Use when customers should bring other customers — one-way versus two-way incentives, reward structure and economics, trigger moments, referral messaging, tracking and attribution, fraud controls, and anti-spam compliance by region: TCPA for US, GDPR for EU, PDPA for SEA, LGPD for LATAM. Trigger on 'referral program', 'refer a friend', 'word of mouth', 'viral loop', 'how do I get customers to bring friends', 'affiliate rewards'. Also use when the user has happy customers and no system to use them. Not for — running your own community space, see `28-community-building-global`; posting inside third-party communities, see `38-community-seeding-global`; email flow mechanics, see `14-email-marketing-global`.
Use when customers should bring other customers — one-way versus two-way incentives, reward structure and economics, trigger moments, referral messaging, tracking and attribution, fraud controls, and anti-spam compliance by region: TCPA for US, GDPR for EU, PDPA for SEA, LGPD for LATAM. Trigger on 'referral program', 'refer a friend', 'word of mouth', 'viral loop', 'how do I get customers to bring friends', 'affiliate rewards'. Also use when the user has happy customers and no system to use them. Not for — running your own community space, see `28-community-building-global`; posting inside third-party communities, see `38-community-seeding-global`; email flow mechanics, see `14-email-marketing-global`.
metadata
{"version":"1.0.1","category":"operations"}
license
MIT
triggers
["referral program","refer a friend","word of mouth","viral loop","referral marketing"]
Word of mouth is the highest-LTV acquisition channel in every region. But the LEGAL framework around how you contact referred prospects differs HUGELY: TCPA (US, SMS), GDPR (EU, all channels), PDPA (SEA), LGPD (LATAM). Pick the right region variant or get fined.
For newbies
Who is this skill for?
Audience
Concrete example
DTC brand wanting cheaper acquisition
Already at USD 30 CAC; want USD 10 CAC via referral
B2B enterprise sales -> ABM / partnership programs are different motion (not covered here)
Brand ambassador / affiliate -> Use 27-personal-brand-monetize-global for influencer-affiliate (when available)
30-second pre-read
This skill produces ONE referral program design with 6 components: model selection (1-way / 2-way / multi-tier), incentive math (% of LTV), tracking infrastructure, anti-fraud measures, launch sequence, and KPIs (K-factor, viral coefficient). Pick 1 of 4 region variants — the variant tunes the LEGAL rules for contacting referred prospects (especially via SMS/email).
3 common errors
SMS-based referral in US without TCPA consent -> Up to USD 1,500 per text fines + class actions
Email-blast referred contacts in EU -> GDPR violation; referral programs touching EU prospects need explicit consent from the prospect, NOT just the referrer
Cash incentives that violate FTC endorsement rules -> "Refer a friend, get USD 100" requires disclosed material connection if referrer posts publicly
Why do you need this skill?
Without proper referral design:
US: Risk TCPA class action (USD 500-1,500 per message)
EU: GDPR violation if you store referred-prospect data without their consent
SEA: PDPA Singapore strict — most referral programs need both-side consent
LATAM: Brazil LGPD treats referred contacts as data subjects requiring consent
Universal: incentive math wrong -> losing money instead of growing
Universal: no anti-fraud -> 30-50% of "referrals" are self-referrals or bots
Plan the legal foundation correctly, get the incentive math right, ship a working viral loop.
Workflow
Step 0: Check global context file
|-- exists -> read product / customer / region
|-- missing -> suggest user run product-marketing-context-global first
Step 1: Pick region variant (US / EU / SEA / LATAM)
Step 2: Confirm prerequisites (NPS, AOV, LTV, customer base)
Step 3: Choose model (1-way / 2-way / multi-tier affiliate)
Step 4: Calculate incentive (15-25% of LTV)
Step 5: Set up tracking + anti-fraud
Step 6: Design referral flow (7 steps)
Step 7: Launch sequence (30-day plan)
Step 8: Measure K-factor / viral coefficient
Yes -> Read product, customer, region. Do NOT re-ask.
No -> Suggest running product-marketing-context-global first.
Step 1: Pick region variant
Ask: "Which is your PRIMARY region: US, EU, SEA, or LATAM?"
Where do most of your customers (and their referrals) live?
|-- US / Canada --> 01-us.md (TCPA SMS rules; CAN-SPAM email; CCPA data)
|-- EU / EEA / UK --> 02-eu.md (GDPR consent for ALL channels)
|-- Southeast Asia --> 03-sea.md (PDPA per country; mostly opt-in)
|-- Latin America --> 04-latam.md (LGPD Brazil; LFPDPPP Mexico)
|-- Vietnam only --> Use `18-referral-program` (VN skill)
Step 2: Prerequisites — does referral make sense?
When referral works
NPS >= 40 (customers actively like you)
Customer has natural reason to share (visible result, social currency, peer-relevant)
AOV high enough to fund meaningful incentive (USD 50+ ideal)
LTV high enough to justify CAC investment
Existing base of 100+ happy customers to seed
When referral does NOT work (skip this skill)
NPS < 20 (customers don't like you yet — fix retention first)
