What is a Referral Link?

It’s time to shift focus from expensive Google and Facebook ads to a more sustainable and rewarding marketing strategy. Your most loyal influencers are already right in front of you.. Your existing customers.

Levering your existing customers can be a powerful tool when it comes to growing your business and sales. By rewarding your dedicated customers, you create a network of brand advocates ready to share your story, making every customer a cornerstone of your growth strategy.

Referral links aren’t just unique links; they’re one of the key ingredients to a successful referral program.

What is a Referral Link?

Referral links are unique links that are generated in a referral program. Every lead who signs up to the referral program receives their own unique link to share with family and friends. The link contains a unique tracking code which traces that lead’s referrals back to them.

Referred friends click the link to visit your website or landing page. If they opt in, the lead who referred them will receive credit for the referral.

Referral Links VS Referral Codes

So, what’s the difference between a referral code and a referral link? While a referral code and referral link both contain a unique code, the main difference is that with a referral link, the code is hidden inside of the link, while with a referral code, it’s merely the code itself.

Referral links and referral codes are both effective tools for driving customer referrals, but they come with their own set of pros and cons.

Referral links, often in the form of unique URLs, make it incredibly convenient for leads to share their referral with a simple click. They offer a seamless user experience and are easily tracked, making it straightforward to credit leads for successful referrals. However, they can appear less personalized.

Referral codes can be a bit more flexible and provide a more personal touch as leads can verbally share a code with their friends. The main disadvantage of using a referral code is that it requires the the referee to manually input the code when signing up. They either forget to input the referral code when signing up, or think it’s too much work especially if the code is long and complex.

There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing a referral code or referral link for your referral program. The choice between the two really depends on your specific program goals and user experience preferences.

How do I Generate Referral Links for my Customers?

To generate referral links for your customers, start by choosing a referral program software that integrates with your business platform.

KickoffLabs automatically generates unique, trackable referral links for every lead who signs up to the campaign. When a customer joins your referral program, they receive their unique referral share link, and can simply copy the link or use the customized actions to share with family and friends!

As these links are used for referrals, the software tracks and credits the referrer for every referral they bring in.

Tops Tools For Setting up a Referral Program

To create a successful referral program, you need the right tools. Setting up a referral program requires quite a bit of work, so you want to ensure you only have the highest-end tools. Let’s look at a few top tools for setting up a referral program.

KickoffLabs

KickoffLabs’ referral program features are designed to simplify and supercharge your referral campaigns. Outside of milestone based referral programs, you can easily add additional campaign types to your program like leaderboards, waitlists, sweepstakes and more!

Some of the top referral program features include:

• Instant sign-up: A custom campaign link used to invite existing leads to your referral program without having to enter their details again. The best part is that existing leads won’t have to enter their details again. This can also be used for leads to access their unique status page to check their stats.

• Referral tracking for online giveaways: There’s no need to create your unique URL when it can be generated automatically. KickoffLabs generates a unique share URL for every lead that enters your referral program. This way, you can track your referral progress and ensure your program works!

• Reward Tiers + Emails: Create achievement levels for your referral program that leads can unlock by referring friends, making a purchase, or completing actions. Trigger a reward level mail as lead’s unlock the milestones!

• CSV lead export feature: KickoffLabs also offers a manual CSV lead export feature. This is a downloadable CSV export that carries all your leads and data associated with each lead. Here, you can download an export of all your leads easily to have on hand, or to upload into an external platform in one click.

• Creative landing pages: Your referral program needs a creative landing page that will draw attention and explain the details of your landing page. KickoffLabs offers a library of stunning and effective landing page templates that will introduce your referral pages to new prospects.

Talon.One

Talon.One’s loyalty features are great for businesses seeking to enhance custom loyalty and drive revenue growth. They’re best used for:

• Loyalty cards + wallets: Use Loyalty wallets and cards to safely store points, currency, stamps and more.

• Tiered loyalty: Build as many tiers as you want and have customers working their way up the ladder to receive the best benefits and rewards.

• Points based loyalty: Award points in any way that you’d like for lead behaviors that promotes your business

• Loyalty badges: Award and save badges for your customers when they complete progressively difficult challenges.

Voucherify.io

Voucherify is a fully flexible promotion software that makes customized and complex referral programs easy to implement and scale. They’re best used for:

• Cashback programs: Leads are awarded with cashback on purchases they make or someone they refer makes.

• Fee based programs: Leads pay to enroll into a fee based loyalty program.

• Partner programs: Team up with dealers, retailers, or partner companies for a referral program.

Use Referral Links With Your Next Referral Program!

By integrating unique referral links into your marketing efforts, you unlock a world of potential, turning your most loyal customers into your most effective influencers.

Get started with KickoffLabs to easily set up your next referral program, and watch your brand grow through word of mouth referrals of those who love what you do. Start free today.

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