Create a Referral Marketing Programme

Design a referral marketing programme for the following business:

Business name: [name]
Product or service: [describe]
Average customer lifetime value: [£/$ amount]
Current customer base size: [approximate]
How customers currently refer (if at all): [organic word of mouth / nothing formal]
What makes customers love you: [why would they refer you]
Biggest barrier to referral currently: [why don't they refer more]
Budget for referral incentives: [amount per referral or total monthly budget]

Design the complete programme:

PROGRAMME MECHANICS:
- Referral trigger (what prompts a customer to refer)
- Referral method (link / code / direct nomination)
- Incentive structure for the referrer (what they get)
- Incentive for the new customer (what they get)
- Incentive timing (immediate / on first purchase / on retention milestone)
- Gamification elements (if appropriate)

THE REFERRAL FLOW:
- Step-by-step journey for the referrer
- Step-by-step journey for the referred customer
- What happens if the referred customer doesn't convert

ACTIVATION STRATEGY:
- The perfect moment to ask for a referral (timing in customer lifecycle)
- How to ask without feeling transactional
- Email asking for referral (full copy)
- In-app or on-site referral prompt copy

COMMUNICATION SEQUENCE:
- Referrer: invite email, reminder, success notification, reward delivery
- Referred friend: first touch email, follow-up if no action

PREVENTING ABUSE:
- Common referral fraud patterns
- Safeguards to build in

MEASURING SUCCESS:
- KPIs (referral rate, conversion rate, CAC from referral vs other channels)
- Monthly review checklist

LAUNCH PLAN:
- How to announce the programme to existing customers