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Integration Guide

How to Add Referral Steps to Intercom User Onboarding with GrowSurf

Introduce referrals in Intercom onboarding after GrowSurf has synced each participant's share link, referral status, and milestone data.

Want the full setup walkthrough?

Use these docs for exact setup steps, supported fields, and troubleshooting.

GrowSurf keeps each participant's referral state current inside Intercom, including the share URL they should use and the progress they have already made toward rewards.

That makes it practical to add a referral step to onboarding after the customer has reached first value, instead of asking for a referral too early.

Integration Steps

Connect Intercom in GrowSurf and choose the tag to sync

Intercom tag selection in GrowSurf
Choose the Intercom tag GrowSurf should use while it adds or updates participant contacts in Intercom.

In Campaign Editor > 4. Options > Integrations, connect Intercom, authorize the account, select the Intercom tag you want GrowSurf to use, and save the integration.

Pick the first value moment that should unlock the referral ask

Add the referral step only after the user has completed the onboarding action that proves they understand the product. The prompt should feel like the next logical action, not like extra work.

Add the referral step to your Intercom onboarding series

Intercom onboarding series entry rules with audience filters
Use Intercom's onboarding audience rules to decide which newly activated users should see the referral step.

In your onboarding series or entry rules, target recently activated users whose GrowSurf data shows they are participants but have not yet reached the referral outcome you care about.

Send the step to the GrowSurf referral experience

Use a button that opens the referral portal, referral page, or embedded widget you already run with GrowSurf. If a plain link is more helpful in the message body, use {{ custom_data.growsurf_share_url }}.

Branch onboarding by referral progress

  • Show a first invitation to participants who have never shared.
  • Show a milestone reminder to people who are close to the next reward.
  • Skip the referral step for customers who already completed the referral goal.

Test the timing on live participant data

Preview the onboarding path against a participant who already exists in both GrowSurf and Intercom so you can confirm the entry rules, CTA, and personalization all match live data.

Tips

Ask after activation, not at first touch

The best onboarding referral prompts happen after the user has already experienced value and can confidently recommend the product.

Connect before importing participants

If you want imported users to receive GrowSurf attributes going forward, enable the Intercom integration before you import them into the campaign.

Reuse the same destination everywhere

Point onboarding, outbound prompts, and lifecycle messages to the same GrowSurf referral experience so customers always land in the same sharing flow.

FAQ

When should a referral step appear in onboarding?

After the user reaches the first meaningful value moment in your product. Before that, the ask usually feels premature.

Can I personalize the onboarding step with each user's referral link?

Yes. Use {{ custom_data.growsurf_share_url }} when the Intercom message should display the participant's unique share link directly.

What if imported users never received GrowSurf fields in Intercom?

Enable the integration before future imports, then use GrowSurf's participant-sync remedies if you need to backfill people who were imported before the connection existed.

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