How to create the customer referral program
Give each customer a referral link, choose the friend's benefit and the referrer's reward, and let Cognizy ask for referrals at the right time.
2 min readBasicUpdated on November 12, 2026
Where to find it in Cognizy
Video lesson coming soon. For now, follow the steps below.
In the referral program, each customer gets their own link. When a friend arrives via WhatsApp with the code, Cognizy connects the two, opens the deal, and logs the reward for the person who referred them. Referral requests go out automatically after a high rating, a completed appointment, or a sale.
Where to find it in Cognizy
Before you start
- Have WhatsApp connected: requests and friends arrive through it.
- To ask after a high rating, turn on the satisfaction survey.
- Changes on this screen save automatically.
Step by step
- Step 1:
Open and the Program tab. In Friend's benefit, choose the Type (percentage discount, dollar discount, gift, or free text) and the amount. It shows up on the link page, and the business delivers it on the first purchase.
- Step 2:
In Referrer's reward, choose the type and write What the person gets. It applies when the friend makes a purchase; Cognizy logs it and sends a reminder, and the business delivers it.
- Step 3:
In Reward rules, specify what Counts as a sale, whether the Notice to the referrer goes out right away or after the team approves it, the limit on Rewards per person per month, and the Cost of each reward ($).
- Step 4:
In When to ask, turn on the moments when Cognizy asks for a referral via WhatsApp: High rating on the satisfaction survey, Completed appointment (hours later), and Deal won (days later).
- Step 5:
In Request message, write the Text or leave it blank to use the default. Use the variables {name}, {company}, and {link}.
- Step 6:
At the top, turn on Program on. From then on, the links work and requests start going out.
How to know it worked
The program stays on. Customers receive the request with their own link at the chosen moments, and each friend who arrives shows up on the Referrals tab.
If something goes wrong
A customer didn't receive the request.
Cognizy doesn't ask anyone who gave a rating of 3 or less in the last 30 days, has an open complaint, asked not to receive messages, or already received a request in the last 60 days. Requests go out from 9 AM to 8 PM, Monday through Saturday.
The referral link doesn't open.
Check that Program on is active: if it's off, the links stop working.
Next step
Deliver the referrer's reward and keep track of the scoreboard.
Sign in with your Cognizy account to save your progress.
Sign in