We know people who are social duct tape. “You HAVE to see this artist” or “I know exactly who you need to talk to.” They see how things fit together and they get excited about making introductions. These people are gold. We can empower them and breed them.
Most people want to refer but they’re calculating the cost. They need to figure out the technology of Yelp or whatever platform. They might need to reach out to people they’ve been putting off talking to. They need the right words. And they’re risking their reputation as a curator and human being. That’s a lot.
Here’s what actually works: Show everyone how all three people win, make it easy, and show them we’ll treat their referral right.
The natural referrers already get it. When they refer an artist, they’re thinking:
- Their friend gets to have the same experience they had
- The artist gets a well-deserved fan who’ll appreciate their work
- They look philanthropic to the artist and knowledgeable about secret underground talent to their friend
Three wins. That’s the referral engine.
Make the wins obvious. At Boobietrap, I tell everyone we have 5 stars on Yelp. Someone might think “I like this weird show, but I don’t know if my friends will.” They hear everyone likes it and suddenly a recommendation feels safer. All three wins become clear.
Show love to everyone. People see we care about our customers and they trust we’ll take care of their referrals. Confident putting their reputation on the line because they know we’ll do good stuff with it.
Make it stupid easy. Lower the cost of referring. Simple link to share. Pre-written text they can copy. No complicated sign-up process for their friends.
Tell them what matters. Don’t make people figure out what to say. Help them focus on what’s important. “I would love for you to tell a friend that this magic show was great for short attention span people.” Or “I’m pumped that you thought what I did was a low-priced version of the LA Orchestra. Could you tell someone that?” Give them the language that captures what made their experience special.
Be clear about what we do and who it’s for. “I love connecting with parents who are way too busy with life to plan their kids’ whole birthday party.” When people understand exactly who benefits from what we do, they can spot the perfect referral in their own network. They’re not guessing if their friend would like it. They know.
The math is simple. Most businesses try to create referrals with discounts or commissions. The people who naturally refer are motivated by looking smart, helping their friends, and making good connections happen.
Triple-win visibility + trust + ease + clear language = referral machine that runs itself.