# Referrals Word Of Mouth

Help users build sustainable growth engines by transitioning from accidental...

- Repository: https://github.com/RefoundAI/lenny-skills (1456 stars)
- Category: Marketing
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-07-16
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill referrals-word-of-mouth -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill referrals-word-of-mouth -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill referrals-word-of-mouth -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill referrals-word-of-mouth -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Help users build sustainable growth engines by transitioning from accidental word-of-mouth to structured referral programs and viral product loops.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Referrals and Word-of-Mouth

Turn user satisfaction into a high-leverage growth engine through organic advocacy and structured referral loops.

Help the user with referrals and word-of-mouth using insights from 13 guests and posts across Lenny's Podcast and Newsletter.

## How to Help

1. **Assess readiness** - Determine if the product has sufficient organic word-of-mouth and retention to support a formal referral program.
2. **Identify viral loops** - Map out the product natural social actions to choose the right type of virality such as word-of-mouth, invitation, or experiential.
3. **Design incentives** - Craft a reward structure that balances selfish, altruistic, and FOMO motivations within CAC limits.
4. **Optimize and scale** - Measure the referral funnel and place touchpoints throughout the user journey to maximize discoverability.

## Core Principles

### Remarkableness as a Core Value
Rahul Vohra: "It is word of mouth. It is the virality you can't measure that isn't a mechanic that isn't in a feature. It is when one user spontaneously tells another user about your product."

Sustainable growth is earned through extraordinary quality and delight that makes a product worthy of spontaneous attention rather than temporary gimmicks.

### The 10x Performance Threshold
Nilan Peiris: "But to get to recommendation, you're going to blow your user socks off. You have to give them an experience they didn't know was previously possible. And when you are in that place of doing something that no one has ever done before, that's when you get it."

To trigger true word-of-mouth, the product must be exponentially better than the status quo, typically by being significantly faster, cheaper, or easier to use.

### Accelerate Existing Organic Growth
From "Building a referrals program": "The added incentive that a referral program offers simply adds fuel to an existing fire. I haven’t seen referrals work when there wasn’t strong existing WOM."

The rest: https://github.com/RefoundAI/lenny-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/referrals-word-of-mouth/SKILL.md