How to set up a Referral program
In this article:
A referral program encourages your existing customers to bring in new buyers by offering rewards to both the referrer and their friend. In this guide, you'll learn how to set up and customize your referral program in Growave to drive engagement and boost customer loyalty.
How the Referral program works
An individual who shares the referral link, known as the Referring customer, registers for your store's rewards program. A unique referral link is automatically created for the Referring customer and can be found in the Rewards widget. The Referring customer can copy this link and share it with a Referred friend via social media, email, or messenger.
This is how it looks in the Rewards widget:
The Referring customer will be rewarded once the Referred friend makes their first purchase in your store. Learn more about reward settings based on order status.
Important
The Referring customer is eligible for a reward when the Referred friend completes a purchase in your store (regardless of whether the discount was utilized) and satisfies all criteria: first-time purchase on the store, no prior account with the store, and successful passage through the fraud filter.
The Referred friend shall click the referral link to access the store. On the website, a pop-up will appear where they need to click "Join now" and create an account to receive a reward.
Following this, an email containing the reward will be sent to the Referred friend. See details about setting up referral notifications below.
Set up referral rewards
To configure rewards for the Referral program:
- In the Growave admin panel, go to Rewards → Referrals.
- You can offer rewards for both the Referred friend and the Referring customer.
- Click the "Edit" button to open the rewards setting.
Referred friend reward settings
On this page, you can configure the rewards for the Referred friend. Here's how:
- Choose Reward type:
- Discount: Select from Fixed amount, Percentage discount, or Free shipping.
- Gift card: Provide a gift card as a reward.
Important
Gift cards created via Growave are processed and managed by Shopify, and their usage is subject to Shopify’s policies. If you choose gift cards as a reward, be aware of how they can be used. Learn more about gift card rules:
- Free product: Offer a specific product as a reward.
- No reward: Opt not to provide any reward.
Discount settings
If you choose Discount as a reward, you will see additional settings in both the Referred friend and the Referring customer sections:
- Apply discounts to All products or Specific collections.
- Allow Discount combinations. (available in Growave 2.0. Read more about discount combinations here).
- Set Minimum purchase amount — minimum order total required to use this reward.
- Set Discount lifetime.
- Add a prefix to discount codes to easily identify the Referral program rewards.
Do not forget to click "Save" when ready to proceed.
Referring customer reward settings
The Referring customer reward settings are similar to those of the Referred friend. However, an additional reward type, Points, is available. Here are the options you can choose from:
- Discount: Select from Fixed amount, Percentage discount, or Free shipping.
- Gift card: Provide a gift card as a reward.
Important
Gift cards created via Growave are processed and managed by Shopify, and their usage is subject to Shopify’s policies. If you choose gift cards as a reward, be aware of how they can be used. Learn more about gift card rules:
- Free product: Offer a specific product as a reward.
- Points: Choose either a Fixed or Variable amount of points depending on the amount spent by the referred customer.
- No reward: Opt not to provide any reward.
Set up referral channels and custom domain
Navigate to the Rewards → Settings to set up sharing preferences (Referral channels) for your Referral program. Click the down arrow and select the necessary sharing channels.
How to
For the Email channel, you can customize the title and body of the message that is automatically included when an existing customer shares their referral link using the email button. If you don’t provide a custom message, the following default text will be used in referral emails:
Email title: Your friend sent you a reward from {{shop_name}}
Email body: Join me in discovering the best of {{shop_name}}. Enjoy your {{reward_type}} by following this link: {{link}}.
Learn more about liquid variables to use in Growave email notifications
Important
Be sure to update the default email text if you choose not to reward referring customers or their referred friends. Also, remember to use the placeholders correctly. If you remove {{link}}, the Referral Program will not work as intended.
Below the Referral channels section, you can add your custom domain to create Referral links:
Feature availability
Custom domains for referral links are available starting from the Growth plan.
📖 Learn more about setting up a custom domain.
Manage fraud notifications
Navigate to the Rewards → Settings, and in the Fraud detection section, add email addresses to receive notifications about attempts to manipulate the Referral program. By default, the email associated with your Shopify store will be set. The notification email contains a standard message and a link to the Growave admin panel, allowing you to take prompt action.
Important
Add active and valid email addresses that you check regularly. This ensures you receive fraud alerts promptly and can take necessary action on suspicious orders.
In the Rewards → Referrals, there is a Reports section where you can review and manage reports of suspicious activities generated in the following scenarios:
- The Referring customer places the order using their referral link.
- The Referred friend has the same initials as the Referring customer.
- The Referred friend uses the same shipping address as the Referring customer.
- An unrelated customer who was not referred via a link applies multiple gift cards (more than two) to an order, including a gift card issued to a referred user.
Growave will block the reward for the Referring customer. From the Reports section, click Select action to:
- Approve reward — In this case, an email with the reward will be sent to the Referring customer.
- Exclude from referral program — Cancel the reward and disqualify the Referring customer from further participation.
Important
The Referred friend will still receive their reward (e.g., a discount, gift card, or free shipping) after following the referral link and registering with the store, even if fraudulent activity is suspected. Growave only reports such occurrences to you so you can take corrective action concerning the Referred friends' activity or order.
Customer account validation is handled entirely by Shopify, and Growave relies on Shopify’s validation results.
Enable referral notifications
Go to Rewards → Notifications → Referrals and activate the following email notifications using the toggle button: Friend received referral and Referral completed. Click the option title to edit premade email templates.
Enable the Referral program
Once you have set up Referral rewards and Notifications, you are ready to enable the Referral program:
- Go to Rewards → Settings → Referral program status.
- Click the "Enable" button.
In the Rewards Settings section, you can manage reward issuance and cancellation depending on order status. These settings are applied to the entire Rewards app, including the Referral program.
Learn more about reward settings based on order status.
Track users activity
You can track customer activity related to the Referral program under the Analytics and Customers menu sections:
Analytics
In the Analytics section of the Growave admin panel, navigate to Rewards → Referral program to view:
- Generated revenue and traffic
- Activity by sharing channels
The Overview dashboard under the Channels activity section displays:
- Referred customers
- Referral status
- Orders summary
- Referring customer reward
- Date:
- Pending: when the referred friend followed their link and signed up.
- Completed: when the referred friend made a purchase and the referring customer received their reward.
Customers section
In the Customers section of the admin panel, click the customer name to access their profile. Here you will find the following information:
- Number of friends referred
- Referred friends' details: email, referral status, order details, and date.
- Unique referral link of the customer
You have now completed setting up your Referral program. If you need further assistance or have any questions, please contact us at support@growave.io or use the chat icon in the bottom-right corner. We're here to help you maximize your Growave experience!