Referral Program Skill

A referral program turns happy customers into a growth channel — but most fail because the incentive is wrong, the ask comes at the wrong moment, or the economics don't work. This skill designs one that does: the right reward for both sides, the trigger at peak satisfaction, fraud guardrails, and a payback check so it's growth, not a giveaway.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• The product & economics — what you sell, price/margin, and roughly your CAC and LTV (so rewards can be sized).
• The "aha" / happy moment — when users feel the value most (the right time to ask).
• Audience motivation — would they refer for cash, credit, status, or to help a friend? B2C vs B2B differs a lot.
• Constraints — budget per referral, legal/region limits, what's technically feasible.

Output Format

Referral program: [product]

1. Incentive design — who gets what, and when it pays out:

Side	Reward	Triggers when	Why this reward
Referrer		(e.g. friend's first purchase)
Referred friend		(e.g. on signup)

Double-sided usually beats one-sided. Reward the outcome you want (paid conversion), not just a click/signup.

2. The ask moment & mechanics — when to prompt (right after the aha moment / a great experience), where (in-product, email, post-purchase), and the share flow (unique link/code, how it's tracked, how rewards are granted). Keep it one or two clicks.

3. The message — a short, shareable framing the referrer would actually send (helping a friend, not spamming for a kickback).

4. Fraud & abuse guardrails — self-referral, fake accounts, reward farming; the checks (reward on real conversion, limits, verification).