Users love you but don't know how to explain your product to others
Most referrals fail because the referrer can't explain the product. Give them the words.
When to use
You have users who like your product but referral rates are low.
Hypothesis template
If we provide users with [pre-written referral messages], referral completion will increase by [target]% because most people don't know how to describe your product.
Method
The problem: A user wants to tell a friend about your product but doesn't know how to explain it. They say something confusing and the friend doesn't sign up.
How to do it:
- Write 3 referral message templates for different contexts:
- Casual: "Hey, I use this thing called [product] for [benefit] — check it out: [link]"
- Professional: "If you're looking for [solution], I've been using [product]. It [key benefit]: [link]"
- Social media: "[Product] helped me [specific result]. Free to try: [link]"
- Add a "Share" button that pre-fills the message
- Let users customize the message before sending
- Include their referral link automatically
- Track: which template gets used most, share-to-signup rate
Key insight: The referral friction isn't motivation — it's articulation. Users WANT to refer but don't know how to explain your product. Give them the words and they'll share.
Success metrics
- •Template usage rate
- •Share-to-signup conversion
- •Most popular template
- •Referral volume increase
Prerequisites
- Pre-written message templates
- A share mechanism with pre-filled messages
- Referral link generation
Common pitfalls
- •Writing messages that sound too corporate
- •Only offering one template
- •Not including the referral link automatically
- •Making the share flow too many steps
Source: Common growth pattern. Pre-written referral messages increase share completion by 40-60%.
Suggested ICE scores
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