Referral Program Design Prompt
Prompt
Design a customer referral program. Target new customer acquisition: [NUMBER PER MONTH]. Current referral rate: [IF KNOWN]. Incentive budget: [AMOUNT]. Output: Referral program structure (what do customers get?). Incentive tiers (more referrals = bigger reward). Tracking and fulfillment process. Projected impact on customer acquisition.
Why it works
Structuring the programme around incentive tiers (more referrals = bigger reward) rather than a flat reward creates progressive motivation — customers who have already referred once are more likely to refer again when there's an incremental incentive. The tracking and fulfilment process output is what most referral programme designs omit: a programme with great incentives but a manual, unreliable redemption process will generate referrals that don't convert to goodwill. Projected impact connects the programme design to an acquisition cost per referred customer that makes the ROI calculable.
Watch out for
Referral programmes must be disclosed in referral communications to comply with FTC endorsement guidelines — both the referrer and the referred customer should be aware that an incentive is involved. Also ensure the programme mechanics work for your actual customer communication patterns: a text-based referral programme won't work if your customers primarily communicate by phone. Test the fulfilment process with internal team members before launching publicly.
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