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2 examples of Referral Marketing metrics and KPIs

What are Referral Marketing metrics?

Finding the right Referral Marketing metrics can be daunting, especially when you're busy working on your day-to-day tasks. This is why we've curated a list of examples for your inspiration.

Copy these examples into your preferred tool, or adopt Tability to ensure you remain accountable.

Find Referral Marketing metrics with AI

While we have some examples available, it's likely that you'll have specific scenarios that aren't covered here. You can use our free AI metrics generator below to generate your own strategies.

Examples of Referral Marketing metrics and KPIs

Metrics for Referral Marketing

  • 1. Referral Rate

    The percentage of your customers who refer others to your business. This is calculated by dividing the number of referred customers by the total number of customers

    What good looks like for this metric: 10-30%

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Enhance referral incentives
    • Simplify the referral process
    • Promote the referral program frequently
    • Provide excellent customer service
    • Recognise and reward top referrers
  • 2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

    The cost associated with convincing a consumer to buy your product or service, including all marketing and sales expenses. This is calculated by dividing the total costs of acquisition by the number of new customers

    What good looks like for this metric: $7-$15 per customer

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Optimise marketing spend
    • Increase organic reach
    • Leverage social proof
    • Enhance referral incentives
    • Use cost-effective advertising channels
  • 3. Lifetime Value (LTV)

    The predicted net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer. This is calculated by multiplying the average purchase value, purchase frequency, and customer lifespan

    What good looks like for this metric: $400-$500

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Improve customer retention strategies
    • Enhance product/service quality
    • Upsell and cross-sell effectively
    • Provide excellent customer service
    • Offer loyalty programs
  • 4. Referral Conversion Rate

    The percentage of referred leads who become paying customers. This is calculated by dividing the number of referred customers who make a purchase by the total number of referred customers

    What good looks like for this metric: 10-20%

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Streamline referral onboarding
    • Offer time-limited incentives
    • Provide clear value proposition
    • Enhance user experience on landing pages
    • Engage referrals with follow-up communications
  • 5. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

    A measure of customer loyalty and satisfaction, calculated by asking customers how likely they are to recommend your business to others on a scale of 0-10 and subtracting the percentage of detractors from promoters

    What good looks like for this metric: 30-50

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Regularly solicit and act on customer feedback
    • Improve product quality
    • Provide exceptional customer service
    • Engage with customers on social media
    • Implement loyalty and reward programmes

Metrics for Word-of-Mouth Marketing

  • 1. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

    Measures customer loyalty and satisfaction by asking how likely customers are to recommend your product or service to others

    What good looks like for this metric: 50 or above is considered excellent

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Improve customer service
    • Enhance product quality
    • Request feedback and act on it
    • Offer referral incentives
    • Build a strong customer community
  • 2. Customer Referrals

    Tracks the number of new customers acquired through referrals from existing customers

    What good looks like for this metric: 10% of new customers is considered good

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Introduce a referral program
    • Simplify the referral process
    • Provide incentives for referrals
    • Highlight referral successes
    • Ask for referrals at peak satisfaction points
  • 3. Social Media Mentions

    Counts the number of times your brand is mentioned on social media platforms

    What good looks like for this metric: Varies widely by industry and brand size

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Engage with users on social media
    • Create shareable content
    • Encourage user-generated content
    • Monitor social media trends
    • Collaborate with influencers
  • 4. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

    Estimates the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account

    What good looks like for this metric: Varies widely by industry

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Enhance customer experience
    • Upsell and cross-sell products
    • Improve customer loyalty programs
    • Offer exceptional after-sales service
    • Personalise marketing efforts
  • 5. Review and Rating Volume

    Tracks the number and quality of reviews and ratings your products or services receive

    What good looks like for this metric: 4 stars or higher is considered good

    Ideas to improve this metric
    • Encourage customers to leave reviews
    • Respond to all reviews
    • Address negative feedback promptly
    • Showcase positive reviews
    • Simplify the review process

Tracking your Referral Marketing metrics

Having a plan is one thing, sticking to it is another.

Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to keep your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.

A tool like Tability can also help you by combining AI and goal-setting to keep you on track.

Tability Insights DashboardTability's check-ins will save you hours and increase transparency

More metrics recently published

We have more examples to help you below.

Planning resources

OKRs are a great way to translate strategies into measurable goals. Here are a list of resources to help you adopt the OKR framework:

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