Choosing the right reward strategy is key to motivating your members to refer and making your program stand out. There are many different reward structures you could set up in Referral Rock depending on your business and use case:
Give-Get: Both the member and referral receive rewards
Gateway: Higher reward for the first referral
Milestone: Rewards at set numbers of total referrals
Stacked: Cumulative rewards on every referral, that increase with more referrals
Multi-Step: Rewards members for both leads and sales
Multiplier:The higher the sale amount, the higher the reward value
VIP: Unique rewards members can't get anywhere else
Raffle: Members earn entries in a raffle for a big-ticket prize
Time-Based: Rewards are only available for a limited time
Reward Rules Overview
Reward Rules define when the participants in your referral program receive their incentives, and what incentives will be paid out.
They consist of three main parts:
The type of reward
When the reward is triggered
When the reward is delivered
You can set up reward rules for both the members and referrals in your program.
Member Reward Rules reward the people making the referrals (i.e., existing customers, partners, fans, employees, etc.).
Referral Reward Rules reward the referred friends (i.e., new leads, customers, etc.)
Most rewards are triggered off the "Approved" status, but any of the below structures could use the other statuses.
Give-Get Rewards
Give-Get rewards offer both the member and the referral a reward. They’re also known as double-sided rewards.
A double-sided reward can be the same for both parties (i.e., $20 credit each), or different (i.e., a $50 gift card for the member, and a 15% discount for the new customer).
Why they work
Give-Get rewards engage both parties involved in the referral program – they motivate members to refer and referrals to take action (sign up, purchase, etc.) Letting the member present a discount to their friend turns the act of referring into an altruistic type of behavior.
When to use?
Give-Get rewards are used in most customer referral programs (i.e., when the audience of the program is existing customers).
We recommend some form of Give-Get rewards for any business where the referral makes a purchase, as they motivate members to refer and referrals to make their first purchase. However, make sure you have enough resources to give rewards to both parties and that no regulations are preventing you from rewarding either of the parties.
You can make any reward structure into a Give-Get reward by adding a reward for the referral.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
Create Member Reward
The reward trigger is typically the Approved status
Create a Referral Reward
If the Referral’s reward is a discount coupon then it's typically applied on the Pending Status so the Referral gets sent the coupon right away and is then able to use it at checkout
If it’s a tangible gift or free product, you’ll typically award it when the referral is Qualified or Approved status
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
Gateway (Bump) Rewards
A gateway reward involves offering a larger reward for the first referral, and then smaller rewards for all subsequent referrals.
Why they work
Gateway rewards are all about grabbing attention and getting people excited, especially when you use strong messaging to highlight the higher-value reward. These rewards motivate new members to join your referral program, since they see they can get the high-value reward right away.
When to use?
If your business can’t afford to offer larger rewards for every referral, but still wants to drum up excitement around the program, gateway rewards are a good option.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
For the larger reward for the first referral:
Add a reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Number of Referrals Tier,” select “A specific referral number,” and then enter the number 1. (Do NOT modify the “Referral Sales Amount Tier.”)
For the smaller reward for subsequent referrals:
Add another reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Number of Referrals Tier,” select “After a minimum number of referrals,” and enter the number 2.
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
Milestone Rewards
Milestone rewards offer multiple incentives that increase in value as someone makes more referrals. These rewards are cumulative and awarded when someone reaches specific numbers of total referrals. For instance, you might offer a 20% discount for one referral, a free product after three referrals, and a $50 gift card for five referrals.
Milestone rewards can be used in combination with a standard reward structure (i.e., Give-Get structure for the main rewards, with special rewards given at certain milestones).
Why they work
Milestone rewards add an element of gamification and get people excited by motivating them with better, higher-value rewards. Since the reward values increase as someone makes more referrals, milestone rewards encourage members to send multiple referrals and stay active in your program. So, they help keep program engagement high.
When to use?
We recommend milestone rewards for high-volume businesses. Milestone rewards work well if your business wants to motivate members to send multiple referrals. They have the potential to create super-advocates. But your business must make doubly sure that it can afford to pay out these multiple rewards.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
Add a reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Number of Referrals Tier,” select “A specific referral number,” and then enter the number of referrals a member must make to earn the reward. (Do NOT modify the “Referral Sales Amount Tier.”)
