Most small businesses run referrals by telling happy customers "just mention our name." The problem: you have no idea if it's working, who to reward, or which customers are your best advocates.

CardLinks fixes this in under 10 minutes. Here's exactly how to set up your first trackable referral flow.

What you'll have at the end

  • A branded referral page customers can tap or scan to
  • Unique referral links for each participating customer
  • An attribution dashboard showing who referred who and what converted
  • An optional reward trigger (discount code, credit, gift card)

Step-by-step setup

Step 1 — 2 min
Create your referral flow

In CardLinks, create a new Referral Flow. Give it a name (e.g. "Summer referral — Salon"), pick your business type, and set the conversion event — what counts as a successful referral? A booking? A purchase? A form fill? You define it.

Step 2 — 2 min
Set your referral offer (optional)

Decide if you want to incentivize referrals. You can offer: a discount code for the referrer, a first-time discount for the new customer, or both. If you're not ready for rewards, skip this — you can add it later.

Step 3 — 2 min
Generate your QR code (or tap card)

CardLinks generates a QR code you can print, display at your counter, or share digitally. If you have an NFC tap card, you can link it to your referral flow too. The QR is ready instantly — no hardware required to start.

Step 4 — 2 min
Brief your team

Your staff doesn't need to do much. At checkout or end of service, they can say: "If you loved your visit, tap or scan this to share with friends — we'll take care of the thank-you." That's it.

Step 5 — ongoing
Watch the dashboard

Every time a customer scans your QR and shares a referral link, and that link leads to a conversion, you'll see it in your CardLinks dashboard: referrer name, referred contact, source (NFC/QR/link), conversion event, and reward status.

Tips that make it work

  • Ask at the right moment. The best time to ask for a referral is right after the positive experience — at checkout, end of session, or when a customer compliments you.
  • Keep the offer simple. "Refer a friend, get $10 off your next visit" is more compelling than complex tier systems. Simple wins.
  • Display the QR where people wait. At the register, in the waiting area, or on a receipt. Idle moments are referral moments.
  • Review your top referrers weekly. Knowing who your best advocates are lets you thank them personally and turn them into VIPs.

What's next

Once your first flow is running, you can add locations, track referral performance by rep, set up reward automations, and connect to your CRM or booking system.

Ready to set up your first referral flow?

Book a 20-minute demo and we'll walk through it together.

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