Tip #4 : Refer and Earn Workflow system for your Subscription Business

Tip #4 : Refer and Earn Workflow system for your Subscription Business

Hello everyone,

We've been coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which can be implemented for your business. In continuation to the previous post, this week we will be seeing about
how you can implement the Refer and Earn Workflow system to acquire more customers.

Why are Referrals important?


Customer Acquisition is crucial for any business to sustain itself in a constantly evolving

market. It involves persuading new consumers to purchase your products. Customers tend to buy products that are considered to be reliable and trustworthy. Therefore, it can be quite difficult to bring in new customers without proper marketing strategies.
 
Word-of-mouth referral campaigns is a proven strategy to help you acquire lots of customers effectively in a short period of time. 

What is a word-of-mouth referral campaign?

If a customer is satisfied with your product, he will become a regular subscriber to your product. He will eventually spread the word around. This is a free marketing strategy for your product. Once people start hearing positive feedback about your products, they will prefer your brand to your competitors. 

To make this strategy more effective, you can simply provide a referral incentive for your customers who are bringing in new customers through referrals. This will motivate them to spread the word and it will also help in customer retention.

A referral incentive can be anything from a discount (or) amount which you can credit to your customers who are bringing in new customers. Let us now see how we can implement a Refer and Earn workflow system in  Zoho Subscriptions.

Building a Refer and Earn Workflow system:


For this particular scenario, we will be raising a Credit Note (for fixed incentive amount) for a referrer who has referred a new customer. The Credit Note can be later applied during the next billing cycle of the customer. Let us look into a simple scenario to understand this better.


Assume that John is a long term subscriber for your product and he in turn is referring his friend Mark to your product. Here,

John -> Referrer
Mark -> Referred Customer

When Mark subscribes to your product, he will mention that John is the one who has referred Mark. Since John has made a successful referral, you will raise a credit note for John for a fixed incentive amount.

As you can see, the most primary requirement for this workflow is to identify the referrer. In this case, to identify the referrer, we will show a Custom Field of type Email Address in the Hosted Page, where the subscriber can mention his referrer's email address. Later when a new subscription is created, we will be using our Custom Function Workflow to raise a credit note for that referrer. 

The below explained custom function does the same.

Code Explanation:



You can refer to the code in this GitHub link. The code is written in Deluge Script which can be easily understood by non-programmers.

1) Paste your authtoken, Custom Field's label and incentive amount in their corresponding variables.

2) Once a new subscription is created, we can check if a referrer Email id is present. If it is present, we use that Email ID to get the customer (Referrer) details from our database.

3) Once the Referrer is identified, a credit note will be raised for the mentioned incentive amount.

 

4) In case, if the email address is not present in our database, the admin of the organization will be intimated with an Email regarding this.


Getting started with the Custom Functions:  

1. Go to Settings -> Automation -> Custom Functions. 


2. Create a new Custom Function. Provide a name for the function. 


3. Choose the module and event according to your need.


4. Copy the code which was given above. Do the necessary changes that are required.


5. Save the Custom Function and you are good to go.

Found this useful? Try it out and let us know how it works! If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask!


Cheers,

Sasidaran K,
Zoho Subscriptions.

    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip #4 : Refer and Earn Workflow system for your Subscription Business

      Hello everyone, We've been coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which can be implemented for your business. In continuation to the previous post, this week we will be seeing about how you can implement the Refer and Earn Workflow system to acquire more customers. Why are Referrals important? Customer Acquisition is crucial for any business to sustain itself in a constantly evolving market. It involves persuading new consumers to purchase your products. Customers

    • Tip #2 - Cancellation of Offline Subscriptions based on the Expected Payment Date

      Hello everyone, As you all know, we are coming up with a custom function workflow every week to address specific business scenarios. In continuation of this previous blog, this week we will be seeing about Cancellation of Offline Subscriptions based on the Expected Payment Date. Business Scenario: In general, for any business, the customers make payments via online as well as offline. In case of subscription where the automatic collection of charge is enabled (aka online subscription), the customer's

    • Tip #3 : Send SMS Reminders for your Subscription Business

      Hello everyone, As you all know, we are coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios. In continuation to the previous blog, this week we will be seeing how you can use SMS reminders for your Subscription Business. Using SMS messages for your Subscription Business: While managing your subscription business, more often than not, you need to keep your customers informed about upcoming renewals, payment reminders and cancellations. By keeping them informed in advance, you can

    • Tips And Tricks - Announcement

      Hello everyone, Every business is unique and each of them follows a specific workflow. While managing your customers' subscriptions with Zoho, you might have some needs unique to your business. Custom Functions helps you address such needs. This is a start to a series of posts, where we will be coming up with a custom function workflow every week that addresses specific business scenarios. Watch this space for further updates! Also, if you have any specific business scenario which needs to be addressed,

    • Tip #6 : Accessing external URLs from Zoho Subscriptions

      Hello everyone, We have been sharing a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which you can implement for your subscription business. Last week, we shared a tip about implementing the Approval Workflow system. This week, let's look at how you can access external URLs with the help of Custom Link. Business Scenario: Every business functions differently and has its unique requirements. At times, businesses might want to access other websites or applications by appending specific information

    • Recent Topics

    • Agent Concern

      would like to ask the difference between an agent and a light agent. can a light agent close a ticket. thank you.

