Enroll the audience that fits the campaign
Import all Customer.io people or choose one Customer.io segment. ReferralCandy adds eligible contacts as advocates while preserving their email, name, and other profile attributes.
Email and lifecycle integration
Referral and affiliate marketing powered by Customer.io data and automations
Make referrals part of the lifecycle system your team already operates. Import everyone or a selected Customer.io segment as advocates, write each person’s campaign-specific referral link back to their profile, and use real-time ReferralCandy events to trigger your own journeys. An optional reporting webhook can enroll newly subscribed customers the moment they opt in.
Not on Shopify? Try ReferralCandy for free.
Audience import, referral-link write-back, real-time events, and subscriber enrollment in one integration.
AudienceSegment importedCustomer.io people enroll as ReferralCandy advocates
AttributeReferral link written backOne personal rc_referral_link attribute per campaign
EventRC activity streamedEnrollment, purchases, and rewards trigger automations
WebhookNew subscriber enrolledCustomer.io subscriptions reach ReferralCandy in real time
Liquid merge tag
Two-way activation
Why connect Customer.io
Connect audience strategy, referral identity, and lifecycle action.
Customer.io tells you who the customer is and when they are ready to hear from you. ReferralCandy adds their role as an advocate: a personal link for every referral or affiliate campaign, real-time events when referral activity happens, and the attribution and reward logic behind every successful introduction.
Put each advocate’s link on their profile
Write a campaign-specific rc_referral_link attribute and the referralcandy_advocate flag back to Customer.io for personalization and data-driven segmentation.
Automate around real referral behavior
Use RC - Enrolled, referred-purchase, and reward-earned events to trigger Customer.io journeys with the campaign and reward context carried by the event.
Contacts, attributes, events, and webhooks
A two-way lifecycle connection built for referral action.
Customer.io can supply the audience and subscriber signal. ReferralCandy can return the personal referral identity and the moments that matter. Your team chooses how much of the loop to activate and which platform sends each message.
01
Audience enrollment
Turn Customer.io people into advocates
Choose All people or a specific Customer.io segment, then sync that audience into ReferralCandy. Imported contacts are enrolled into the relevant referral and affiliate campaigns.
- Import everyone or one segment
Match enrollment to the audience strategy already defined in Customer.io.
- Bring useful profile context
Email, first and last name, and other Customer.io attributes accompany the contact.
- Re-sync without duplicates
Run the sync again when needed; existing contacts are updated rather than recreated.
02
Personal referral identity
Write the sharing path back to Customer.io
With Site ID and Track API credentials enabled, ReferralCandy writes two useful profile attributes that are available in regular Customer.io campaigns and newsletters.
- rc_referral_link_<campaign short code>
A unique referral URL for that person and that specific referral or affiliate campaign.
- referralcandy_advocate = true
A simple flag for building Customer.io segments of people in the referral program.
- {{ customer.rc_referral_link_... }}
Insert the link with Liquid or choose it from Customer.io’s Merge tags picker.
03
Real-time activation
Let behavior move in both directions
Referral activity can trigger Customer.io automations, while Customer.io’s subscribed signal can enroll new advocates in ReferralCandy through a signed reporting webhook.
- ReferralCandy → Customer.io
Stream enrollment, referred-purchase, and reward-earned events as they happen.
- Customer.io → ReferralCandy
Enroll a person within seconds when their subscription status changes to subscribed.
- Event data for richer messages
Use campaign name, purchase value, reward details, coupon codes, or portal links in event-triggered emails.
See it in your stack
Build the program around your customer journey.
Start with the integration you already run, then shape the campaign, reward, and message around the relationships your brand has earned.
Not on Shopify? Try ReferralCandy for free.
How it works
How ReferralCandy works with Customer.io
Start with the audience connection, add profile write-back and event streaming, then decide which customer moments Customer.io should own.
