18-referral-program-global
This skill designs end-to-end referral programs for global businesses, covering model selection (1-way versus 2-way structures), incentive calculations tied to customer lifetime value, fraud prevention, and attribution tracking. Choose from four region-specific variants that embed compliance requirements: TCPA regulations for US SMS campaigns, GDPR consent frameworks for EU contacts, PDPA rules for Southeast Asian markets, and LGPD standards for Latin America. Use this when launching word-of-mouth acquisition channels, scaling existing products through viral loops, or converting high-value customers into ambassadors while avoiding regulatory fines and legal exposure.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/minhnv0807/ai-business-skills /tmp/18-referral-program-global && cp -r /tmp/18-referral-program-global/skills/en/18-referral-program-global ~/.claude/skills/18-referral-program-globalSKILL.md
# Referral Program (Global)
> Word of mouth is the highest-LTV acquisition channel in every region. But the LEGAL framework around how you contact referred prospects differs HUGELY: TCPA (US, SMS), GDPR (EU, all channels), PDPA (SEA), LGPD (LATAM). Pick the right region variant or get fined.
---
## For newbies
### Who is this skill for?
| Audience | Concrete example |
|----------|------------------|
| DTC brand wanting cheaper acquisition | Already at USD 30 CAC; want USD 10 CAC via referral |
| SaaS adding viral loop | Existing PMF; want negative CAC growth |
| Service business (coaching, agency) | High-LTV; want client referrals |
| Subscription brand | High retention; turn customers into ambassadors |
| E-commerce wanting AOV growth | Refer a friend = both get discount |
### Who is this NOT for?
- **Vietnam-only referral** -> Use `18-referral-program` (VN skill) — Zalo / Messenger optimized
- **B2B enterprise sales** -> ABM / partnership programs are different motion (not covered here)
- **Brand ambassador / affiliate** -> Use `27-personal-brand-monetize-global` for influencer-affiliate (when available)
### 30-second pre-read
This skill produces ONE referral program design with 6 components: model selection (1-way / 2-way / multi-tier), incentive math (% of LTV), tracking infrastructure, anti-fraud measures, launch sequence, and KPIs (K-factor, viral coefficient). Pick 1 of 4 region variants — the variant tunes the LEGAL rules for contacting referred prospects (especially via SMS/email).
### 3 common errors
1. **SMS-based referral in US without TCPA consent** -> Up to USD 1,500 per text fines + class actions
2. **Email-blast referred contacts in EU** -> GDPR violation; referral programs touching EU prospects need explicit consent from the prospect, NOT just the referrer
3. **Cash incentives that violate FTC endorsement rules** -> "Refer a friend, get USD 100" requires disclosed material connection if referrer posts publicly
---
## Why do you need this skill?
Without proper referral design:
- US: Risk TCPA class action (USD 500-1,500 per message)
- EU: GDPR violation if you store referred-prospect data without their consent
- SEA: PDPA Singapore strict — most referral programs need both-side consent
- LATAM: Brazil LGPD treats referred contacts as data subjects requiring consent
- Universal: incentive math wrong -> losing money instead of growing
- Universal: no anti-fraud -> 30-50% of "referrals" are self-referrals or bots
Plan the legal foundation correctly, get the incentive math right, ship a working viral loop.
---
## Workflow
```
Step 0: Check global context file
|-- exists -> read product / customer / region
|-- missing -> suggest user run product-marketing-context-global first
Step 1: Pick region variant (US / EU / SEA / LATAM)
Step 2: Confirm prerequisites (NPS, AOV, LTV, customer base)
Step 3: Choose model (1-way / 2-way / multi-tier affiliate)
Step 4: Calculate incentive (15-25% of LTV)
Step 5: Set up tracking + anti-fraud
Step 6: Design referral flow (7 steps)
Step 7: Launch sequence (30-day plan)
Step 8: Measure K-factor / viral coefficient
```
---
## Step 0: Check global context
Check `.agents/product-marketing-context-global.md`:
- **Yes** -> Read product, customer, region. Do NOT re-ask.
- **No** -> Suggest running `product-marketing-context-global` first.
---
## Step 1: Pick region variant
Ask: **"Which is your PRIMARY region: US, EU, SEA, or LATAM?"**
```
Where do most of your customers (and their referrals) live?
|-- US / Canada --> 01-us.md (TCPA SMS rules; CAN-SPAM email; CCPA data)
|-- EU / EEA / UK --> 02-eu.md (GDPR consent for ALL channels)
|-- Southeast Asia --> 03-sea.md (PDPA per country; mostly opt-in)
|-- Latin America --> 04-latam.md (LGPD Brazil; LFPDPPP Mexico)
|-- Vietnam only --> Use `18-referral-program` (VN skill)
