advertising. I've hard since 2020 they've opened their wallets.

• Competitor's had billion dollar marketing budgets.

• Every car company has gone bankrupt except two. Tesla and Ford.

And now you're caught up. But, the question remains. How did they do it?

Tesla's (Semi) Famous Referral Strategy

Instead of doing what the other guys do, Tesla let customers sell the cars for them.

Believers in the EV revolution LOVED Tesla. If people love something, they'll tell their friends about it.

Why not reward passionate customers for spreading the word?

How It Works

If I bought a Tesla, referred you, and you bought one. We'd both get rewarded with:

• $1,000 each.

• Car upgrades.

• A brand new Roadster.

• Invitations to cool things (like a tour of the SpaceX factory).

The more cars I sell, the better the reward.

This let fans feel like they were part of the company and even more important, the EV revolution.

And it worked. Tesla even created a leaderboard and gamified the whole thing.

This one referral strategy took the company from:

• Almost Bankrupt in 2008

• And again in 2013

• to the 8th most valuable company in the world

Cool Story About a Car! Now What?

I'd imagine you don't want to build a car company. Let's scale down a bit and get back to short term rentals.

This story teaches us one thing:

Guests can be our best marketing strategy.

After a guest checks out, they're going home and sharing stories about their getaway with friends.

We can influence these stories with a referral strategy like Tesla.

How to Create a Referral Strategy Like Tesla

First, build the system.

A technical way to do this is by creating referral links for each guest after they checkout. If someone books using a referral link, you'll know who referred them.

If you hate technical stuff and would rather swim with hungry sharks then learn, simply add an extra question in your booking process.

Make sure the new guest know to use the contact method the old guest had on their reservation.

Create The Reward

Decide on the incentive you want to give. Some ideas:

• Nightly discount

• Voucher to a nearby business

• Gift Cards

• Cold hard cash

Send this via text or email. The guest and friend should get the same prize.

Create Tiers

Once referrals start rolling in, make the next reward better. This could be:

• Free nights

• You pay for a fun excursion

• You pay for dinner

• Again, cold hard cash

Then repeat.

Tell Everyone Else

Consistently remind social media fans and your email list about this new program. Gamify it by creating a leaderboard and give updates every month or so.

Unfortunately, most rental operators stop marketing after the guest clicks "confirm booking." Ending the relationship and opportunity to continue the positive experience.

Let guests sell your stay for you and get rewarded for it by building a referral program.

If Tesla did it, why can't we?

That's all for today. I'll see you in the next article.

Before you go

I just launched my brand new direct booking marketing agency, Lodge Social.

We help rental operators get more guests to like, share, and book.

Apply to work with me and my team here.

Links you might like:

1. This years Super Bowl ads had me cracking up. Watch them all here.

2. I posted everyday for a month. Here’s what I learned…

3. 16 short term rental email marketing topics.

4. Which stay type are you? Find out here.