- 1
Connect the workspace
Add the Customer.io App API key and choose the United States or European Union region that matches your workspace. Add Site ID and Track API credentials if you also want write-back and real-time events.
- 2
Import the right people
Sync All people or a selected Customer.io segment. ReferralCandy enrolls people with an email address as advocates and keeps existing contacts updated on later syncs.
- 3
Personalize and automate
Use the campaign-specific rc_referral_link attribute in newsletters and campaigns, and trigger Customer.io automations from RC - Enrolled, referred-purchase, or reward-earned events.
- 4
Keep new subscribers moving
Connect Customer.io’s Subscribed reporting webhook to the ReferralCandy webhook URL so newly subscribed people can enter the referral program without waiting for another manual sync.
Customer.io lifecycle plays
Build referral journeys around audience, action, and reward.
The integration gives your lifecycle team reusable profile attributes for everyday campaigns and richer event payloads for messages that should react to a specific referral moment.
Welcome the right advocates
Start with a Customer.io segment that reflects loyalty, purchase history, geography, or any other audience logic your team already uses, then enroll that group in ReferralCandy.
Put the personal referral link in every relevant message
Use the profile-level rc_referral_link attribute in a newsletter, button, or campaign so the advocate can share without searching for a separate portal.
Trigger your own reward experience
Build an automation from RC - Reward earned and use its event data—such as reward amount, coupon code, expiry date, or portal sign-in link—to create a branded notification in Customer.io.
Who it is for
For lifecycle teams that want referral data to behave like first-class Customer.io data.
Use this integration when the referral program should follow your existing audience definitions, use personal attributes in everyday messages, and react to customer advocacy in real time.
- ✓Teams enrolling advocates from an existing Customer.io segment
- ✓Brands inserting campaign-specific referral links into newsletters and journeys
- ✓Lifecycle marketers triggering automations from referral and reward events
Questions, answered
Customer.io integration FAQ
Marketing overview first. When you are ready to configure the integration, the technical guide has the exact settings.
What does the ReferralCandy integration with Customer.io do?
It can import all Customer.io people or one selected segment into ReferralCandy, write campaign-specific referral links and an advocate flag back to Customer.io, send real-time referral events, and enroll new subscribers through an optional reporting webhook.
Can I import only one Customer.io segment?
Yes. Choose All people or any available Customer.io segment when you run the contact sync.
What attributes does ReferralCandy write to Customer.io?
ReferralCandy writes rc_referral_link_<campaign short code> for each referral or affiliate campaign and sets referralcandy_advocate to true. It does not overwrite your other Customer.io attributes.
How do I insert the referral link in a Customer.io email?
Use Customer.io’s Merge tags picker or Liquid with the campaign-specific attribute, for example {{ customer.rc_referral_link_fren }}, replacing fren with your campaign’s actual short code.
Which ReferralCandy events can trigger Customer.io automations?
Events include RC - Enrolled, RC - Subscribed to campaign emails, RC - Purchase referred by profile detected, and RC - Reward earned. Each event carries campaign-specific context, and purchase or reward events include their relevant values.
What is the difference between Customer.io attributes and event data?
Referral-link and advocate attributes live on the person and can be used in regular campaigns. Purchase amounts, reward details, coupon codes, and similar values travel with the individual RC event and are available inside an automation triggered by that event.
Can new Customer.io subscribers join ReferralCandy automatically?
Yes. Configure Customer.io’s reporting webhook for the Subscribed customer event, then save its signing secret in ReferralCandy. New subscribed people with an email address can then be enrolled in real time.
Does ReferralCandy send emails through Customer.io?
No. The two sending systems operate independently. You can keep ReferralCandy’s referral emails on and use Customer.io for other campaigns, or turn matching ReferralCandy emails off before import if Customer.io will own those messages.
+Let your strongest relationships bring the next customer.
Connect Customer.io to ReferralCandy and make referral and affiliate growth part of the stack your team already runs.
Not on Shopify? Try ReferralCandy for free.