Quick Answer (TL;DR)
Time to First Referral measures average time before a user makes their first referral. The formula is Median days from signup to first referral. Industry benchmarks: 30-90 days. Track this metric when optimizing referral program timing.
What Is Time to First Referral?
Average time before a user makes their first referral. This is one of the core metrics in the referral metrics category and is essential for any product team serious about data-driven decision making.
Time to First Referral measures the organic growth potential of your product. Referral and word-of-mouth metrics are powerful because they represent growth that does not require proportional increases in marketing spend.
Understanding time to first referral in context --- alongside related metrics --- gives you a more complete picture than tracking it in isolation. Use it as part of a balanced metrics dashboard.
The Formula
Median days from signup to first referral
How to Calculate It
Apply the formula Median days from signup to first referral using data from a consistent time period. Pull the values from your analytics platform or data warehouse, compute the result, and compare against the benchmarks below.
Benchmarks
30-90 days
Benchmarks vary significantly by industry, company stage, business model, and customer segment. Use these ranges as starting points and calibrate to your own historical data over 2-3 quarters. Your trend matters more than any absolute number --- consistent improvement is the goal.
When to Track Time to First Referral
When optimizing referral program timing. Specifically, prioritize this metric when:
You are building or reviewing your metrics dashboard and need referral indicators
Leadership or investors ask about referral performance
You suspect a change in product, pricing, or go-to-market strategy has affected this area
You are running experiments that could impact time to first referral
You need a quantitative baseline before making a strategic decision
How to Improve
Make sharing frictionless. Reduce the steps required to refer someone. Pre-written messages, one-click sharing, and in-product referral prompts dramatically increase participation rates.
Incentivize both sides. The most effective referral programs reward both the referrer and the referred user. Two-sided incentives increase conversion 2-3x compared to one-sided rewards.
Time referral asks strategically. Ask for referrals immediately after a user experiences a moment of delight --- completing a milestone, receiving positive results, or upgrading their plan.
Common Pitfalls
Using averages instead of medians. Time-based metrics are often skewed by outliers. A few extremely slow cases can inflate the average and mask the typical experience. Use medians for a more accurate picture.
Measuring program activity instead of outcomes. Referral invites sent is a vanity metric. Track actual conversions and the downstream revenue generated by referred customers.
Measuring without acting. Tracking this metric is only valuable if you have a process for reviewing it regularly and a playbook for responding when it moves outside acceptable ranges.
Related Metrics
Referral Revenue --- revenue generated from referred customers
Word of Mouth Coefficient --- percentage of new users acquired through WOM
Social Shares --- number of times your product/content is shared
Review Rating --- average rating on third-party review sites
Product Metrics Cheat Sheet --- complete reference of 100+ metrics