Referral programmes that run themselves. Happy moments on WhatsApp.

When a customer hits a happy moment, ask on WhatsApp, send a personal link they can forward, and reward both sides when a friend joins, all tracked in HubSpot.

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Flo, the Flowella mascot, pointing at a simple flowchart in an open ring-bound playbook with colourful tabbed pages
Trigger
A promoter score or a renewal
Channel
WhatsApp, with the answers in HubSpot
Workflow
4 templates, 1 Flow, 1 branch
Needs
HubSpot workflows, on Professional or Enterprise

Step through the play as the customer.

Nadia runs a bakery and uses your bookkeeping service. Each step shows what she sees on WhatsApp and what lands on her HubSpot record, from the ask to a link she can share. Your answers in the Flow decide the branch. All five properties are custom ones the play creates.

Flo pointing along one of three signpost arrows, the way the branch sends each customer down one path
Refer-a-FriendStep 1 of 5
  1. Where Nadia comes from

  4. Yes, in: send their personal link

    No, not now: thank them, ask later

  5. Link: referral_link, ready to share

    Later: referral_no_problem and a pause

Acme AccountsBusiness account
Sample data

Today

Nadia RahmanBloom Bakery, +44 7700 900752
Sample data

Properties

referral_trigger
nps_promoterScored you 9 or 10
referral_interest
No value
referral_reward
No value
referral_code
nadia50
referral_status
No value

Activity

    2 of 5 properties written

    Workflow triggers and actions need HubSpot Professional or Enterprise. Workflow actions guide

    Try a live Flow

    Scan the code with your phone to open one in WhatsApp. It’s Flowella’s own Flow, not this playbook.

    Open it in WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)

    The refer-a-friend blueprint.

    A happy moment, the ask and a two-tap Flow, then one branch: customers who are in get a link to share, and both sides are rewarded when a friend joins. You build it in a HubSpot workflow, from Flowella’s WhatsApp triggers and actions.

    • Trigger
    • Send WhatsApp
    • Delay
    • Branch
    • Goal
    • Numbered note
    1. Enrolment triggerA promoter score or a renewal

      Form Completed on your NPS Flow with a 9 or 10, or a renewal deal closed won.

      Events, not dates

      A message at a happy moment feels like an offer. A quarterly blast feels like a campaign.

    2. Delay1 hour

      Soon enough to catch the good mood, late enough to feel natural.

    3. Send WhatsApp TemplateThe ask

      referral_invite, with the Flow button “Get my referral link”.

    4. Delay until event happensForm Completed, up to 3 days

      The answers land as referral_interest and referral_reward.

      No answer in 3 days: no chaser, just the next happy moment.

    5. BranchIs referral_interest yes?

      Yes gets the link; maybe later and no thanks get a thank-you and a pause.

    6. Yes
      Send WhatsApp TemplateThe personal link

      referral_link, with a short, readable link

      Delay until event happensA friend joins

      Your sign-up process records the friend and updates referrals_converted here

      Send WhatsApp TemplateReward both sides

      referral_rewarded, with the reward they picked, the day the friend joins

      GoalLoop closed

      Both rewarded, and ready for the next happy moment

      No
      Send WhatsApp TemplateThe thank-you

      referral_no_problem, with no pressure

      Edit recordreferral_status: not_now

      So the next ask waits for a new happy moment

      GoalLeft in peace

      No second ask, and the goodwill intact

      Human-readable links

      A short, readable link is easier to trust and to forward than a long tracking string.

      Friends opt in themselves

      The customer shares the link. You only message a friend after they sign up and opt in.

      Reward both sides

      Both people get a reason to act. Keep the rules short enough to explain in one sentence.

      Always on

      Leave the workflow running. Every happy moment is a fresh, well-timed ask.

    Workflow triggers and actions need HubSpot Professional or Enterprise. The answers land as contact properties on every HubSpot plan, Free included. Workflow actions guide

    Copy that turns delight into pipeline.

    Three WhatsApp templates and the Flow they open carry the ask, with a reward message when a friend joins. The customer shares the link themselves, and every variable comes from the HubSpot record.

    Show the messages as

    • referral_inviteMarketingEnglish (UK)Sample data

      Sends an hour after a promoter score or a renewal

      Know someone like you?Hi {{first_name}}, thank you for being with us. If you know another business owner who’d like a hand with their books, we’d love you to send them our way. You both get £50 off when they join.Reply STOP to opt outGet my referral link
      Know someone like you?Hi Nadia, thank you for being with us. If you know another business owner who’d like a hand with their books, we’d love you to send them our way. You both get £50 off when they join.Reply STOP to opt outGet my referral link

      Asks at a happy moment, names the reward for both sides and leaves the sharing to them.

    • referral_setupWhatsApp Flow1 screenSample data

      Opens from the opener’s button, synced from your HubSpot form

      The Flow, Refer a friend: would you like your referral link (yes, send my link; maybe later; no, thanks) and how should we thank you (£50 off a bill, give to charity).

      Nadia’s Flow, with yes, send my link and £50 off a bill chosen.

      In or not now, and how they’d like thanking. Their pick shows which reward motivates.

