Building a referral programme that strengthens your community

Happy members and customers are a valuable asset to any club or organisation

According to HubSpot, customers rely on word-of-mouth between two and ten times more than paid advertising, and 74% of people say recommendations from individuals they know influence their purchasing decisions.

This means having a well-designed member referral programme is one of the most powerful ways to attract new members to your club or organisation.

Whether you run classes, sessions, clubs, or community activities, recommendations from existing members and families often carry far more weight than traditional advertising.

So, how can you create a membership referral programme for your club that actually works? Read on for actionable tips and ideas that can help encourage more referrals and sustainable growth within your organisation.

What is a member referral programme?

The purpose of a member referral programme is to encourage existing members to refer others to your club or organisation. Often in exchange for an incentive, members share their positive experiences with friends, family, and colleagues in the hope they become members themselves.

In most cases, this results in enquiries from people who are already a good fit for your organisation. There is also an increased chance that the person will become a paying member because the recommendation comes from somebody they already trust.

Interested in having a steady stream of new members joining your club or organisation? Then a membership referral programme could be the answer.

How to create a successful member referral programme

Before you dive into creating your referral programme, it’s important to make sure you have solid foundations in place.

After all, once it’s up and running, you need to make sure it works for everyone involved. Otherwise, it’s unlikely to drive the results you want to see.

Create some goals

The process of defining your goals is often more challenging than it seems. However, it’s incredibly useful.

Make sure you know what you want to achieve with your member referral programme. Are your goals growth driven, revenue focused, or centred around increasing participation in quieter sessions or classes?

The next steps become much easier once your goals are clear.

Simplicity is key

Keep things simple when creating your referral programme, even if you’re tempted to throw lots of ideas at it.

The process needs to be quick and easy to understand. Otherwise, it can become off-putting for members or families. Easy-to-read bullet points and clear instructions usually work best.

For example:

Ready to earn yourself a reward?

All it takes is three simple steps:

• Tell your friends or family about our sessions and membership benefits
• Encourage them to join the community
• Ask them to include your name when booking or registering

Get the timing right

Although there’s nothing stopping you from asking members to refer a friend at any time, there are certain moments that naturally see more success.

For example, referrals often work best:

• After a positive review or testimonial
• Following a successful event or performance
• When people are already actively talking about your organisation
• After a particularly positive customer experience

However, before asking anybody to refer others, it’s important to gauge whether they are genuinely happy with their experience. If you are unsure, it is usually better to focus on strengthening relationships first.

Consider the incentives

You’ve probably seen referral programmes offering cash rewards or gift cards over the years. While these can work well, incentives are often most effective when they feel relevant to your organisation and audience.

For example:

• Free sessions or classes
• Discounted membership fees
• Merchandise or branded kit
• Priority booking access
• Goodie bags or small thank-you gifts

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), for example, offers members a reward that can be exchanged for plants or garden accessories when they refer a friend. The incentive feels directly connected to the interests of their audience, which helps make the programme more effective.

Make sure you shout about it

After spending time putting your referral programme together, it would be a shame for people not to know it exists.

We recommend creating a dedicated page on your website explaining the offer clearly, alongside regular promotion through your communication channels.

You could also create a referral push during quieter periods where your team actively promotes referrals across social media, newsletters, and member communications.

Consider promoting your referral programme through:

• Social media
• Email newsletters
• Blogs
• Email signatures
• SMS or member messages

Review as you go

Referral programmes rarely work perfectly the first time around, so it’s useful to review them regularly.

Here are a few useful things to monitor:

• Are you receiving the number of referrals you expected?
• Which channels are referrals coming from?
• Do the incentives appeal to your members?
• Are referred members staying long term?

Once you start gathering this information, it becomes much easier to improve and refine your approach over time.

Make sure you say thank you

Thanking members who help raise awareness of your organisation is an important part of any referral programme.

Alongside incentives, a personalised thank-you message can help strengthen relationships and encourage future referrals too.

It’s also important to make new members feel welcomed quickly. The faster you create a positive first impression, the more likely people are to stay engaged long term.

Ideas for your member referral programme

Member incentives and referral programmes are certainly not one size fits all, so it can be useful to test a few different approaches to see what works best for your organisation.

Some popular ideas include:

• Contests and giveaways
• Refer a certain number of people for a reward
• Seasonal referral promotions
• Exclusive events
• Discounts or reduced membership fees
• Mystery gifts or goodie bags
• Free kit or merchandise
• Free classes when members bring along a friend