The member lifecycle describes how a member can move from simply pre-registered for your referral program, to activated (engaged) and actively sharing your business. Your goal is to activate as many members as possible and keep them engaged and sharing. After all, you can’t get referrals unless you have engaged members.
Member Statuses
Member statuses make it easier to manage your members based on where they are in their lifecycle, and manage who receives what promotional campaigns.
On your Members page, you can check the status of each member at a glance, and sort members by status using the tabs on the top menu.
Here's a detailed review of the different member statuses.
Member Status | What it means | What can they do? | What program emails can they receive? | How do they get here? |
Preapproved | Authorized and ready to share (they just don't know it yet) | Already have a referral link / code (don’t need to register) | -Activation campaigns -Member campaigns (engagement campaigns) | - Added by admin - CSV Imported - via API / Zapier |
Activated | Engaged with the referral program | Active participant (log in to the portal, share, get program emails, receive rewards, etc.) | All automated engagement emails, including: -Monthly Summaries -Referral Event Emails -Reward Emails
Member campaigns (engagement campaigns) | - Visited the portal - Shared w/ friend - Added a referral |
Disabled | No access to the referral program or program emails | Can't login, add referrals, or receive rewards (you can still see their details and history) | None | - Requires approval - Disabled by admin - Email bounced |
Preapproved Members
Preapproved members are members you’ve added manually as an admin, imported through a CSV file, or imported through API or Zapier.
They’ve already been registered in your program, so they already have a referral link. But they haven’t yet engaged with your program.
Preapproved members only receive activation emails (when you send them). No automated program emails are sent to preapproved members.
Using the preapproved status to send activation campaigns
The preapproved status enables you to upload all of your business contacts as members, without sending those members any automated program emails.
Instead, it lets you prepare a list of members and then send them a targeted activation campaign, to invite them to participate in the referral program and share with friends.
You can upload your entire list of initial members as preapproved, if you wish.
First, identify the business contacts that you want to participate in your referral program. Then, determine how you are going to promote the program to them.
Add or import contacts as preapproved members
Create a member activation campaign targeting all or some of your preapproved members (will you target the entire list, focus on a particular segment of the list, or have a more gradual rollout?)
Do preapproved members count towards my member limit?
Preapproved members will count towards your plan’s member limit. If you are concerned about preapproved members not engaging, then talk with your Referral Rock account manager about potential options.
Activated Members
Once a member (preapproved or not) engages with your program, they become activated.
A member engages – and becomes activated – when they visit the portal, share with a friend, or add a referral.
Activated members are your current sharers – active participants in your program. They can log in to the portal, share with friends, get program emails, and receive rewards.
They’ll receive automated emails meant to keep them engaged and sharing, including:
Monthly Summary Email - goes out the first full week of the month to all activated members, summarizing their participation in the program
Referral Event Emails - triggered when a referral changes statuses, notifying the referring member (keeps the member informed and updated)
Reward Emails - triggered when a member earns a reward (a great reminder to keep sharing when member is at their happiest - they just got rewarded!)
All activated members will have a “last active” date, so you know when they last engaged with your program. Find this date by clicking on a member name and opening up their Member Details menu.
What if an activated member goes dormant?
Ideally, an activated member will never go dormant, as your automated program emails should keep them engaged. But if activated members haven't performed any engagement actions in a while, you can run a re-engagement campaign based on members’ last active date.
How to keep activated members engaged?
In addition to using the automated emails we described above, take advantage of all the other ways you already interact with your customers to promote the program.
Keeping your referral program top of mind for activated members is key, so they stay engaged and continue sharing! The best referral programs have multiple access points located wherever you interact with your target contacts. Follow our promotional best practices to create these access points.
Disabled Members
Disabled members have no access to the referral program or program emails. They can't login, add referrals, or receive rewards. But you can still see their member details and history by opening up their Member Details menu.
A member can become disabled if they:
Require admin approval
Are manually disabled by admin
Couldn’t receive an email (their email bounced)
Disabled members DO NOT count towards your member limits.
Enabling and disabling members manually
You can disable a member by opening their Member Details menu, selecting More Options, then selecting Disable Member. You will then be prompted to give a reason for disabling a member.
Common reasons for disabling a member include:
No recent activity by the member
Fraud or abuse
The member asking to opt out
The member is a duplicate.
You can enable a disabled member by opening their Member Details menu, selecting More Options, then selecting Enable Member. The member will then become preapproved if they did not engage with the program before, or activated if they have any history of engaging with the program.
Exceeding your member limit creates disabled members
If you exceed your member limit, then all “new” members added will automatically be disabled. At this point, you can either increase your member limit (using a paid add-on) or disable members that haven’t engaged with your program.
Once you’ve increased your member limit or disabled dormant members, you can “enable” other members (make them preapproved or activated, depending on their previous engagement status).