Building a referral program that scales.
The question is:
Which model is most effective?
There are two main types of referral program structures:
Single-Sided Referral Program:
Here, only the referrer (your existing customer) gets the reward.
It’s simple and effective.
How it works:
Referrer shares a link → New customer signs up → Referrer is rewarded.
– Lower cost
– Lower risk
– Less to manage
Example: Evernote, Shopify
Double-Sided Referral Program:
In this model, both the referrer and the new customer are rewarded.
How it works:
Referrer shares a link → New customer signs up → Both get rewarded.
But, be cautious. Rewarding two parties means:
– Higher cost
– Higher risk
– More complexity to manage
Example: Uber, Dropbox
Which model should you run with?
→ Small business: Go Single-Sided.
→ Larger corporation: Go Double-Sided.
Either way, referral programs are a low-cost, high-impact growth tool a lot of companies overlook.
Retention is Revenue
Churn is now a boardroom problem. If you’re in the
