Referral marketing · Sales
Give happy customers an actual reason to mention you by name.
Word of mouth already happens for most decent businesses, but it happens by chance and cannot be relied on for a steady flow of new customers. A referral programme gives it structure: a specific reason to mention you, an easy way to do it, and something in it for the person who took the trouble.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Referral marketing sets up a specific, simple way for existing customers to introduce your business to people they know. It usually offers a small reward for both sides, rather than relying on word of mouth to happen on its own. GullySales designs the offer, makes it easy to share, and tracks who a new customer was actually referred by.
We design a referral offer that makes sense for your margin and customer relationship, whether that is a discount, a small gift or simple recognition. We also make sharing it as easy as forwarding a link or a WhatsApp message.
This differs from customer advocacy and proof marketing, which collects testimonials and case studies for others to see. Referral marketing is specifically about a customer actively introducing a new lead directly to you.
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
What owners tell us on the first call, in their words.
“Word of mouth happens by chance, not by design”
Some customers mention you to others naturally, but there is no structure encouraging or making it easy for more of them to do so.
“There is no reward for either side of a referral”
A customer who refers a friend gets nothing for the effort, and neither does the friend, so there is little extra incentive beyond genuine goodwill.
“Nobody tracks who actually referred a new customer”
A new customer mentions they heard about you from someone, but there is no system recording it, so referrals cannot be measured or rewarded properly.
“Sharing a referral is inconvenient”
There is no simple link or code to share, so a customer who wants to refer someone has to explain everything from scratch.
What we do
Everything that is included.
Each deliverable, and what it gets you. Nothing here is an extra.
Referral offer design
A specific reward for both the referrer and the new customer, sized sensibly against your margin.
Sharing mechanism
A simple link, code or message that makes referring someone take a few seconds, not a full explanation.
Referral tracking
A system to record who referred whom, so rewards can be issued accurately and the programme's return measured.
Promotion of the programme
The referral offer surfaced at the right moments, such as after a good experience, rather than buried on a page nobody visits.
Performance report
Referrals generated, converted and rewarded, reported alongside your other marketing channels.
How the result is measured
- Referrals generated per month
- Referral-to-customer conversion rate
- Cost per referred customer, including rewards
- Customers actively participating in the programme
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- Businesses with genuinely satisfied customers who could easily know similar potential buyers
- Companies relying on informal word of mouth that has never been given any structure
- Businesses with a healthy enough margin to offer a referral reward without it eating into profitability
- Local businesses and professional services where a personal introduction carries real weight
- Owners who suspect referrals already happen but have no way of tracking or encouraging them further
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- Businesses with very thin margins where any referral reward is genuinely unaffordable
- Companies whose customers have no realistic overlap with other potential buyers
- Very new businesses without yet enough satisfied customers to draw referrals from
How it works
From your first message to the first report.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Your brief
You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.
After the brief
A conversation and a written scope
We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
How the referral marketing work runs
- 1
Understand your margin and customer relationship
We agree what reward is genuinely sustainable and appropriate for your business and customer type.
- 2
Audit existing informal referrals
We check how much word of mouth already happens, to size expectations for the formal programme realistically.
- 3
Design the offer and mechanism
A specific reward and an easy sharing method are built and tested.
- 4
Implement and promote
The programme is surfaced at the right moments in your customer journey.
- 5
Measure and adjust
We track referrals and conversions, adjusting the reward or promotion if uptake is low.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with your brief and a conversation.
Option 1
The conversation on its own
A call after you send your brief. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix that matters most, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
What kind of reward works best?
How do you track who referred whom?
Will this cannibalise sales we would have gotten anyway?
How is this priced?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
By industry
Referral marketing, written for your industry.
Related services
Often bought with this, or instead of it.
Read before you buy
- Networking groups and your contact sphere: a plan for people who dislike networkingHow an owner who hates networking meetings can choose one group, give introductions before asking for any, and keep a simple register so the contact sphere starts producing orders.
- Relatives brought your best customers: building a source that does not depend on themHow a business whose best customers came through relatives builds a second source: named introductions from customers outside the family, and a record of where every customer first came from.
- How to ask for referrals without making the customer uncomfortableWhen to ask a happy customer for an introduction, the exact words to use, what to hand them so it is easy, and what to give back. Includes a script you can adapt.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.