Referral marketing is one of the most effective lead generation and customer acquisition strategies. While content marketing, PPC, and social media might be more popular, experienced marketers know the importance of referrals.

Referral marketing is a cost-effective way to mobilize your customers and encourage them to become your brand advocates and bring in new customers. Referral marketing campaigns can also be extended to include employees, affiliates, influencers, and other forms of brand advocates.

There is no better proof of quality than a customer saying that they love a brand. That is what referral marketing is based on and that is why it works.

However, it is not always feasible to acquire in-house capabilities to run such programs, especially for a new company. It is also difficult for large companies to keep track of their referrals and rewards programs all by themselves.

That is where referral marketing software tools can help you and we have curated a list of some of the best ones in the market.

Disclosure: This content may contain a few affiliate links, which means if you click on them, I will get a commission (without any extra cost to you).

Which Are the Best Referral Marketing Software Tools?

Now that you know how important referrals are for your business, here are 13 of the best referral marketing tools to get you started.

1. Buyapowa

When it comes to referral marketing tools, no list is complete without Buyapowa. This user-friendly platform simplifies referral marketing and offers reasonable pricing for enterprises that want to take advantage of its features.

Being one of the top referral marketing solutions in the UK, Buyapowa has catered to numerous brands in the telecom industry. These include the likes of Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.

One of the biggest highlights of this referral marketing platform is that it opens up the possibility of doing omnichannel referral marketing campaigns. Additionally, this referral program software simplifies account and voucher management as these could prove to be challenging for enterprises.

And guess what?

This referral software has got fraud prevention features to ensure that you only spend your budget on genuine referrals. But what really stands out when it comes to Buyapowa is the fact that it makes it easy for your advocates to share referral links on Instagram.

Finally, it provides advanced A/B testing features and the capability to launch multiple campaigns with ease.

buyapowa

Price

Get in touch with their team to get a customized plan for your enterprise.

2. Friendbuy

This is one of the best referral marketing software tools that activate your existing customers to bring in more customers.

This refer-a-friend program aims to turn your customers into brand advocates by providing the right incentives. These could be anything from points to discounts to any other form of reward.

Friendbuy has a team of referral marketing experts that can help you design your own referral program from scratch. From planning to execution, they can help you start running your referral program in no time.

What’s more, they have a powerful analytics suite. This means that you can track and measure the performance of your referral program with ease.

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3. GrowSurf

This is a referral marketing solution for SaaS and software startups. It is specifically designed for small, growing companies and can be installed very quickly.

Within one day, you can integrate this referral software solution with your business and start your own referral program. It doesn’t even require much coding knowledge on your part as just two lines of code can get this started. This saves you the cost you would have otherwise incurred on software developers.

Once integrated, you can customize your landing page and incentivize customers to refer their friends. It also helps you optimize your sign-up forms to help with lead generation.

But is this referral software right for you?

Overall, this referral program software is a good option if you have a startup and need a quick start for your referral marketing program.

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Price

Plans start at $49 per month billed annually.

4. Viral Loops

Unlike most other tools on this list that just integrate with a business’s website, this one is a referral marketing platform for Facebook Messenger. It also lets you build custom landing pages on your website, but the referrals happen via Facebook or other messaging services.

Sounds like one of the best referral marketing programs, right?

This referral program software is a template-based tool and comes with several preset templates that you can use to send messages on Facebook Messenger.

For example, it has a separate template for “refer a friend” and one for a “giveaway.” This covers all the essential messaging templates that you might need for a referral campaign.

But how does this referral program work?

You ask your customers to invite their friends to join your referral program, make a purchase, or any other desired action.

It is a milestone-format referral program where people get certain rewards for successfully inviting “x” number of friends. They unlock bigger and better rewards as they cross each milestone.

This gamification feature makes this a fun and engaging way to get referrals from your existing customers.

And the best part?

This referral program software is simple, effective, and can be used by any type of business.

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Price

Plans start from $34 per month. A free trial is also available.

5. InviteBox

This is simple-to-use referral software that can add a referral program to any website very quickly, within a matter of minutes. All you need to do is copy and paste their widget code on your website.

That said, the customization part would obviously require a little more time and effort. Still, this is a quick and hassle-free referral software tool to jumpstart your referral program.

Is this referral software right for you?

This referral program tool is suitable for use for any type of business. Whether you have an ecommerce company or a SaaS business, you can use it.

The only thing that differs from business to business is the kind of incentive that you give your customers to refer you to their friends. The rest works the same for all types of businesses.

This referral software provides four types of referral programs:

  • Instant Rewards – Reward customers as soon as they refer a friend.
  • Goal-Based Rewards – Set milestones and reward them for bringing “x” number of referrals.
  • Referral Contest – Reward customers who get the maximum number of referrals.
  • Sweepstakes and Giveaways – Make it a random selection of who wins in a particular period of time, with the probabilities being higher for those with more referrals.

These provide enough customization options for you to design the perfect referral program for your business.

invitebox-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price

Plans start at $23 per month when billed annually. A free trial is also available.

6. InviteReferrals

This is an online referral marketing software solution that you can use to create your referral program. It integrates with numerous other platforms and apps to make it easy for you to start your referral programs.

The referral program platform is especially useful if you have an app and want to drive your app downloads. It has a simple process where a customer invites a friend and gets rewarded for each download.

Wait, there’s more…

This referral software also has a built-in analytics tool that can help you assess the performance of your campaign and individual members. Moreover, it provides the option to run different types of referral program campaigns like “top referrer contest” and “giveaway campaigns.”

invitereferrals-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price

Plans start at $79 per month when billed annually.

7. Hello Referrals

This is a web-based referral marketing platform that integrates easily with your website. It helps you send, receive, and track referrals without any hassle.