    • Train Zoho Answer Bot Based on Customer

      Hi all, Is it currently possible to mark Help Centre articles to a specific customer, and restrict the answer bot to only use relevant information if it is either marked as "General", or tagged for the specific customer in question? We currently have

    • Non-depreciating fixed asset

      Hi! There are non-depreciable fixed assets (e.g. land). It would be very useful to be able to create a new type of fixed asset (within the fixed assets module) with a ‘No depreciation’ depreciation method. There is always the option of recording land

    • Errorcode 554

      Hello, I am unble to send any single email during the whole time due to the Zoho IP 136.143.188.16 being blocked by SpamCop. Please can somebody help me?

    • Spamcop

      Have been trying to email several of our clients and many of our emails keep getting bounced back with an error that states: ERROR CODE :550 - "JunkMail rejected - sender4-op-o16.zoho.com [136.143.188.16]:17694 is in an RBL: Blocked - see spamcop.net/bl.shtml?136.143.188.16"

    • Will Zoho Search work with Zoho Learn

      Currently, Zoho Search only works with Zoho Wiki which will be phased out.  Moving forward, will Zoho Search be enabled for Zoho Learn? Thanks.

    • How to use filters on all products page? Or even a category page?

      Hello, I am trying to create some filters so users can use filters to find products they are looking for. So what i am trying is to create a filter according to price lets say. So if i define it this way i am expecting to see this filter option on category

    • audio and video comments in tasks in zoho projects

      Hi, is it planned to have the ability to post audio and video comments? the whatsapp wechat format of communicating is a reality... tools like zoho project would facilitate a lot teamwork by facilitating the way in which we can give feedback in audio and video rather than only text. thx!

    • Zoho Projects app update: Voice notes for Tasks and Bugs module

      Hello everyone! In the latest version(v3.9.37) of the Zoho Projects Android app update, we have introduced voice notes for the Tasks and Bugs module. The voice notes can be added as an attachment or can be transcribed into text. Recording and attaching

    • Boas práticas de desenvolvimento em Deluge

      O Deluge (Data Enriched Language for the Universal Grid Environment) é a linguagem de script utilizada em diversas aplicações do ecossistema Zoho, como Zoho Creator, Zoho CRM, Zoho Books e Zoho Flow. Ela foi projetada para permitir automações rápidas

    • Seeking a WhatsApp Business App (not API) Zoho CRM integration

      We have a business need to integrated WhatsApp Business App (not API) into Zoho CRM to centrally manage communications between our Sales team and Leads & Contact. Is there a reputable integration available for this scenario of ours? Core features we would

    • Zoho Sign 2025–2026: What's new and what's next

      Hello! Every year at Zoho Sign, we work hard to make document signing and agreement execution easy for all users. This year we sat down with our head of product, Mr. Subramanian Thayumanasamy, to discuss what we delivered in 2025 and our goals for 2026.

    • Creditos API

      Queria saber se alguém poderia me ajudar a resolver um problema na compra e utilização de créditos de mensagens API do WhatsApp. ja tentei todos o tutoriais porem não consegui realizar a compre, pois ao clicar no botão de comprar créditos aparece a mensagem

    • Intergrating multi location Square account with Zoho Books

      Hi, I have one Square account but has multiple locations. I would like to integrate that account and show aggregated sales in zoho books. How can I do that? thanks.

    • Emails being blocked / spamcop

      Hello, I am unablr to send any single email during the whole time due to the Zoho IP 136.143.188.16 being blocked by SpamCop.net Please help on this.

    • Zoho IP blocked by SpamCop 136.143.188.16

      Hello, I am unble to send any single email during the whole time due to the Zoho IP 136.143.188.16 being blocjed by SpamCop.net Please help on this.

    • Is there a way to configure dark mode for Campaigns emails that go out to customers?

      I've found a lot of information on how to configure dark mode for my (The user) personal Zoho workspace and email, but is there any way to edit dark mode settings on emails that we send out to customers via campaigns?  We sent out a test email the other

    • Can I hide empty Contact fields from view?

      Some contacts have a lot of empty fields, others are mostly filled. Is there a way I can hide/show empty fields without changing the actual Layout? I would like to de-clutter my view, and also be able to add information later as I am able. I would be

    • Auto-publish job openings on my Zoho Recruit Careers Website

      I have developed a script using the Zoho Recruit API that successfully inserts new jobOpening records to my Zoho Recruit website, but my goal is to auto-publish to the Careers Website. The jobOpening field data shows two possible candidates to make this

    • Credit Card Terminal for Zoho Books

      Hello, Instead of punching the credit card number manually for customer payment, do you have a third-party hardware credit card reader that works with Braintree? Thank You

    • How do you print out the invoices comments

      I have some invoices where i need to print out the comments that show when reminders and etc were sent how do we print those out in Zoho Books.

