This guide will you walk through what gaming is and how you can use the platform to minimise the effect that gaming can have on your referral programme.
We use three tools to manage gaming
1. Gaming Controls: Our gaming algorithm evaluates each referral based on a number of factors like IP address, cookies, and email similarity to prevent self-referral. With this tool, you can:
- Apply it separately to the referrer and referee flows for stricter or more lenient controls.
- Review high scores manually or automatically decline them.
- Utilise our recommended settings or adjust them per offer for more control.
- Provide relevant data (e.g., postcode) via the Javascript tag for the algorithm.
- Blacklist suspicious IP addresses or emails.
2. Velocity Controls: This tool sets a limit on the number of rewards a single referring account can earn or distribute within a specific time frame. When this limit is reached, additional referrals require manual approval.
3. Eligibility Controls: This tool ensures that only purchases meeting specific criteria qualify for referral rewards. It allows delaying customer rewards until they fulfil certain conditions. For example:
- In the energy sector, rewards might be issued when the new customer is on supply.
- In travel, rewards might be issued once the holiday has occurred.
- A data feed notifies us about customers meeting or not meeting eligibility criteria.
- Rewards can also be delayed for a defined period, revoking them if customers cancel during this timeframe.
Gaming Controls
What Is Gaming?
Gaming refers to the practice where customers attempt to claim rewards without actually referring new, genuine customers to a brand. The Mention Me platform, tries to address this issue by employing specific data-driven rules to manage gaming activities aimed at fostering genuine customer acquisition.
Referral campaigns can face abuse from gamers, who try to pass off as new customers to get rewards. Although spotting gamers is not always clear, Mention Me uses an algorithm to help detect and remove suspicious referrals.
Around 15% of referrals are suspicious, but this can be higher for luxury fashion brands. Most clients accept some gaming since it contributes to purchases, some being additional.
Mention Me evaluates each referral with a score based on various factors. You can use this score to prevent rewards for referrals by setting a rule. For instance, customers with gaming scores above a specific number won't receive rewards for a particular offer.
How to use a Gaming Score to Restrict Referral
Components of the gaming score
The higher the gaming score, the more probable it is that the person is attempting to dishonestly claim a reward. Mention Me employs a list of rules, where each rule adds a specific amount to the gaming score when triggered (shown in brackets below).
Not all these rules activate immediately. For instance, referees aren't required to provide their name when claiming a reward, making it impossible for us to check for similar names.
Configuring the gaming score
There are two ways to use gaming score controls in your campaigns: on the referee side and the referrer side.
Implementing controls on the referee side stops potential fraudulent activity early, preventing a suspected gamer from getting their introductory reward. Instead, they are reviewed by your team before receiving the reward.
On the referrer side, referees get the benefit of the doubt and can claim their reward. If their subsequent purchase triggers gaming controls, the referrer gets reviewed before receiving the reward.
You have the option to configure either, both, or none of these controls based on your preference.
Acting on the gaming score
When referees or referrers exceed your set gaming score threshold, they're put in an approval queue before getting their rewards. Your team needs to regularly review this queue and decide whether to approve or decline customers' rewards.
How to Switch on Gaming Controls
Gaming controls will automatically be on by default, but should you need to turn them on or adjust the scores applied to your offers, you can follow the below steps.
Gaming controls are applied at an offer level. Meaning any changes you make will need to be replicated across all live offers.
1. Navigate to https://mention-me.com/merchant/~
2. Click "Campaigns"
3. Click on the name of the campaign.
4. Click the "3 dots" (Experiment actions).
5. Click "Duplicate"
6. Click "View experiment" or "Draft" from the panel.
7. Click the "3 dots" (Offer actions).
8. Click "Edit details"
9. Click "Approval Rules"
10. Click "Add rule"
11. Select the "Gaming score (at Referrer fulfillment)" option.
Enter your desired Gaming score. The default score is 55.
12. Click "Add rule"
13. Select the "Gaming score (at Referee fulfillment)" option.
Enter your desired Gaming score. The default score is 49.
14. Click "Save"
Velocity Controls
What are velocity controls?
Velocity controls prevent too many vouchers from being issued to or by a single customer. They're useful to avoid situations like the 'Stephen Fry effect', where a well-known person shares a referral link and their followers claim all available rewards quickly.
Using velocity controls sets a limit above which rewards won't be automatically issued. Instead, they need manual review and approval before being given out.
These controls track rewards given by referrers to referees across different offers and periods. You can set limits per day, month, or year.
You can apply velocity controls separately on the referrer and referee sides. If set on the referrer side, it limits rewards given to a referrer. If set on the referee side, it limits how many referees can claim an introductory offer from a single referrer.
To set or amend your velocity controls, please follow steps 1-14 as outlined in How to Switch on Gaming Controls.
Standard controls include:
- Number of rewards given to a referrer in 24 hours = 5
- Number of rewards given to a referrer in 24 hours = 25
- Number of rewards given to referees by one referrer in 24 hours = 10
Acting on the velocity score
When referees or referrers exceed your set velocity score threshold, they're put in an approval queue before getting their rewards. Your team needs to regularly review this queue and decide whether to approve or decline customers' rewards.
