Explorer Friends: “I know someone who might be interested in this programme”

One of the most valuable assets of Santander X Explorer is its community. This is recognised by the participants, who realise how important it is to have peers to rely on from the start. When they finish, our Alumni have several ways to stay involved in various events and actions.

One of these is becoming an Explorer Friend, a recommendation programme that originates precisely from the community. It is aimed at and made up of people who are already familiar with Santander X Explorer, either because they’ve experienced it (our Alumni) or because they’ve participated as Experts. Thanks to their experience, they know who to reach out to with the call for applications. Could we extend our reach through a media campaign and carry out segmentation? Yes. In fact, it would be easier. But it would also be a leap into the unknown, as we wouldn’t put a face to our target candidates: the network we’d gain would be broad, but of much lower quality than the one woven by the Explorer Friends. We would fall into the trap of “vanity metrics.” In other words, it would be of little use to us.

To continue building this network, Explorer Friends receive a personal code that they can share with friends or acquaintances; when any of them use it to register for Santander X Explorer, they generate redeemable points for rewards for the “owner” of that code. But the goal is not just to increase the number of participants; the idea is to attract people who are genuinely committed to the programme and who truly want to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Thus, an interested individual who has used a code to register will only “bring benefits” if they access the training itinerary during the first week of the programme.

The knowledge and experience of Alumni and Expertxs is important to achieve this goal, to help the community continue to grow with people who contribute. In order to facilitate their task in promoting the call, we provide them with a toolkit with support material and give them the opportunity to join a WhatsApp Group (one of the most valuable learning tools in the Santander X Explorer methodology) in which tips and advice are shared. In this way, another community is created, a support network within the one they already have, finding new synergies there and expanding networking a step further.