This referral program tool is not as sophisticated or personalized as some of the other options on this list as it does not provide much support in designing and optimizing your campaigns. However, it is a good option if all you need is a platform to manage the referral process and keep track of things.

This reflects in its pricing as well, which is comparatively lower than most options on this list.

Is it right for you?

If you just want a referral management and tracking tool, then this is a good option for you.

hello-referrals-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price: Plans start at $25 per month. A free trial is also available.

8. Ambassador

This is an all-in-one referral program software solution that helps you manage all of your brand ambassadors from one place. These could be your customers, employees, or any other brand ambassadors or advocates.

This is a popular tool trusted by the industry experts owing to their past performance that shows that they actually drive results. To date, they have registered 10 million-plus brand ambassadors and created over 38 million referral touchpoints for their clients.

The program works just like any other referral program that provides rewards for referrals. Only, in this case, it extends beyond customers and includes all your brand advocates.

Do you know the best part?

Overall, this is an all-in-one solution for all your referral marketing needs. This is especially suitable for already established businesses that have a solid network of brand advocates that they would like to manage. Smaller companies and startups might need such a software solution in the long run but can start with something basic.

ambassador-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price: Available on request.

9. Genius Referrals

This is another all-in-one referral software solution that extends the scope of your referral program beyond your customers. It allows you to manage your brand advocates like employees, customers, affiliates, etc. from a single dashboard.

It has built-in tools that can track conversions and measure the performance of each advocate. The rewards are then automatically transferred to each advocate according to their performance.

They also let you customize your program and select which rewards you want to give. Moreover, you can also select the double-reward option and reward the new customers that enroll in the program.

How can you resist?

The best feature is that the advocates get their own dashboard from where they can assess how they are doing and what rewards they can get.

The company claims to be a cheap referral program even though the pricing may seem at par or more than some other options on this list. However, if you compare the features then you can see that this tool is definitely offering a lot more.

genius-referrals-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price: Plans start at $49 per month. A free trial is also available.

10. Mention Me

This is a simple, yet effective, refer-a-friend type of customer referral program. This takes the traditional word-of-mouth marketing online and makes it rewarding for your customers to become your brand advocates.

This platform is trusted by over 450+ brands from different industries and claims to help your customer acquisition rate grow by up to 30%.

What makes this referral program software awesome?

One of their best and most unique features is that they provide A/B testing to optimize your program. This ensures that your campaign’s performance increases over time as you keep optimizing its different aspects.

There are numerous customization options that are available for you to design the best program as per your business needs.

Is this referral marketing software right for you?

Overall, it is a great option for all types of businesses, regardless of size or industry.

mention-me-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price: Plans are customized depending on each client’s individual needs and, therefore, there are no fixed pricing plans.

11. Influitive

This is an award-winning referral software solution that helps you mobilize your customers and brand advocates for customer acquisition. It is quite a reputable tool that is trusted by brands like IBM and Cisco.

Power-packed with features, this platform takes your customer referrals and reviews to the next level.

How?

It helps you use gamification to run referral campaigns that help you scale your referral marketing. It does not limit its scope to just customers but also extends it to other brand advocates.

Moreover, it also helps you manage your reviews. You can not only keep track of your customer reviews but also encourage your customers to write more reviews.

influitive-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price: Available on request.

12. Referral Rock

This is a customer referral program that claims to be more involved in the process than any other tool. They also have a dedicated success manager for each client, who ensures that the campaigns are optimized for success.

They have successfully run 1000+ referral campaigns and have big names like AT&T and TripAdvisor as their clientele.

The coolest part about this referral software?

It has a refer-a-friend widget that you can easily integrate with your website and start your referral program. It provides several reward options, including dual-sided rewards for both the customer who referred and the one they brought in.

This is an especially good referral tool for ecommerce companies as it integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, Salesforce, and more. The unique thing about their process is that they keep your sales funnel in mind to create the best customer touchpoints for your referral marketing campaign.

This is a premium solution that combines referral marketing, brand advocacy, and influencer marketing all in one. It can, essentially, help you manage all your partners and brand advocates in an easy and optimized manner.

referral rock referral marketing software tool

Price: Plans start at $200 per month.

13. Amplifinity

This tool was just referral program software until it got acquired by Impartner. Combined, they form a powerful referrals and partners management platform that you can use to manage all your brand advocates.

This all-in-one tool automates a lot of aspects of your campaign from partner/customer registration to payments, making it much easier for you. You can use it to acquire new customers, generate leads, track the performance of your partners, and a lot more.

And the best part about this referral software?

It has different types of referral programs for different business needs. This makes it suitable for almost all types of businesses.

amplifinity-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price: Available on request.

Bonus Tool #1: Referral Hero

This is the referral marketing software tool behind the success of Dollar Flight Club’s ambassador program, which got them 13% more new customers.

The tool has been used by over 6000 companies for their pre-launch referral campaigns. It helped them acquire customers through referrals even before their launch, to join their waiting list.

Apart from that, it also provides more traditional referral programs where you can mobilize your existing customers to gain more customers. It specializes in creating milestone-based programs where customers are rewarded for completing certain goals.

And what’s more…

This tool integrates with over 500 apps, making it a good option for different types of businesses.

referral-hero-referral-marketing-software-tool

Price: Plans start at $49 per month.

Did You Find One You Liked?

This post lists some of the best tools and platforms that you can use for your referral programs. These include all-in-one premium tools as well as cheaper, limited functionality options to cater to all types of businesses.

Use these to run successful referral campaigns for customer acquisition and lead generation.

Do you know of any other tools that are not included here but have worked well for you? Please share them with us in the comments below.

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