There are a few ways to track things automatically, but they get complicated:
- referral program software
- Give your referrers special URL's with parameters that identify them as the referrer (like http://url.com/?referrer=JohnDoe), then push that value into a hidden form field
- Create a separate landing page for each referrer

I'd keep things much simpler to start. Just tell your social club that there's a referral program in place, then add a form field on your signup process asking who referred the new customer. If John Doe knows that there's a program in place, when he refers someone, he's likely to tell them "make sure you say I referred you". When the new customer joins, they'll likely remember to enter "John Doe" as the referrer.

It's not bullet proof, but it's an easy way to start.

Hello!

Referrer links are a good way to go (and very common) but there is a "cleaner" way to do it if your friends have websites...

Google Analytics has something called Attribution Modeling that you can use to track where each conversion (or sale) actually comes from.

You can decide to set it up for "last interaction", "first interaction", etc depending on your particular model.

This means that either the first or last person to refer your client gets the credit.

It is worth checking out and it's free!

Let me know if it works out.

If you're creating an incentive anyways, a great way to track this is with coupon codes.

Give everyone a unique referral code. The responses will be incentivized to enter it for their discount and you'll be able to see where it's coming from.

The type of cart or way you're collecting payment largely determines how you'll be able to do this. I used shopify which has some great plugins (like http://www.shopify.com/blog/6668676-new-free-shopify-app-bulk-discounts) but your own platform may vary.

Alternately, you can just add a form field and apply discounts manually. More time intensive but the tracking is the important thing. Once you can double down on what makes a good referral you'll be well on your way to creating a system that can repeat that process.

Feel free to give me a call if you have any more questions.

If you are going with a very low budget, I would go with coupons as identifiers.
Ana

If you ask me for the best way, I will suggest a referral program. For starters, referrals and word-of-mouth are the most trusted form of advertising, according to a Nielsen study, and the second most trusted form doesn’t come close. Second, referral programs still help with lead generation: you are rewarding people for doing the work of finding leads for you. A referral program is a way to generate leads—and not just any leads, but highly-qualified, niche-specific leads that are more likely to result in sales. That is not just speculation. When researchers at the Harvard Business Review looked at some 10,000 accounts at a German bank over the course of three years, they saw that “customers obtained through referrals are both more loyal and valuable than other customers. “The research controlled for such factors as age and sex and found that referred customers were some 18% more likely to stay with the bank, earning 16% more in profits thanks to the referral program.
What are we left to conclude about the benefits of a formal referral program?
1. The leads you acquire will trust you more.
2. The leads you acquire are more likely to buy from you.
3. The leads you acquire are more likely to remain loyal customers.
The bank earned some 60% profit from their initial referral investment.
Let us now look as how to Integrate a Referral Program into Your Business
1. Decide on Your Offer: In the world of referral programs, there is no getting without giving. You first must come up with an offer that works for your brand. Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. What are they looking for? What kind of incentive will get them moving on the possibility of showing off your product to a friend or confidant? Some businesses create contests, while others simply announce that if customers refer a friend, they get a flat payment. When it comes to the retail industry, most customers want deals. Stitch Fix, a subscription-based clothing service, capitalized on this desire by implementing a referral program that would give customers $25 in store credit.
2. Implement a System that Puts the Customer in Charge: If there is anything you have learned in building a business already, it is this: never make things difficult on the customer. That is as true for purchases as it should be for referrals. Your goal is to make the process of referring new customers and earning their rewards as easy as possible. You will find some tools for implementing ease-of-use later in this post, but for now, focus on a few key items:
a. Social sharing. This is the digital age, so you want to make sure your program is shareable. If you have created a substantial incentive to customers, you will give them reason to spread the word. Make sure that your referral tool makes it easy for them to share. Stitch Fix makes it easy for customers to refer their friends by including a social sharing widget right in the dashboard.
b. Seamless integration. The fewer hoops your customer must jump through, the better. Even the most loyal of customers will not want to participate if they sign up for your referral program and then find out there are three more steps they must complete before collecting their referral reward.
c. Promote Your Program. It is not enough to create a program. Like the product itself, you must get the word out before you can expect anyone to participate. One of the most common ways to do this is through triggered or time-based email campaigns. A few days after someone makes a purchase, you can encourage them to share a referral link to give them and a friend further discount.

The tools recommended at the end of this post will feature some ways to do this, including creating contests through social media, posting directly to social media, or creating emails so you can announce to your list that the referral program is in place. Make sure to integrate your referral program with new purchases of the product itself. I recommend including a mention of the referral program on your post-purchase confirmation page. This is an ideal time to capture your customer when they are feeling good about their purchase and want to spread the word.
Granted, all this ambition sounds extremely complicated, particularly if you are not a web developer and have no talent for online marketing. Fortunately, there are several tools that already exist on the market for taking the complicated and making it intuitive:
1. GetAmbassador.com – One of the most popular and well-reviewed tools for referral programs online, Ambassador makes enrolling, tracking, and rewarding all easy to manage from a single, simple dashboard. You will particularly like the intuitive analytics that show you exactly where you are having the most success.
2. Referral Rock – Here you can create, track, and expand upon referral programs to boost word-of-mouth sales. There are plenty of options here, including creating referral rewards, customizing the “friend offer,” and links to help you share information about your referral program on social media.
3. WishPond.com – If you are looking for more social media engagement, Wish Pond helps you create landing pages, contests, promotions, and automation for leading platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
4. Extole.com – Easy, simple, and intuitive—the exact kind of program you want if your focus is to make the process as navigable for your customer as possible.

Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath