Setting Up Your Program — Cards, Scripts & Tools

This lesson is practical and hands-on — everything you need to actually launch your referral program this week. No expensive software, no complex setup. Just the physical and digital assets that make the program real.

The Physical Referral Card

A small, well-designed referral card handed to every customer at job completion is still one of the most effective tools in a local service business. It's tangible, it goes on the fridge, and it gets shared.

• Front: business name + logo, phone number, website, QR code linking to your vCard.
• Back: 'Refer a Friend' headline, your For You AND a Friend offer in 2–3 lines, space for the customer to write their name (so you know who referred), and your phone number again.
• Print at VistaPrint or Canva Print — often under $30 for 250 cards.
• Or design a digital referral card image in Canva that customers can share by text or social.
• Always include a 'mention my name' mechanism so tracking is automatic.

The Digital Referral Link

1. Create a referral landing page — add a simple /refer page to your website with the For You AND a Friend offer, a short form (name, phone, who referred them), and your business phone number.
2. Create a short URL to share — use Bitly (free) to make a link like bit.ly/[businessname]-refer. Short enough to say on the phone.
3. Add it to your vCard — update the vCard to include the referral page URL. Now every share of the vCard also shares the referral offer.

Write the copy for a simple /refer landing page for my [TRADE] business in [CITY].

Headline: "Your Friend Sent You a Gift"
Include:
- A 2–3 sentence intro explaining the For You AND a Friend offer
- Bullet list of what the friend gets and what the referrer gets
- A simple form caption: Name, Phone, Email, "Who referred you?"
- A clear CTA: "Claim My Discount — Call [PHONE]"
Tone: warm, local, no corporate jargon.