# How to Build an Automated Referral System for Your Agency

> To build an automated referral system, first decide the reward, when you will ask and who collects referrals. Then create an Airtable database with referrals, clients and rewards tables, a form for submitting referrals, and three Make.com automations: one to add clients to the tracker, one to import referrals from the form, and one to create a reward when a referral converts.

Source: https://fluxomate.com/blog/automated-referral-system.html  
Published by Fluxomate (https://fluxomate.com/), 2024-10-17. Section: Automation templates.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Of8j3sn50U

## Key takeaways

- A referral is a recommendation from your own client. An affiliate is a paid partner who promotes you for commission.
- Plan the programme around four questions: what the benefit is, when you ask, who collects referrals and how you track them.
- Offer a two sided reward so both the client and the referred lead benefit.
- Use three Airtable tables: referrals, clients and rewards, linked together.
- Three automations keep the data current: add the client, import referrals, create the reward on conversion.
- Ask more than once, and map points in the client journey where you will ask.

## What is a referral programme and why have one?

A referral is when someone recommends a person, product or service to someone else. Think of recommending a restaurant to a friend after a good meal. In most cases people trust a friend more than a list of reviews, and the same applies to agencies.

A referral is different from an affiliate. An affiliate is a paid partner who promotes your services for a commission. A referral is a personal recommendation from your own client. The same framework also works for employee referrals if you hire many people each month.


## How do you plan the programme?

Ask four questions: what, when, who and how.

1. What is the benefit? Referring carries a risk for the client, because they put their reputation with a friend on the line, so the reward must be worth it. Use a two sided benefit, where the client and the person they refer both get something, such as gift cards, entry into a prize draw, merchandise or a discount. We recommend keeping it simple, and cash works well. In our example the reward is split between a payment to the client and a discount for the new client.
2. When do you ask? The two main reasons people do not get referrals are that the service is not good enough, or that they are not asking. Map points in the client journey where you will ask, such as just after they buy, after a first small win, or after 30 days. Expect to ask more than once. An email campaign over 90 or 180 days can remind clients of the programme, in the same way a marketing nurture campaign works.
3. Who collects the referrals? Either your customer success team or sales team gets referrals live on a call and follows up, or you give the client a form to complete in their own time. The system here supports both.
4. How do you track them? That is the database and the automations below.

## How to build the Airtable database

We use Airtable because most people have it and it is easy to copy. For a proper client build we would use Noloco, a no code app builder, which links to your CRM more directly. The database has three tables. A table stores information, a record is one item, and a field is one piece of information about it.

- Referrals table: referral name, referral ID as an auto number, referral date, referral value, email and phone number, a referral status (lead, contacted, qualified, converted, lost), plus created time and last modified time, which help with automation.
- Clients table: client name, client ID as an auto number and email, which is used to match referrals to clients. Add a linked record field to referrals, and a rollup field that sums referral value only where the status is converted.
- Rewards table: reward ID as an auto number, a linked client, a status such as pending, issued or redeemed, a reward type such as credit, direct transfer, discount, event ticket or giveaway entry, and a reward value.

## How to build the form and dashboard

The referral form collects four things: the client email, the lead name, the lead email and the lead phone number. A client, a customer success manager or a salesperson can all use it. The example uses Google Forms, but Typeform or Tally would look better, and you should add your branding.

The dashboard is optional, but the database grows over time and becomes harder to read. In Airtable Interfaces you can add number elements for total referral value excluding lost leads, converted referral value and reward costs. Add charts, such as a pie chart of referral progress and a bar chart of reward types, to see whether the programme is paying off.


## Automation 1: add the client to the tracker

The trigger is a button in the CRM labelled ask for referral, which sends a webhook to Make.com. Other triggers work too, such as 30 days after joining or a form completion.

Add a search record step in Noloco to get full contact details, since the webhook does not include everything. Then add an Airtable create record module for the clients table, mapping the client name and email. Add the client to your referral email campaign as well.


## Automation 2: import referrals from the form

1. Trigger: the Google Forms Watch Responses module. Make checks at regular intervals rather than instantly, so set the interval to suit your volume.
2. Search the Airtable clients table by the client email to get the client record ID.
3. Use Set Multiple Variables with the split function, separated by comma and space, so a client can submit one or several referrals in a single response. Do this for emails, numbers and names. Tell clients and your team to format entries this way.
4. Add an Iterator on the array so each referral becomes its own bundle.
5. Create a record in the referrals table. Use the get function with the bundle order position to pull the right name, email and number for each bundle. Set the status to lead, the date to now, and link the client record ID.
6. Optionally send the client a thank you email through Gmail, sent once and placed outside the iterator. Sending HTML emails keeps formatting cleaner.

## Automation 3: create a reward when a referral converts

The trigger is the Airtable Watch Records module on the referrals table, using last modified time as the trigger field, with a formula that checks that the referral status equals converted. Make sure the field name in the formula matches your Airtable field name exactly.

Then search the clients table using the linked client ID, and create a record in the rewards table. Map the client record, set the status to pending, choose the reward type and add the value. You can also create a task for your customer success manager to make sure the reward is fulfilled.


## Seven ways to improve the system

- Automate the reward itself, for example through a banking integration, to avoid delays.
- Use Noloco rather than Airtable so the system links directly to your CRM.
- Add the programme to your client portal so clients can track referrals, rewards and submissions, and add gamification such as rankings.
- Work referral leads differently. Mention that their friend has had good results, keep the mindset consultative, and be careful, because how you treat the friend reflects on the client.
- Send a screenshot of you and the client on a call to the referred lead, so they know it is genuine.
- Put someone in charge of the programme to check leads and automations and review the return on the rewards.
- Create a custom, branded form that reminds clients why they are doing it, and lets them choose a preferred reward.

## Questions people ask

### What is the difference between a referral and an affiliate programme?

An affiliate is a paid partner who promotes your services for a commission. A referral is a personal recommendation from one of your own clients to someone outside your agency.

### How do you track referrals for an agency?

Use a database with three linked tables: referrals, clients and rewards. A form feeds new referrals in, and Make.com automations keep it current and create rewards when a referral converts.

### When should an agency ask clients for referrals?

Map points in the client journey, such as right after they buy, after a first small win, or after 30 days. Ask more than once, and consider a 90 or 180 day email campaign about the programme.

### What reward should I offer for referrals?

Offer a two sided reward so the client and the new lead both benefit. We recommend keeping it simple, and cash works well, such as a payment to the client and a discount for the new client.

Tools used: Airtable, Make.com, Google Forms, Noloco, Gmail

Free templates for this guide: https://fluxomate.com/resources.html?r=automated-referral-system