```
---
## Step 2: Prerequisites — does referral make sense?
### When referral works
- NPS >= 40 (customers actively like you)
- Customer has natural reason to share (visible result, social currency, peer-relevant)
- AOV high enough to fund meaningful incentive (USD 50+ ideal)
- LTV high enough to justify CAC investment
- Existing base of 100+ happy customers to seed
### When referral does NOT work (skip this skill)
- NPS < 20 (customers don't like you yet — fix retention first)
- Sensitive product category (financial advice, intimate health) — referrals feel weird
- Very low AOV (< USD 10) — incentive economics don't work
- Pre-launch or no customer base — no one to refer
### Ask the user
1. Product type? (DTC / SaaS / Service / Subscription)
2. Average AOV and LTV?
3. Existing happy customer count?
4. Goal: more new customers, lower CAC, or higher engagement?
---
## Step 3: Referral models
### Model 1: One-way (referrer gets reward, referee gets nothing)
**When:** Premium product where referee will buy regardless of incentive
**Examples:**
- Tesla referral program (referrer gets credit, new buyer pays full price)
- Robinhood (referrer gets free stock; referee just signs up)
**Pros:** Lower cost
**Cons:** Lower conversion (referee has no extra reason to buy now)
### Model 2: Two-way (BOTH referrer and referee get rewards) — DEFAULT CHOICE
**When:** 80% of cases; psychological "win-win" feels generous to referrer
**Examples:**
- Airbnb (both get USD 25-50 credit)
- Uber (both get USD 5-15 credit)
- Dropbox (both get +500MB)
**Pros:** Higher conversion; referrer feels good giving "gift"
**Cons:** Higher cost per acquisition
**Standard 2-way structure:**
```
Referrer gets: Discount / credit / free product / cash / reward
Referee gets: Discount / free trial / bonus on first order
```
### Model 3: Multi-tier affiliate (% commission on revenue)
**When:** SaaS, high-ticket courses, premium DTC; want power-users / influencers
**Examples:**
- ConvertKit / Kit (30% recurring affiliate)
- Shopify (200% of monthly fee per signup)
- AWeber, TeachablKe hoach Fullstack Marketing — master skill tong hop chien luoc, noi dung, trien khai, hieu suat, va timeline. Goi cac skill con de hoan thien output.
Use when the user needs an overall marketing plan for a period — objectives, segments, positioning, channel mix, content direction, budget, timeline, KPIs, and a risk matrix, adapted to US, EU, SEA, or LATAM. Trigger on 'marketing plan', 'marketing strategy for next year', 'go-to-market roadmap', 'plan for Q3', 'we have no marketing plan', 'where should we spend next quarter'. Also use when a founder only says the business needs to grow and has no idea which channel to start with. Not for — one specific campaign, see `02-campaign-brief-global`; working backward from a revenue goal to spend, see `10-reverse-kpi-global`; splitting a budget across channels and months, see `61-budget-planning-global`; taking a brand new product to market, see `59-go-to-market-global`.
Use when the user needs a monthly or weekly content calendar — posting schedule per channel, funnel ratio, content pillars, repurposing matrix, and an owner per slot. Trigger on 'content calendar', 'posting schedule', 'what should we post this month', 'editorial calendar', 'social media plan', 'we post randomly with no plan'. Also use when the user only says the team keeps running out of things to post. Not for — the brief for one specific post, see `36-content-brief-global`; the caption text itself, see `37-social-caption-global`; deciding next period content from last period data, see `40-next-content-plan-global`; a paid campaign timeline, see `02-campaign-brief-global`.
Lich noi dung thang — len lich dang bai da kenh voi ti le pheu, content pillar, repurposing matrix, va scoring tieu chi.
Brief chien dich marketing — 9 phan day du tu Context den Risk, bao gom creative direction, RACI, budget allocation theo phase, va auto-trigger cac skill lien quan.
Use when a specific campaign needs a brief the whole team can execute from — context, objective, audience, core message, creative direction, channels, deliverables, week-by-week timeline, approval gates, and risks. Trigger on 'campaign brief', 'creative brief', 'launch brief', 'brief the team on this campaign', 'we are running a promo next month', 'what is the plan for this campaign'. Also use when the user describes a promotion out loud and asks for something the team can actually run. Not for — the whole period plan, see `00-marketing-plan-global`; the list of design files needed, see `41-campaign-asset-list-global`; assigning work to one person, see `64-team-brief-global`; a new product launch sequence, see `59-go-to-market-global`.
Danh gia hieu suat marketing — audit performance ads va organic, chan doan root cause, de xuat toi uu voi action plan 48h va checklist hang tuan.
Use when marketing numbers look bad and the user needs to know WHY — layered root-cause diagnosis across tracking, delivery, creative, landing page, offer, and audience quality, 5-Whys, regional benchmarks for US, EU, SEA, and LATAM, and a 48-hour action plan. Covers dropshipping ROAS and BE-ROAS. Trigger on 'why is CPA so high', 'my ads are not converting', 'ROAS dropped', 'we are burning budget', 'performance is bad this month', 'diagnose the funnel'. Also use when the user pastes a screenshot of numbers with no question attached. Not for — auditing account configuration and scoring health, see `21-ads-audit-global`; writing a report someone else reads, see `07-marketing-report-global`; turning a raw export into insight, see `13-data-analysis-global`.