Here’s the summary version of our structure for creating referral drives

1 – Immediate Results – Don’t wait, as soon as the friend signs up everything happens right away. Creates excitement in the class and gets everyone wanting to join in.

2 – Loot box mechanics – There is a reason video games use these. People love surprises, and love the chance to get lucky. It gets the whole room in on the excitement as well. Spin a wheel, pop a balloon, open a mystery envelope/box, etc.

3 – Make it visible – It should be impossible for a kids to walk in and not ask “what’s that” during a referral drive. And then, “How do I get to do it”. Everyone should see it every time they come in the door.

4 – Make it an event – Tie it to a holiday, set a end date, make it something special. I prefer drives to evergreen events as evergreen events tend to just become background noise and get forgotten.

5 – Combine it with bring a friend events – Parents nights, bbq’s, workshops, anything a member can bring a guest too.

6 – Prizes are public – Bring them up in front of the class, get everyone cheering, they do the thing (pop a balloon, spin the wheel, etc.) in front of as many people as possible.

7 – Make it easy to share – guest passes, invitations with qr codes, etc. Give everyone the things they need to actually invite people.

8 – Communicate with both kids & parents – Both the kids and the parents need to know and understand it. Talk about it in class, send out emails, talk about it with parents, etc.

9 – Recognition matters as much as the prize – Prizes are great, but recognition can influence retention and building momentum. Sometimes the recognition is more important than the actual prize in terms of growth.

10 – Recognize referrals even if they don’t join – Even if a friend doesn’t join, if a member brought them in they did us a serious solid. That deserves some recognition. If they go through it all and the friend doesn’t join and they get nothing, not even a bit of recognition they are unlikely to put the effort in again.