    • Feature Request: Enable Custom PDF Layout Editor for All Modules (Including Package Slips)

      Hello Zoho Community and Product Team, I am writing to share a suggestion that would significantly enhance the customization capabilities within Zoho Books. We all appreciate the power of the Custom PDF Layouts (the "New" template engine) that allows

    • Need advice for product/item search functionality when adding invoices.

      My client uses "Catalog or Vendor" name and Product code to search for his items. But Zoho only allow to search by product name and SKU when adding items to Invoices/Estimates. Clients product codes are not unique as they may overlap from different catalogs/vendors.

    • How to dynamically pass IDs from one API response to a second API call in Zoho DataPrep?

      Hi Team, I am setting up a global consolidated reporting pipeline in Zoho Analytics (India) using Zoho DataPrep as the ETL engine. I am pulling data from multiple Zoho Books Data Centers (US, Singapore, India) thats why i used the URL Source (OAuth 2.0)

    • Feature Request: "Send Invitation" Toggle for Events

      I am writing to request a critical "Quality of Life" update for the Activities module. Currently, adding people to the Participants field in an Event triggers an automatic email invitation/acceptance tracking with no way to opt-out. For general events

    • Account Review Pending - Daily Limit 100

      Hi ZeptoMail Team, I'm writing to request a manual review of my account. I am currently stuck on the 100-email daily limit and cannot purchase credits. Status: My domain is already verified (DKIM/CNAME). Issue: The "Customer Validation" option is no longer

    • Automation Series: Move Tasks to a different Task List on Status Change

      In Zoho Projects, you can automatically move a task from one task list to another when its status is updated. This keeps your tasks organised and ensures better visibility while reducing manual work. For instance, during a product launch, the marketing

    • Introducing Bigin's all new integration with Microsoft Teams

      Picture this: You are on call with your team to discuss some important deals that need to be closed soon. While discussing each deal, your team has to switch back and forth between your Teams account and Bigin account to refer to details about the deal.

    • Scaling the customer journey: What's new in CommandCenter

      Dear Customers, The last time we connected about CommandCenter, it was about the tool's new controls and revamped UI. Personally, the overhaul of the UI from the last update, still excites me. Today, we're here with news about its scalability and added

    • Adjusting Physical Inventory

      Not getting very far with support on this one, they say they are going to fix it but nothings happened since November. Please give this a thumbs up if you would like to see this feature or comment if you have some insight. Use Case: Inventory set to be

    • Dynamic Remaining Quantity in Lookup During Allocation

      Hi everyone, From what I understand in Zoho Creator, lookup fields only display the stored value from the source record and do not dynamically update while a form is being filled. Because of this, showing a real-time updated remaining quantity inside

    • Is it possible to use HTML formatting in SMS messages sent from Zoho?

      Hi everyone, I have a question regarding sending SMS from Zoho When we send emails from Zoho, we can include HTML code to format the message (like adding links, styling, etc.). Is it possible to do something similar when sending SMS messages through Zoho

    • Important update: Migrate to the new SalesIQ live chat widget before April 14, 2026

      The old SalesIQ live chat widget will be deprecated on April 14, 2026. This is a final reminder to migrate to the new SalesIQ live chat widget before this date. After April 14, 2026, the old widget will no longer be maintained, which can lead to slower

    • If your IM chats aren’t auto-assigning, here’s what to check

      Hey everyone! We’ve been seeing quite a few questions around Instant Messaging (IM) Chat Routing in Zoho Desk, especially around how it actually behaves in real time. So I thought I’d share a practical breakdown of what’s happening behind the scenes.

    • connect zoho creator with google drive

      Hello everyone, I need to connect to a folder drive. The idea, is that google drive loads a text document with some data, I must read that text document to be able to autofill a form that I have in zoho creator with that data. I also attach PDFs and place

    • Uploaded files are not included when using "Include user submitted data" in Email Notification

      In Send Email notification workflow in Zoho Creator, there is an option called "Include user submitted data" which allows the email to contain all the form submission details. However, when this option is enabled, files or images uploaded through File

    • Extend Zoho Canvas Customization to Zoho Creator Forms and Reports

      Currently, Zoho Canvas allows users to design and customize the UI of Zoho CRM modules with a much better visual experience. This helps organizations create cleaner layouts, improve usability, and design interfaces that match their workflows. However,

    • Kanban View for Projects.

      At our organization, we describe active projects with various statuses like "In Proofing" or "Printing" or "Mailing". In the Projects view, one can set these project statuses by selecting from the appropriate drop-down. While this works, it's difficult to view and comprehend the progress of all of your projects relative to each other in a table. Creating a Kanban view for projects where I can move them from one status to another allows me to see where each project is in the order of our workflow.

    • Button ''I'm Interested'' won't translate

      Since our main platform is in French, I would like to get this ''I'm Interested'' button translated to French ''Je suis intéressé''. We managed to translate the whole carreer site in French, except the button. How come ? We have a standard subscription,

    • Feature request - image resizing on sales orders

      I need to be able to show the items on the sales orders, currently the item image shows really small and no way to resize it, need the ability to make the image larger to showcase the product on the pdfs

    • Next Page