Buyer guide · Referrals
Design a referral reward around the first qualifying purchase.
A referral should reward a new customer action, not a link click or an empty signup. Set the value and completion rule before asking members to share.
- Reward form
- Points on selected cards
- Pending event
- Referral accepted
- Completion event
- First positive points transaction
Short answer
Reward the first qualifying purchase.
Design a loyalty referral program around a new member first earning points, not around a click or signup. In Reward Loyalty, each campaign assigns point rewards and loyalty cards to the referrer and referred member. A referral stays pending after acceptance and completes only on the referred member first positive points transaction. The product awards both sides in one operation and records the point entries, while the operator owns economics, promotion, support, and abuse review.
Decision criteria
Design the two-sided exchange.
Referrer value, new-member value, qualifying transaction, card destination, exposure, sharing, and support must form one understandable promise.
Two-sided value
Choose whether both people receive points and set each amount from perceived value, direct reward cost, threshold reachability, and full-completion exposure.
Qualifying customer
Aim the campaign at a person who has not recorded a points transaction. A signup alone, stamp action, or existing points history does not satisfy the completion rule.
Card and support path
Choose the card that receives each side, make its expiry and rewards understandable, and name who resolves a pending referral or disputed transaction.
Decision framework
Make every stage earn its place.
The program should create a useful introduction and a real first purchase without hiding the conditions.
Invite
Give eligible members a reason to recommend the business and a copyable link they can place in a real conversation. The product does not supply a paid ambassador or influencer workflow.
Landing and acceptance
State who invited the visitor, the welcome points, the business, and the next step. Acceptance creates a pending referral, not earned value.
First qualifying transaction
Complete on the referred member first positive points transaction on a loyalty card. Decide how staff or the connected purchase path will record that real transaction.
Reward and next visit
Place each point reward on a card with reachable rewards and a clear expiry rule. The welcome points should support the next useful action rather than end the relationship at signup.
Illustrative economics
Price both sides at full completion.
This example shows the method. Replace point cost and completion assumptions with the business data.
Assumptions
Assume the referrer receives 300 points and the referred member receives 200. Assume the expected direct fulfilment cost is 0.01 currency unit per point when points reach a selected reward.
Cost per completion
The two-sided point liability is 500 points. At the assumed cost, direct reward exposure is 5 currency units for one completed referral.
Campaign exposure
If 70 pending referrals complete, direct reward exposure is 350 currency units. Add promotion, staff, software operation, support, and any capacity cost.
Break-even question
Compare complete program cost with contribution from purchases that would not have occurred without the referral. Do not treat every referred-member purchase as incremental profit.
Controls and failure modes
Protect the completion event without accusing the customer.
The first transaction gate blocks signup-only rewards, but it does not remove every abuse or support case.
Self-referral and link switching
The product blocks self-referral. Before signup, a newer referral link can replace an earlier one, so public terms and support should explain how credit is assigned.
Already-active member
A referred person who already recorded points cannot complete the referral. Staff should check the documented rule before promising a manual reward.
Disabled or changed campaign
Pending referrals do not complete while the campaign is disabled. Pending referrals use the configured point amounts when they complete, so a later change affects that future award.
Operational abuse
Review unusual concentration, related accounts, corrections, and disputed first transactions in the ledgers. Reward Loyalty does not provide automated referral fraud scoring or a configurable per-member referral cap.
Implementation
Test the complete flow before promotion.
The landing page, first transaction, rewards, and staff explanation should agree.
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1
Configure the campaign
Choose the internal name, active state, referrer points and card, and referred-member points and card. Check the cards, reward thresholds, and expiry policy.
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2
Run the flow
Use safe accounts to copy the link, open the landing page, accept, inspect pending status, record the first positive points transaction, and verify both ledger entries and emails.
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3
Assign responsibilities
The partner owns economics, campaign status, promotion, records, and disputes. Staff own accurate first-purchase entry and escalation. Members own how and where they share the link.
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4
Review after 30 days
Track accepted referrals, completed referrals, completion rate, awarded points, direct cost, first-purchase contribution, corrections, disputes, and follow-on activity. Do not conclude durable retention or causal acquisition value yet.
Product and operating limits
Do not imply a referral engine the product does not provide.
- Reward Loyalty referral campaigns award points on selected loyalty cards. They do not provide cash commission, revenue share, milestone payouts, affiliate attribution, ambassador tiers, or custom completion formulas.
- Completion requires the referred member first positive points transaction. Stamp activity does not complete a referral, and a person with earlier points activity remains ineligible for completion.
- A 30-day review can find referral-flow and support failures. It cannot establish referred-customer lifetime value, durable advocacy, or the incremental value of every completed referral.
Implementation guides
Use current documentation for changing details.
Requirements, interfaces, settings, limits, and release behavior belong in the maintained product documentation.