Referrals

referrals

General

"When the user wants to create, optimize, or analyze a referral program, affiliate program, or word-of-mouth strategy. Also use when the user mentions 'referral,' 'affiliate,' 'ambassador,' 'word of mouth,' 'viral loop,' 'refer a friend,' 'partner program,' 'referral incentive,' 'how to get referrals,' 'customers referring customers,' or 'affiliate payout.' Use this whenever someone wants existing users or partners to bring in new customers. For launch-specific virality, see launch."

Price: Included no per-call charge
Evals: 6 runnable test cases
Assertions: 36 across 6 cases
References: 2 files it reads from
Length: 997 words · 5 min read
Sections: 11 in the instructions

Evals

6 cases

1

Help me design a referral program for our SaaS product. We're a $49/month project management tool with about 1,000 customers. We want to encourage word-of-mouth growth.

Should check for product-marketing.md first. Should distinguish between referral and affiliate programs (this is referral — existing customers referring peers). Should design the referral loop: trigger point (when to ask for referral), share mechanism (unique link, email invite, social share), conversion flow (what the referred person experiences), and reward structure. Should recommend incentive type: double-sided recommended (both referrer and referred get value). Should suggest specific incentives appropriate for $49/month SaaS (e.g., free month for both). Should include the launch checklist. Should recommend tool integrations (Rewardful, Tolt, etc.).

7 checks
2

We have a referral program but only 5% of customers have ever referred someone. How do we increase participation?

Should apply the program optimization guidance. Should diagnose low participation: are customers aware of the program? Is the trigger point well-timed? Is the incentive compelling enough? Is sharing easy? Should recommend optimization tactics: better placement/visibility, timing referral asks at peak satisfaction moments, improving the incentive, simplifying the share mechanism, adding referral reminders in email and in-app. Should provide specific experiment ideas to test improvements.

6 checks
3

should we do referral or affiliate? we sell online courses for $199-499 and want to get other creators and influencers to promote us.

Should trigger on casual phrasing. Should apply the referral vs affiliate distinction clearly. For this use case (getting creators/influencers to promote), should recommend an affiliate program (not referral — affiliates are third-party promoters, not existing customers). Should apply the affiliate program section guidance: commission structure for digital products (typically 20-40% for courses), cookie duration, payout terms, affiliate onboarding. Should recommend affiliate platforms/tools appropriate for course creators.

6 checks
4

What incentive structure works best? We've been offering $10 off for referrers but it's not working. Our product is $29/month.

Should evaluate the current incentive: $10 off on a $29/month product is significant but only benefits the referrer (single-sided). Should recommend testing double-sided incentives (both parties get value). Should discuss incentive types: account credit, free months, feature upgrades, cash. Should apply the tiered incentive concept (increasing rewards for multiple referrals). Should provide specific alternative incentive structures to test. Should note that incentive alone may not be the problem — placement and timing matter too.

6 checks
+2 more — run them all with Evaluate

Details

Family: General
Version: 2.0.0
Source: ai/skills/referrals/SKILL.md
Eval bank: ai/skills/referrals/evals/evals.json
Price: Included — no per-call charge
References: program-examples.md
affiliate-programs.md

Instructions

Referral & Affiliate Programs

You are an expert in viral growth and referral marketing. Your goal is to help design and optimize programs that turn customers into growth engines.

Before Starting

Check for product marketing context first:
If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Program Type

Customer referral program, affiliate program, or both?
B2B or B2C?
What's the average customer LTV?
What's your current CAC from other channels?

2. Current State

Existing referral/affiliate program?
Current referral rate (% who refer)?
What incentives have you tried?

3. Product Fit

Is your product shareable?
Does it have network effects?
Do customers naturally talk about it?

4. Resources

Tools/platforms you use or consider?
Budget for referral incentives?

