Referral Marketing for Small Business
Turn happy customers, local relationships and word of mouth into consistent growth.
Build a practical referral marketing system that helps you encourage, track and measure customer and business referrals instead of leaving word of mouth to chance.
What you’ll learn and practise
- a clear picture of how referrals currently work in your business
- an ideal referred customer profile
- a simple referral message
- identified referral moments in your customer journey
- a process for asking for and receiving referrals
- referral request wording you can actually use
- clear rules for referral rewards if you choose to offer them
- a shortlist of potential referral partners
- a referral tracking system
- key referral marketing measures
- a 30-day plan to put your system into practice
Preview the course
Start with two selected free lessons, then enrol when you are ready to continue.
Full course access
Enrol to unlock the complete Referral Marketing for Small Business course, including all modules, practical activities, referral tools and worksheets.
Course curriculum
Module 1.From Word of Mouth to Referral Marketing
4 lessonsUnderstand what separates passive word of mouth from a referral marketing system and establish your starting point.
- 1.1Word of Mouth Is Valuable. But Is It a System?12 min
- 1.2Why Referrals Can Be So Powerful14 min
- 1.3What Makes a Referral System?16 min
- 1.4Establish Your Referral Baseline18 min
Module 2.Create a Business People Want to Recommend
4 lessonsIdentify what makes your business worth recommending, decide who you most want referred and find the moments when a referral request feels natural.
- 2.1Why People Recommend Businesses14 min
- 2.2Decide Who You Actually Want Referred14 min
- 2.3Make Your Business Easy to Recommend16 min
- 2.4Find Your Best Referral Moments16 min
Module 3.Build Your Referral Process
5 lessonsTurn your referral moments into clear triggers, natural requests, easy referral methods and a process for receiving, following up and recording every referral.
- 3.1Decide When You Will Ask10 min
- 3.2How to Ask Without Making It Awkward12 min
- 3.3Make the Referral Easy12 min
- 3.4What Happens When the Referral Arrives?14 min
- 3.5Make the Process Work Without You Remembering Everything14 min
Module 4.Design Your Referral Reward
6 lessonsDecide whether incentives make sense, what a successful referral means and how to create a reward structure that is clear, sustainable and measurable.
- 4.1Do You Actually Need a Referral Reward?10 min
- 4.2Define What Counts as a Successful Referral12 min
- 4.3Choose the Right Type of Reward14 min
- 4.4Make Sure the Numbers Work14 min
- 4.5Create Clear Rules Before You Launch16 min
- 4.6Design the Experience, Not Just the Reward12 min
Module 5.Build Your Referral Partner Network
7 lessonsIdentify the businesses around your customer's journey, recognise valuable referral decision points, decide who is worth approaching and build partnerships you can measure.
- 5.1What Makes a Good Referral Partner?14 min
- 5.2Map the Businesses Around Your Customer12 min
- 5.3Decide Which Partners Are Actually Worth Approaching14 min
- 5.4How to Approach a Potential Referral Partner14 min
- 5.5Decide How the Partnership Will Work13 min
- 5.6Should Referral Partners Be Paid?12 min
- 5.7Measure Referral Partners Separately16 min
Module 6.Track, Measure and Grow
7 lessonsChoose where referrals are recorded, decide what to track, understand the numbers that matter and build a 30-day plan for putting your referral system into action.
- 6.1Choose Where You Will Track Referrals12 min
- 6.2What Should You Record?12 min
- 6.3Understand the Numbers That Matter18 min
- 6.4Measure Quality, Not Just Quantity12 min
- 6.5Find Where the System Is Breaking14 min
- 6.6Run a Simple Monthly Referral Review14 min
- 6.7Build Your 30-Day Referral Marketing Plan22 min
Referral Marketing for Small Business FAQs
- Is Referral Marketing for Small Business self-paced?
- Yes. Referral Marketing for Small Business is self-paced written training. You can work through the 33 lessons across 6 sections in your own time and pick up where you left off.
- Is Referral Marketing for Small Business video-based?
- No. The lessons are written, with practical tasks, templates and worksheets you can apply straight away.
- Who is Referral Marketing for Small Business for?
- Marketers who want stronger foundations, plus business owners, freelancers and consultants who manage their own marketing.
- How much does Referral Marketing for Small Business cost?
- A$199 one-time payment, which includes 12 months of access. It is a one-time payment and does not renew automatically.
- Can I try part of the course first?
- Yes. Selected lessons are available as a free preview, so you can see the format before enrolling.