This is ReferralHero—the referral program partner who brings the right people to your table (and helps you keep them there).
In this case study, we explore how Derrick Law Firm's Focus Group Referral Program effectively attracted new participants and rewarded advocates for each valid referral. The results? 8000+ referrals in 12 months… and they are just getting started!
Let’s dive in!
Referral Program Overview
Derrick Law Firm leveraged ReferralHero’s platform to expand their reach and recruit first-time participants for jury research focus groups. By encouraging advocates to share a unique referral link with their community, Derrick Law Firm taps into word-of-mouth marketing to attract new participants. For each valid, completed survey, advocates earn a $10 reward, and with ReferralHero’s seamless tracking and reward management, the program is simple and efficient. This approach boosts engagement, streamlines the reward process, and helps the firm gather valuable insights from first-time participants.
Check out this video—it shows exactly how the referral program was set up.
Referral Program Rewards
The Focus Group Ambassador Referral Program offers advocates a straightforward way to earn rewards. For each valid survey completed by a first-time participant, advocates receive a $10 gift card. To ensure only legitimate referrals are rewarded, Derrick Law Firm verifies each survey before issuing rewards. This incentive structure motivates advocates to share their unique referral link actively, widening the pool of focus group participants and supporting the firm’s data collection efforts.
Referral Program Participant Flow
The Focus Group Referral Program follows a simple, effective participant flow to ensure a smooth experience for both advocates and referrals:
Step 1: Sign Up
South Carolina residents interested in becoming advocates start by visiting the program's dedicated landing page. Here, they complete a simple online form with their contact information to join the referral program.
Step 2: Verify Contact Information
After submitting the form, participants are directed to a verification page where they must confirm both their email and phone number to proceed. They receive a 6-digit verification code via email and SMS, which they must enter to complete the verification process.
Step 3: Referral Sharing
Once verified, advocates are immediately presented with a user-friendly share widget. This widget prominently displays their unique referral link with a convenient copy button and offers multiple social sharing options, including Facebook, X, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, email, and SMS. The widget also highlights the rewards advocates can earn for successful referrals.
Step 4: Personalized Message
Advocates can share a pre-populated message, such as through SMS, that includes their unique referral link. This message serves as a customizable starting point, allowing advocates to personalize and share it with their network to encourage friends and family to participate in the program.
Step 5: Referral Registration
Referred participants click the shared link, leading them to a dedicated referral registration page, where they can register and complete a survey to indicate their interest in joining Derrick Law Firm’s focus group program.
Step 6: Verification
Each completed survey goes through Derrick Law Firm’s verification process, which includes fraud detection and ensuring the participant meets eligibility criteria. Once a survey is validated, ReferralHero tracks the completed referral, and the advocate is credited with a $10 reward for each legitimate participant referred.
Step 7: Progress Tracking
Advocates can visit the program's landing page to check their referral status and view rewards they've unlocked. This feature allows advocates to stay updated on their progress and motivates them to continue sharing their referral link for additional rewards.
This streamlined flow allows Derrick Law Firm to efficiently onboard and reward new focus group participants while keeping the process user-friendly and transparent for advocates.
Referral Program Launch
Derrick Law Firm launched the program in June 2024, beginning with a targeted outreach to their existing network. This initial phase focused on reaching trusted clients and longstanding contacts, building early momentum by engaging individuals who already valued Derrick Law Firm's expertise. Leveraging these connections created a strong foundation, as advocates were not only familiar with the firm's services but also motivated to help expand its reach.
"After every focus group we automatically enroll participants making it easy for them to share our survey and earn."
- Brooke Holden, Focus Group Coordinator
Once advocates signed up, they received a personalized welcome email and SMS that highlighted their role and provided key details about the program. This message, which included their unique referral link, encouraged them to start sharing and outlined the $10 gift card they would earn for each valid first-time respondent they referred. The email and SMS also emphasized the opportunity for advocates to maximize their rewards by sharing frequently.
