In this guide, you’ll learn how to plan and launch a time-limited referral promotion or competition to drive customer acquisition during key campaigns or seasonal events.
How to Run a Time-Limited Referral Promotion or Competition
Running a time-limited referral promotion or competition is a proven way to drive customer acquisition during specific periods, such as holidays, sales events, or new product launches. Here's how to plan and execute a successful campaign:
Define Your Promotion
Decide on the following key elements:
Your Special Offer
Make the offer more enticing than your usual referral incentive. Some effective options include:
- Entry into a prize draw
- Higher-value reward (e.g. £20 instead of £10)
- A free gift with purchase
- Tickets to an event
- Early or exclusive access to a sale or product launch
- Extended reward validity
- A promotional partnership or co-branded reward
The Promotion Period
Outline the timeline clearly:
- Start date and end date of the promotion
- Friend purchase deadline: Referees must complete their purchase by this date to qualify.
(Typically, this deadline is set a few days after the promotion end date to account for delayed purchases.)
Qualification Criteria
Specify what both referrers and referees need to do:
- Minimum number of successful referrals?
- Do friends need to make a purchase for the referrer to qualify?
- Does a referrer need to share the offer with a certain number of people?
How You’ll Promote the Offer
Decide how you’ll raise awareness of the campaign across your channels, such as:
- Email newsletter
- Solus or promotional emails
- Homepage banners
- Social media posts and ads
- In-app or onsite messaging
After the Promotion Ends
Once your competition or limited-time offer ends:
- Your Client Success Manager will share a list of eligible referrers
- You can then select and contact your winner(s)
Important Setup Note
When creating a time-limited offer, make sure to schedule a follow-up offer to automatically go live once the promotion ends.
If you don’t set a follow-up offer, your referral programme will stop running when the time-limited offer expires, potentially missing out on valuable customer acquisition opportunities.
Ready to Launch?
Ready to set up your promotion? Fill in the dedicated form, and our Operations Team will help you
Examples of Past Competitions