    • referral_linkMarketingEnglish (UK)Sample data

      Sends when referral_interest is yes

      Thanks, {{first_name}}. Here’s your personal link: {{referral_link}}. Share it with anyone who could use us. When they sign up with it, you both get £50 off.Reply STOP to opt outHow referrals work
      Thanks, Nadia. Here’s your personal link: acme.example/r/nadia50. Share it with anyone who could use us. When they sign up with it, you both get £50 off.Reply STOP to opt outHow referrals work

      A short link in the message itself, so it forwards in one tap to any chat.

    • referral_no_problemUtilityEnglish (UK)Sample data

      Sends when referral_interest is maybe later or no

      No problem, {{first_name}}. Thanks for being with us, and we won’t ask again for a while.
      No problem, Nadia. Thanks for being with us, and we won’t ask again for a while.

      No pressure and no second ask, just thanks, so the goodwill stays intact.

    • referral_rewardedMarketingEnglish (UK)Sample data

      Sends the day referrals_converted goes up

      Your friend joinedGood news, {{first_name}}: a friend has just joined with your link. Your thank-you, {{reward_text}}, is on its way, and they get £50 off too.Reply STOP to opt out
      Your friend joinedGood news, Nadia: a friend has just joined with your link. Your thank-you, £50 off your next bill, is on its way, and they get £50 off too.Reply STOP to opt out

      The reward they picked, the day it’s earned, so both sides see the promise kept.

    Sample templates. Meta approves each template before it can send, and the Send WhatsApp Template action maps HubSpot properties to its variables.

    Five things that make referrals compound.

    The play captures all five, and each lands in HubSpot as something a workflow can read, not a note someone has to interpret.

    5 signals, what noise and real demand look like for each, and where each lands in HubSpot
    SignalNoiseReal demandLands in HubSpot as
    When they’re happyA 9 or 10 is the moment to ask. A calendar blast isn’t. Scored 7 Scored 10 nps_last_scoreFrom your NPS Flow
    Whether they’re inTheir own yes beats guessing who might refer. Maybe later Yes, send my link referral_interest
    How fast they open itFlowella logs how long the ask took to read. A quick read means the moment was right. Read days later Read in minutes timeToReadSecondsOn the Message read event
    Whether a friend joinsOnly a real sign-up earns the reward, so nothing is paid out for a click. Link opened Friend signed up referrals_convertedSet by your sign-up process
    Whether they write backA typed question needs a person. Route it to your inbox. No reply “How does it work?” flowella_last_reply_messageUpdated on every Text Reply

    Why referral workflows work.

    The best referral ask lands when the customer is already happy. WhatsApp makes the ask personal and the link easy to forward.

    • Why referral asks miss

      Calendar blasts ask everyone at once, happy or not. Asking within an hour of a top score or a renewal catches people when they’re glad to help.

    • How to enhance it

      Give each customer a readable link, record the friend’s code at sign-up, send the reward the day it’s earned, and ask again at the next milestone.

    • Gotchas

      Never message a friend the customer names: WhatsApp needs the friend’s own opt-in. Let the customer share the link, reward both sides, and don’t over-ask.

    The point: refer-a-friend works best always on, not as a seasonal campaign.

    Every play, in one playbook.

    The HubSpot + WhatsApp Playbook, Vol. 01, puts each play on a two-page spread: why and when it works on the left, the blueprint on the right, and the WhatsApp copy ready to paste. Refer-a-Friend is one of them.

    1. Leave your WhatsApp number. Four fields, and no sales call attached.
    2. A short Flow arrives. It’s a live Flowella Flow, so you see one working.
    3. The playbook lands in the same chat.
    Get the playbook

    Free. Reply STOP at any time to stop the messages.

    Vol. 01

    The HubSpot + WhatsApp Playbook

    Workflows that actually convert.

    • Each play on a two-page spread
    • The WhatsApp copy, ready to paste
    • Blueprints you can build in HubSpot

    flowella.ioField manual

    Page 1 of 3The cover

    Browse playbooks by what you do.

    Twenty plays, each a working blueprint. These six sit closest to referrals.

    Browse all playbooks

    This play is filed under Marketing Customer success Agencies B2B SaaS Professional Services

    • NPS / CSAT

      Collect two-tap CSAT or NPS answers on WhatsApp, thank happy customers, and route every unhappy one to a person and a HubSpot ticket.

      • Support
      • Customer success

    • Smart Review Triage

      Check in privately on WhatsApp first, invite a public review while the goodwill is fresh, and give unhappy customers a manager first, with the review link still open to them.

      • Marketing
      • Support

    • Lead Capture & Qualify

      Qualify captured leads with WhatsApp questions, scoring, high-fit sales routing, and nurture for low-urgency contacts.

      • Sales
      • Marketing

    • Customer Onboarding

      Guide new customers to first value with milestone WhatsApp prompts, setup nudges, support rescue, and HubSpot onboarding status updates.

      • Support
      • Customer success

    • Membership Renewals

      Renew more memberships: a WhatsApp reminder 30 days out, a one-screen Flow, the renewal link for members who stay, and a person for anyone unsure.

      • Customer success

    • Re-engagement

      Wake dormant contacts with a WhatsApp preference prompt, branch interest, snooze, and opt-out paths, and clean HubSpot automatically.

      • Marketing
      • Customer success
    Flo jumping for joy with her fist in the air and a phone in her hand

    Ship the referral loop first.

    Turn promoter scores and renewals into referrals you can track in HubSpot. Start free today, or book a 30-minute demo and we’ll map this play to your own rewards.

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