Repeat the process to set up each different tier of rewards.
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
Stacked (or Tiered) Rewards
Stacked rewards also offer multiple incentives that increase in value as someone makes more referrals. Unlike milestone rewards, stacked rewards are earned on every referral. So, someone might earn $10 cash for referrals 1-5, $20 cash for referrals 6-10, and $30 cash for all referrals after the tenth one.
Stacked rewards mostly focus on cash values getting higher, while Milestone rewards are usually larger, more one-off rewards such as tangible gifts.
Why they work
Stacked rewards also add an element of gamification and get people excited by motivating them with better, higher-value rewards. They help keep program engagement high because the reward values increase as someone makes more referrals. These rewards encourage members to send multiple referrals and stay active in your program.
When to use?
Stacked rewards also work well if your business wants to motivate members to send multiple referrals and stay active in your program. But your business must make doubly sure that it can afford to pay out these multiple, increasing rewards, especially since they’re paid on each referral.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
For the first (lowest value) reward:
Add a reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Number of Referrals Tier,” select “Up to a maximum number of referrals.
Enter the threshold in “Trigger until _ referrals have been approved” – if you want to award it for 1-5 referrals, for example, you’ll enter “5”
For middle-value rewards:
Add another reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Number of Referrals Tier,” select “Between a range of referrals”
Enter your range in the boxes for “Trigger after _ Approved referrals and stop after _ Approved referrals
For the highest-value reward:
Add another reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Number of Referrals Tier,” select “After a minimum number of referrals”
Enter the minimum referral amount in “Trigger after _ referrals have been approved”
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
Multi-Step Rewards
Multi-step rewards are paid to the member when the referral reaches the qualified stage and the approved stage. You’ll give the member a smaller reward when a referral is qualified (say, they request a demo or sign up for a trial), and then a larger reward when that referral is approved (say, they make their first purchase).
Why they work
Multi-step rewards motivate members to send in referrals even if your sales process is long and it takes a while for their referral to be approved. A member will be recognized in a timely manner once one of their referrals is qualified, and then still gets recognition whenever one of their referrals is approved.
When to use?
Businesses with longer sales processes, and/or multiple stakeholders involved in the purchasing decision, can especially benefit from multi-step rewards.
This includes sales-led B2B and SaaS companies, staffing agencies, and higher-value services that require a more “consultative” approach (i.e. HVAC installation, landscaping, plumbing, construction contracting).
We also recommend multi-step rewards for employee programs, where you give out rewards for qualified and hired employee referrals.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
For the “Qualified” reward:
Add a reward rule for the Member
Trigger Reward when Referral status = “Qualified”
For the “Approved” reward:
Add another reward rule for the Member
Trigger Reward when Referral status = “Approved”
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
Multiplier Rewards
Multiplier rewards offer higher values (in cash or gift cards) based on the purchase amount. This means a member will receive a larger reward when someone buys a more expensive product or service.
Note: There are multiple options for setting up multiplier rewards. You can base them on fixed amounts, or on percentages of sales.
Why they work
These rewards recognize the value of a referral in proportion to the purchase that referral made. They encourage your members to bring in referrals who will make bigger purchases.
You’re also able to use language such as "get up to $X,XXX when your friend makes a purchase.” Your messaging can showcase the higher rewards potential, so it gets members more excited and grabs their attention.
When to use?
Use multiplier rewards if you have several different levels of pricing plans, or if purchase amounts vary widely. If you’re a service-based business that offers services with different price, time, and complexity levels (say, repairs vs. installations), then multiplier rewards are also a good fit.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
Fixed Amount
For the smaller reward:
Add a reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Referral Sales Amount Tier,” select “Up to a maximum referral amount” and enter the maximum sale amount that you want to give this reward for. (In our reward rules, “up to” means “up to and including”.)
For the larger reward:
Add another reward rule for the Member
Under “Trigger Reward when,” click “Show Additional Conditions”
Under “Referral Sales Amount Tier,” select “After a minimum referral amount” and enter the minimum sales amount you want to give the reward for. (This should be the same threshold you set for the smaller reward.)