This targeted launch, paired with a clear, informative automations, effectively engaged advocates from the start. By setting expectations and offering easy access to resources, Derrick Law Firm empowered advocates to begin sharing immediately and successfully promote the program to their own networks.
Referral Program Ongoing Promotion
ReferralHero Email/SMS Automations
To maintain strong advocate engagement, Derrick Law Firm leveraged ReferralHero’s automated email/SMS features to provide ongoing motivation and timely recognition. These automated messages helped keep advocates connected to the program and aware of their progress, creating a sense of accomplishment that encouraged continued promotion.
"I love the emails and SMS messages. I love how people can see exactly how many referrals they have; it incentivizes them."
- Brooke Holden, Focus Group Coordinator
- First Referral Email/SMS: Upon an advocate’s first successful referral, they received a congratulatory email and SMS celebrating this milestone and including their unique referral link once more. The message struck a friendly, celebratory tone with phrases like “Some good news: you got your first referral!” to highlight their achievement and build excitement.
- Ongoing Referral Email/SMS: Each time an advocate gained a new referral, they received a brief but appreciative message with their unique link attached. These recurring acknowledgments served to recognize their continued efforts and subtly reminded them of the rewards they could earn by sharing even more.
By incorporating these ReferralHero email and SMS automations, Derrick Law Firm successfully nurtured advocates, reinforcing their contributions while encouraging sustained engagement. This strategic, ongoing promotion ensured that advocates remained aligned with the program’s goals, fostering steady growth and consistently expanding the referral network.
Referral Program Landing Page
The program's dedicated landing page serves as an essential resource, clearly explaining how to become an advocate, share referral links, and earn rewards. A straightforward sign-up process leads to the issuance of unique referral links, and a helpful FAQ section addresses common questions about program eligibility and rewards. This transparency and accessibility encourage ongoing participation and reduce barriers.
Referral Program Results
Since launching the Focus Group Ambassador Referral Program, Derrick Law Firm has achieved impressive results that highlight the program's impact and effectiveness. In less than 12 months, the program successfully attracted 18,518 referred visitors, significantly expanding the firm’s reach and increasing awareness of its jury research focus groups.
"We got 200 surveys yesterday in 12 hours, which is the most we’ve ever gotten... the program is really starting to grow."
- Brooke Holden, Focus Group Coordinator
As of May 28, 2025, the program has seen a strong advocate response, with 743 advocates signing up and collectively referring 8,190 new participants, leading to a referral rate of 3.4%. These efforts contributed to a total of 8,933 subscribers, reflecting high engagement and the effectiveness of the program’s word-of-mouth structure.
Results after one month on Jul 26, 2024
- Number of subscribers: 44
- Number of referrals: 27
- Referral rate: 25% (11 subscribers have referred more than 1 person/total 44 subscribers)
- Referral growth: 158% (27 referred subscribers/(44-27)organic subscribers)
Results after three months on Sep 26, 2024
- Number of subscribers: 334
- Number of referrals: 241
- Referral rate: 15.3% (51 subscribers have referred more than 1 person)
- Referral growth: 259% (241 referred subscribers/(334-241)organic subscribers)
All time results as of May 28, 2025
- Number of subscribers: 8933
- Number of referrals: 8182
- Referral rate: 3.4%
- Referral growth: 1102%
The ongoing, measurable results demonstrate the program's success and the dedication of Derrick Law Firm’s advocates in helping the firm collect critical data through active community involvement.
In total, their referral links were shared over 1,700 times, enhancing program visibility and engaging a wider audience. This high level of sharing significantly contributed to attracting new participants and amplifying awareness of Derrick Law Firm's focus group initiative.
Derrick Law Firm’s Focus Group Referral Program demonstrates the impact of a well-structured and engaging referral strategy. By harnessing ReferralHero’s platform, they effectively tapped into word-of-mouth to grow their focus group community, rewarding advocates along the way. The program’s transparency, clear incentives, and continuous engagement through automated emails contributed to its sustained success. With a reliable flow of new participants, Derrick Law Firm can continue gathering valuable insights from first-time participants, making this referral program a key asset for their research initiatives.
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