Referral vs. Affiliate

Customer Referral Programs

Best for:

Existing customers recommending to their network
Products with natural word-of-mouth
Lower-ticket or self-serve products

Characteristics:

Referrer is an existing customer
One-time or limited rewards
Higher trust, lower volume

Affiliate Programs

Best for:

Reaching audiences you don't have access to
Content creators, influencers, bloggers
Higher-ticket products that justify commissions

Characteristics:

Affiliates may not be customers
Ongoing commission relationship
Higher volume, variable trust

Referral Program Design

The Referral Loop

Trigger Moment → Share Action → Convert Referred → Reward → (Loop)

Step 1: Identify Trigger Moments

High-intent moments:

Right after first "aha" moment
After achieving a milestone
After exceptional support
After renewing or upgrading

Step 2: Design Share Mechanism

Ranked by effectiveness:

In-product sharing (highest conversion)
Personalized link
Email invitation
Social sharing
Referral code (works offline)

Step 3: Choose Incentive Structure

Single-sided rewards (referrer only): Simpler, works for high-value products

Double-sided rewards (both parties): Higher conversion, win-win framing

Tiered rewards: Gamifies referral process, increases engagement

For examples and incentive sizing: See references/program-examples.md

Program Optimization

Improving Referral Rate

If few customers are referring:

Ask at better moments
Simplify sharing process
Test different incentive types
Make referral prominent in product

If referrals aren't converting:

Improve landing experience for referred users
Strengthen incentive for new users
Ensure referrer's endorsement is visible

A/B Tests to Run

Incentive tests: Amount, type, single vs. double-sided, timing

Messaging tests: Program description, CTA copy, landing page copy

Placement tests: Where and when the referral prompt appears

Common Problems & Fixes

Problem	Fix
Low awareness	Add prominent in-app prompts
Low share rate	Simplify to one click
Low conversion	Optimize referred user experience
Fraud/abuse	Add verification, limits
One-time referrers	Add tiered/gamified rewards

Measuring Success

Key Metrics

Program health:

Active referrers (referred someone in last 30 days)
Referral conversion rate
Rewards earned/paid

Business impact:

% of new customers from referrals
CAC via referral vs. other channels
LTV of referred customers
Referral program ROI

Typical Findings

Referred customers have 16-25% higher LTV
Referred customers have 18-37% lower churn
Referred customers refer others at 2-3x rate

Launch Checklist

Before Launch

Define program goals and success metrics
Design incentive structure
Build or configure referral tool
Create referral landing page
Set up tracking and attribution
Define fraud prevention rules
Create terms and conditions
Test complete referral flow

Launch

Announce to existing customers
Add in-app referral prompts
Update website with program details
Brief support team

Post-Launch (First 30 Days)

Review conversion funnel
Identify top referrers
Gather feedback
Fix friction points
Send reminder emails to non-referrers

Email Sequences

Referral Program Launch

Subject: You can now earn [reward] for sharing [Product]

We just launched our referral program!

Share [Product] with friends and earn [reward] for each signup.
They get [their reward] too.

[Unique referral link]

1. Share your link
2. Friend signs up
3. You both get [reward]

Referral Nurture Sequence

Day 7: Remind about referral program
Day 30: "Know anyone who'd benefit?"
Day 60: Success story + referral prompt
After milestone: "You achieved [X]—know others who'd want this?"

Affiliate Programs

For detailed affiliate program design, commission structures, recruitment, and tools: See references/affiliate-programs.md

Task-Specific Questions

What type of program (referral, affiliate, or both)?
What's your customer LTV and current CAC?
Existing program or starting from scratch?
What tools/platforms are you considering?
What's your budget for rewards/commissions?
Is your product naturally shareable?

Tool Integrations

For implementation, see the tools registry. Key tools for referral programs:

Tool	Best For	Guide
Rewardful	Stripe-native affiliate programs	rewardful.md
Tolt	SaaS affiliate programs	tolt.md
Mention Me	Enterprise referral programs	mention-me.md
Dub.co	Link tracking and attribution	dub-co.md
Stripe	Payment processing (for commission tracking)	stripe.md
Introw	Channel partner programs with tiers, deal registration, QBRs	introw.md
PartnerStack	Enterprise partner and affiliate programs	partnerstack.md

Related Skills

launch: For launching referral program effectively
emails: For referral nurture campaigns
marketing-psychology: For understanding referral motivation
analytics: For tracking referral attribution