Strategies for Increasing Customer Referrals

⭐A mini case study on referrals at Flashfood ⭐ Marketplaces like Flashfood are built on the activity of our most dedicated shoppers. Referrals are important because when a user who loves Flashfood refers another, we tend to see those new users have much higher stickiness and GMV with the company. And like many companies, acquiring a new customer through referrals has a much lower customer acquisition cost (CAC) than other traditional methods. Two months ago we embarked on a project to increase referrals at Flashfood and I wanted to share some of those insights and results. What we did: Easier access: We added a dedicated “referral tab” to the home screen of the app. Lowering barrier to entry: We changed the minimum order value to $7 (from $10). Streamlined process: We added the ability to enter a referral code at checkout. Proactive outreach: We now include a referral block in our regular CRM emails to expand awareness. Results in just one month post-changes:  We saw a 60% increase in referral redemptions. The total number of orders made on referrals went up 107%. Average GMV for orders made on referrals increased by 28%. The total GMV these redeemers drove went up 113%. All brands are seeing higher CAC in a world where digital marketing costs continue to rise, and traditional outreach methods have diminished returns. The key to success is maximizing the value of existing shoppers, including their ability to be an advocate for your brand and product. I’m super proud of the team’s work on referrals and there’s more to come here. Reminder to pay attention to your most valuable customers!

I made a $1M ARR mistake in 2024: treating my customer journey as a line & not a flywheel. My revenue flywheel didn't start (& we couldn't have done $500k last month) until I treated our customer journey as a loop. When you first start you think you have it all figured out: Lead -> Warm Lead -> Sale -> Customer. But I was missing a step & it cost me. Then I turned that line into a loop by feeding the customer back into our sales process. It's not rocket science: find your happy customers & amplify them. But adding process to it is actually hard. Look at the incentives: - sellers are comped on closing customers - CSMs are comped on keeping customers Whose job is this - Product Marketing? Customer Marketing? the Founders? It's everyones job. If I were a VP of marketing today I would make sure (even with a small marketing team) you're incentivizing someone to surface 5 customers wins/day and cycle them back into the top of your lead funnel. Here are 3 plays we started at Warmly that would have earned me another $1M ARR if I started them a year ago: 1/ Micro grants to customer advocates Find happy champions and offer them $2k in mico grants to be an official advocate. Compensate them for 2x referral calls per month & ask the to be 100% truthful even if its doesn't always make you look good. Push them to screenshare & show *how* they're using you - not just wax about you. 2/ Public posts about wins with independent audits/reviews I think case studies are kind of dead. Can't remember the last time a prospect truly read or referenced one. Real posts from real people are the way to go. We invite agencies and reviewers to get full access to what we sell to give their honest opinion even if its not 10/10. We strive for honesty & transparency as core to our brand and that is recognized in the buying process vs our peers. 3/ Customer love wall in TINY font Screenshot all wins and add them to a never ending scroll page for your reviews (get permission of course). No one trusts G2 anyways, but they will trust an actual public post with their name tied to it On Warmly's page you can literally click into ANY of the LinkedIn posts and go read it for yourself, including the comments. You can connect with the person and double verify they meant what they said. And the best part? TINY font. I have no proof but but we make the font small to fit in more reviews. My hypothesis is that prospects scroll down and are impressed at the sea of happy champions and think "Dang I need to zoom in just to see all these great reviews!" Check out our customer page on our website! Warmly, Max #marketingtips #marketing

Plot twist: Your top performer isn't even on payroll. While you're grinding through cold calls and perfecting pitch decks, your actual sales superstars are sitting in your customer base, and most companies completely ignore them. Think about it: Who's more convincing? ❌ You explaining why your product is amazing ✅ A customer explaining how it transformed their business Here's the playbook that's turning customers into commission-free closers: 🎯 Turn success into content: Skip the generic thank-you note. Get that win in front of eyeballs; case studies, LinkedIn posts, video testimonials. Success is contagious. 🎤 Hand them the microphone: A 2-minute customer video explaining their transformation beats your entire sales deck. Let them tell the story in their words. 🔄 Build the referral machine: Make customer intros part of every quarterly check-in. The best reps I know cut their sales cycles in half with warm introductions. 💬 Steal their language: Stop using marketing speak. Use the exact words your customers use to describe their problems and wins. That's what resonates with prospects. 🏆 Make them famous: Customer of the month. Slack shoutouts. Social media features. People love recognition, and others want to be next. The reality check: Your customers aren't just buying your product; they're betting their reputation on it. When they succeed, they become walking proof that you deliver. And in a world where everyone's selling, proof beats promises every time. Your customers already said yes once. Now make them want to repeat it for you. #sales #customersuccess

Your customers' network is a low cost, high impact way to drive SaaS growth. But how do you harness the power of positive network effects? Positive network effects occur when the value of your tool increases as your user base grows. Like LinkedIn... it becomes more valuable as more professionals join the platform. For SaaS companies, larger networks lead to several competitive advantages: – They're more trustworthy – They entice advertisers – They encourage referrals and word-of-mouth – They build more unique user-generated content – They increase retention To activate these effects, start by mobilizing your current user base. There are (at least) five proven strategies: 1. Increase reach with shareable features Take Pinterest as an example. Users can create shared 'boards' to collaborate on projects. This either re-engages current users or prompts new sign-ups when boards are shared. 2. Drive referrals with growth loops Consider DocuSign's growth loop. Every document sent for signature serves as an introduction to the platform, potentially converting recipients into new users. 3. Improve product quality with user-generated content GitHub leverages user-generated content to improve product quality. Developers contribute to existing projects and end up hosting their own, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of engagement. 4. Drive acquisition with incentives Airtable incentivizes referrals by crediting $10 to your account when you invite new users. This simple yet effective strategy turns every user into a potential brand ambassador. 5. Re-engage dormant users Venmo ensures each transaction appears in a public feed, prompting likes, comments, and reminders that bring users back to the app. Bonus: you can (and should!) combine multiple strategies. LinkedIn, for instance, uses referrals, re-engagement tactics, and registration incentives to create a powerful network effect. By harnessing the power of your user base, you can create a self-propelling mechanism for growth that benefits both your app AND your users.

Referrals might be the most underused growth lever in B2B! Everyone talks about them. Few actually operationalize them. At Sendspark, we’ve made referrals a core part of our GTM motion—and it’s driving real revenue. Here are 3 ways we’re turning referrals into pipeline (and closed deals): 1. Offer Free Access in Exchange for an intro We don’t have a free plan. So when an SDR signs up and drops off before payment, we don’t just lose the lead. Instead, we offer them a free Sendspark seat—if they are open to making an exec level intro. It’s a win-win: They get value. We get a high-leverage referral. This simple play helped us close two enterprise deals last quarter. 2. Operationalize Referrals with Tech Referrals don’t have to be manual, there are plenty of tools out there that can help you automate the referral process. Here’s what we use internally. FirstPromoter– An easy affiliate tool where our fans get a link to share Sendspark and earn $ when someone signs up. Product- Embedded Referral Links – We let users include referral links in the videos they send. When someone loves the video and signs up → the sender gets paid. Commsor 🦕 – Shows us overlaps between customers, investors, and influencers. Perfect for uncovering warm intro paths we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. 3. Just Ask If you’re a CSM doing a QBR... Or an AE who just closed a deal... Ask: “Is there anyone else in your network who could use something like this?” Worst case? They say no. Best case? Warm, qualified lead! Creating a scalable referral motion is something that add incredible growth to your business! If you don't currently have a referral program in place, why not? #saas #sales #growth