Referral Program Design

Build referral programs that turn customers into advocates.

Referral Models

Two-Sided:

• Referrer gets: [Reward]
• Referee gets: [Reward]
• Example: "$50 for you, $50 for them"

One-Sided:

• Only referrer rewarded
• Works if product is free or low-friction

Tiered:

• More referrals = better rewards
• "Refer 3, get X. Refer 10, get Y."

Process

Step 1: Define Incentive

Options:

• Cash/credit
• Free months
• Upgrades
• Swag/gifts

Choose based on:

• Customer LTV (can afford cash?)
• Product value (credit makes sense?)
• Brand (premium or scrappy?)

Step 2: Set Rules

• Qualified referral = signed up + activated? Or paid?
• Fraud prevention (same IP, email domain)
• Reward limit per user

Step 3: Build Tracking

• Unique referral links
• Track referrer + referee
• Automate reward delivery

Step 4: Promote

• In-app prompt (after aha moment)
• Email campaigns
• Referral page on website

Output

Referral program spec (incentives, rules, tracking, promotion plan).