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
Percentage Amount
Add a reward rule for the Member
Under “Reward Amount” select “Percentage of Sale” and enter the percentage of the sale you want to award back.
If you want to set a limit, you can select “a limit” and enter the max reward
Adjust the amount rounding if you choose
If you want to give higher percentages out when someone makes higher-value sales, you can segment by sale amount (like we described above in the section on multiplier rewards with fixed amounts).
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
VIP Rewards
VIP rewards offer the members something unique they can’t get anywhere else. Examples include a wine club giving a free bottle of exclusive wine, a landscaping company giving a free upgraded service, or other unique experiences. It could also be as simple as giving premium company swag.
VIP rewards are usually used as part of a Milestone reward program with the VIP reward being one of the larger, more valuable rewards.
Why they work
VIP rewards make your members feel special and show how much you value their referrals. People love exclusivity, so they might especially be motivated by a reward that only your business can offer. Also, this reward type connects with the audience and can be a great alternative as a non-monetary reward.
When to use?
If you know your audience will be motivated by an exclusive experience, VIP rewards are a great way to offer star treatment. And if you offer conferences or similar experiences someone can’t get elsewhere, a VIP program will let you offer access as referral rewards.
VIP rewards work great as part of a Milestone reward structure, where you can offer them alongside other rewards such as cash.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
Add a reward rule for the Member
Select “Custom reward”
The value of the reward should be “Fixed amount = 1,” because you’re going to pay out one VIP package at a time
Name and describe the reward
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
Raffle Rewards
Raffle rewards (also known as contests, giveaways, etc.) give members an entry into a drawing for every approved referral they make. After a given timeframe, you’ll randomly draw a name (or a few names) and give the winner(s) a higher-ticket reward.
Raffle rewards can be used in combination with standard rewards (i.e., Give-Get structure for the main rewards, with special rewards given for the drawing winners).
They can also work nicely when rewarding on the Pending status as you're limiting what you have to pay out, so are less likely to experience fraud.
Why they work
The prospect of winning a bigger reward can be especially enticing. And since someone has greater odds of winning the more referrals they make, a contest like this can quickly motivate members to send in lots of referrals at a time.
When to use?
Raffles work well if you’d like to offer bigger-ticket rewards, but can’t afford to offer a large reward on every referral. You can also use a raffle to drum up sales during a slower period, or bring in more customers in peak sales times.
If you can afford to, we recommend using a raffle in addition to giving members smaller rewards for every referral.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
To create a raffle entry as a reward:
Add a reward rule for the Member
Select “Custom reward”
The value of the reward should be “Fixed amount = 1,” because you’re going to give out one raffle entry per referral
Name and describe the reward
Rewards should be set to “Review & Issue”
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
To determine who wins the raffle and receives the big-ticket prize:
Go to Reward Lists > Filter by Pending Rewards (and potentially by Program)
Download the list of all pending rewards created (or rewards created within the raffle period you’ve chosen)
Randomly select one (either via Excel or some other random selection process)
Manually issue the reward to the chosen member
Then, either mark all rewards as issued (if ending the drawing) OR just mark the selected reward that won as issued (if keeping the drawing open)
Time-Based Rewards
Time-based rewards are only available to your members during a set time period you determine. You can make any type and structure of rewards time-based by applying a start date and end date.
Why they work
Time-based rewards create urgency and exclusivity, and draw on people’s FOMO (fear of missing out). The limited-time nature of this reward helps drum up excitement around your program, especially if you use it during a key sales time or slower sales period.
When to use?
Time-based rewards are great for testing new reward offerings or offering a more premium/exclusive reward for a limited period. You can use time-based rewards in place of a standard reward, or as a bonus reward during a given time period.
We recommend that you always have some sort of reward available for members to earn. But time-based rewards work well when you want to offer a higher-value reward during either peak sales times or slower sales periods.
How to set them up?
Go to the Rewards Tab of the Program Editor (see more details in the Reward Rules article).
Add a reward rule for the Member
At the top left under Reward Rule Summary, check the checkbox that says “Limit by date.”
Enter the start date and end date that these rewards will be active.
These rewards start and end at midnight of your program’s time zone; you can change your time zone in your user settings.
When finished, your reward structure should look similar to this:
