Referral Program Template for Product Growth

Two-sided (both referrer and referee get a reward) outperforms one-sided in almost every published case study. One-sided programs where only the referrer benefits feel transactional to the referee. Two-sided programs create a feeling of mutual benefit. The most common structure is credit/discount for the referrer and an extended trial or discount for the referee.

At moments of peak satisfaction, not at random times. The best triggers are: immediately after activation (the user has just experienced value), after a positive support interaction, after an NPS score of 9 or 10, and after achieving an in-product milestone. Never prompt during onboarding or before the user has experienced value. The [PLG Handbook](/plg-guide) covers timing referral prompts within the broader growth loop.

A [viral coefficient](/glossary/prioritization) above 0.5 is strong for B2B SaaS. Above 1.0 means your product grows virally without paid acquisition, but that is extremely rare in B2B. Most successful B2B referral programs contribute 10-25% of new signups. Do not compare yourself to consumer apps where viral coefficients above 1.0 are more achievable.

Set three layers: technical prevention (block same-IP, same-payment-method, and internal-domain referrals automatically), reward triggers (award on activation, not signup, so fake accounts never generate rewards), and manual review (flag accounts exceeding 3x the average referral rate for human review). Start strict and loosen as you understand the fraud patterns.

90 days minimum. Referral programs have a slow ramp because participation builds over time as more users encounter prompts and referral cycles complete. Measure weekly trends, not just cumulative numbers. If the week-over-week trend in referral signups is increasing after 90 days, the program is working even if absolute numbers are below target. ---